Whtiney Quesenbery: Tell Me About That: Stories

1. Tell Me About That
Using stories in interviews &
personas
Whitney Quesenbery
 STC New York Metro
Octobr 27, 2011

2. Hi! Whitney
User researcher
Theatre designer
Storytelling as a way to understand users,
their culture, and context in UX design
Kevin
UX designer
Performance storyteller
Storytelling as a pivotal part of creation,
performance, and the design process

3. How do we use stories in UX?

4. A human-centred design process
4 ISO 9241-210(formerly ISO 13407)

5. Stories are embedded in user experience
Collecting stories tell
us about context,
goals, people
Themes and patterns help
us understand world views
Success?
Usability evaluation is a
way of trying the story out
Design tells a new story
that changes something
about the world

6. We just don‟t call them stories
User research
Ethnography
Contextual inquiry
Site visits Personas
Affinity analysis
Usability Testing
Walk-throughs
Analytics Scenarios
Storyboards
Wireframes
Prototypes

7. Stories add depth to the big picture
 Showing activities in context help you understand
more clearly when, where and how a product will be
used.
 Stories are an efficient way to communicate non-
functional requirements or user characteristics
 Thinking in stories connects similar activities,
attitudes, or goals across functions.

8. Why stories?

9. Stories add connection and empathy
 A richer understanding of people and context
 Innovation from real needs
 More persuasive ideas
 People in the center of the process

10. Changing a story can change the way we think
―Our experience of the world is
shaped by our interpretations of it,
the stories we tell ourselves.... so
the key to personal transformation
is story transformation.‖
Timothy Wilson, author of “Redirect”
Maria Popova, „Redirect‟: A New Way to Think about Psychological Change. The Atlantic, September 9, 2011 www.theatlantic.com

11. Stories create relationships

12. Stories create connections

13. Stories create connections

14. Stories create connections
What kind of
connections do you
want to make?

15. A story is created by everyone who hears it

16. A story is created by everyone who hears it

17. A story is created by everyone who hears it

18. Is this a good UX story?

19. Scenarios become stories when we add emotion
As a [role] I can [do something] so that [benefit]
+
+
Imagery + Emotion + Context + Motivation

20. Stories help us explore complex interactions
20

21. Stories are efficient
Tanner was deep into a Skatepunkz game—
all the way up to level 12—when he got a
buddy message from his friend, Steve, with
a question about his homework.
He looked up with a start. Almost bedtime
and his homework was still not done. Mom or
Dad would be in any minute.
 What can we learn about Tanner
from this short story?

22. Stories can be visual
22

23. Stories turn a profile into a persona
Elizabeth, 32 years old
Married to Joe, has a 5-year old son,
Justin
Aged 30-45
Attended State College, and
45% married with manages her class alumni site
children
65% college educated
Uses Google as her home page, and
Use the web 3-5 times a CNN online
reads week
Used the web to find the name of a
local official

24. Stories start with listening

25. Listening Exercise
 Find a partner – maybe someone you don’t know
 You will each tell the other about something. You’ll
have 1 minutes
 If you are the listener - just listen. Don’t have to
talk, interrupt or fill silences.
 I’ll call time, and then we’ll switch.
Tell the other person about a holiday tradition
you share with your friends or family.

26. Feedback
What was that like?
 As the storyteller?
 As the listener?
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27. Listening is not a competitive sport
In many cultures, we are On your own
chronically ―under-listened- Practice really listening:
to‖ • Find a partner
• Ask them to tell you about
something…perhaps something that
Be an appreciative listener they are proud of, or a difficult event.
• Let them talk for 2 minutes
 Give them your full attention
• Just listen. Give them your attention.
 Acknoweldge what you hear, Don‟t interrupt them. Just let them
non-verbally talk.
• Then switch.
 Give the person time to think
• Share what you learned about the
as well as talk experience of being really listened to.
 Don’t rush the end –
sometimes people have one
last thought
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28. Listen (and watch) for juicy tidbits
 Stories you hear from more than one source
 Strong detail and action
 Details that illuminate other user data or analytics
 Stories that contradict common beliefs
 Simple, clear, and compelling
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29. Stories and UX starts with listening (& observing)
In all of your user research, make time for stories
 Go beyond basic questions
 Ask about context: when, where, why (not just how)
 Find out what they want to tell you
Just say ―tell me about that‖
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30. Who can you hear the best stories from
Best
 People with no connection to your
company who work in the context your
product supports
 People who match the demographics of
the target users, and who have similar
domain experience
 People who recently worked in the domain
and are still close to the job
 People in your company who work with
your product in the field
 Trainers, technical support personnel, and
others who support users in the field
 Subject matter experts who do not work in
the domain Worst
30

31. Ask the questions that encourage stories
“Have you ever [done something]?”
“How often do you [do that thing]?”
“What makes you decide to [do that thing]?”
“Where do you [do that thing]?”
+
“When was the last time you [did that thing]?”
+
“Tell me about that.”
(and really listen)

32. Interviewing exercise
You work for an e-commerce site that specializes in
business gifts. You are looking for ideas for your holiday
promotion that aren’t the ―same old things.‖
First, write down 2-3 questions you want to ask.
 Make them open-ended, not just yes-no questions.
 Are you looking for problems you can fix?
 Or ways you can make the experience more delightful?
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33. Interviewing exercise (2)
Find a partner. You’ll each have about 5 minutes each to
interview each other.
 Think about ways to encourage them to share their
experiences
 Don’t be afraid to follow their lead
 But don’t forget your goal
I’ll call time, so we all stay together
33

34. Personas and stories

35. Personas let you explore situations and ideas
 The persona as a character provides perspective
 The relationships create the context
 The imagery suggests emotional connections
 The language can suggest the voice of the persona

36. Personas represent groups of stories
 Similar goals, beliefs, The web saves me
attitudes time
Visits a lot of different sites
Uses e-
Navigates easily
commerce
 Similar ways of engaging in
the activity Mistrustful of
info online
Leaves a site
quickly
 Similar personal
No-nonsense. Doesn‟t
characteristics like cute
 Shared stories Very deliberate
approach to web
Uses search
Likes to print long
pages to read and
Takes notes as
save
she works

37. Healthcare example

38. Melissa Laura Elizabeth
InfoSeeker Caregiver Expert
“I don‟t like to go “I want to know how to help my “I don‟t stay on a site long if
backwards to go forwards” husband” nothing jumps out at me”
Goals: Goals: Goals:
Looking for new information Looking for helpful Information I can use
information Answers to specific questions
Typical Questions: Typical Questions: Typical Questions:
What is <condition>? What do I need to know Tell me something new
Am I at risk? about it? What are the next I want the latest!
Top Usability Need: steps I should take? I need <this> information.
Engaging - I can tell I‟m in Top Usability Needs: Top Usability Needs:
the right place by the Effective - I need resources, Efficient: Give me a search
amount and level of and the right information box and I‟ll tell you exactly
information Risks what I want
Risks Needs information she can Risks
Curious - needs to be act on Already knows the basics
drawn in. Little sense of site
loyalty

39. Stories organize data in memorable ways
Personas not only
organize data and facts,
but help us recognize
the persona as someone
we can empathize with

40. Stories organize facts in recognizable ways.
Just LIke Me - Determining Eligibility Online with Personalized Narratives - Thea van der Geest and Lex van Velsen, UPA 2010

41. Crafting stories

42. UX stories have a purpose
 Meeting the users
 Illustrating user needs
 Points of pain
 Brainstorming
 Success stories
 Design exploration
 Evaluation task

43. Points of pain – show a problem
Ten minutes is not enough. That‟s
Tanner‟s opinion about the time limits
on using the computer at school.
Last Friday, he started working on a
geography assignment and look up some
information about the animals in Africa.
He had just gotten started when his turn
on the computer was up. He‟d like to
work on it over the weekend, but can’t
access the school library. He prints out a These stories create
few things, and figures he will retype a vivid view of the
problem from the
what he‟s done when he gets home.
point of view of the
persona.
What a bore.
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44. Springboard or brainstorming stories
When Tanner comes home
from school, he logs on to the
web site and collects the essay
he began during study period
in school. He usually isn‟t
allowed to play games on the
computer until he finishes his
homework, but he tells his A short and compelling
mother, “this is my story, both illustrating a
homework.” dilemma and hinting at
the way out. They may
be the spark of a new
innovation, or based on
an anecdote from user
research.
44

45. Stories are not a detailed task analysis
Focus on the story
 Establish the scene with imagery
 What’s the time-frame?
 What’s the emotional context
Think about the persona’s perspective
 How do they see the events or interaction?
 What words do they use? Style of language?
 What are the boundaries of the story from their point
of view? (Hint: it might not be your product!)
Don’t use the story to describe all of the details in the
user interface.
45

46. Story structures help you shape the meaning
 Journeys show obstacles overcome
 A hero’s journey
 Framing structures create contrast
 Us- Them - Us
 Here - There - Here
 Now - Then - Now
 Stories can communicate mood or context
 Layered images
 Contextual interlude
46

47. Who is the hero of the story?
47

48. Choose your perspective
Third Person Second Person First Person
Story is told about Story is a conversation Story is told from the
someone, looking at between the storyteller point of view of the
them from the outside and another person main character
For example: For example: For example:
A UX person telling Feedback to a A UX person telling the
stories about how participant or other story of their own
several different people stakeholder, reactions.
responded to a
prototype. ―Interviewing a Retelling a story from
persona‖ the point of view of the
Persona stories, original experience.
especially if there is Talking directly to
more than one users of a product
Maintains a distance Creates a direct Invites the audience to
between ―us‖ and connection and invites look at the story
―them‖ the other person to through the eyes of
respond.
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49. Become the persona
First person
 You represent the
persona and tell the
story from their point
of view.
 Lets you ―get into the
head‖ of the story
Informance
Representing an idea by
acting in order to tell,
explain and share it.
(Brenda Laurel’s book on
metods
49

50. 3rd person allows you to explain and interpret
Mary works as a nurse in a hectic Whose words and thoughts are
women’s health center for a low-
income neighborhood. these?
…  Are these things that Mary
Her questions about cancer mostly would say or are they our
come from her patients, or from
wanting to be sure that she
interpretation of all the data
catches any early signs. and stories that went into the
… Mary persona?
She has learned conversational
Spanish, so she can talk to her
 How can we show when we
patients for whom this is a first are using her own words?
language.
…
When she looks things up on the
Web, she tends to go back to
familiar sites

51. Creating a conversation invites identification
Whose words and thoughts are these?
 Who is included in ―we‖?
 How does creating a sense of identity
motivate action?
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52. Ways to share stories

53. There are many ways to tell a story
 Elevator pitch
 Stories you tell around a table
 Written stories
 Presenting a report
 Comic or storyboard
 Visual collage
 In a formal presentation

54. Weave stories into your reports
54

55. Create a narrative to show patterns
Even if you don’t have one
clip that shows the whole
pattern, you can combine
events into a story
55

56. Have a design expo with stories from research
Engaging Teams with Rich Reporting: Recipe for a Research Findings Expo By
56 John Webb and Tomer Sharon. UPA User Experience 3Q 2010

57. Make a video
The NCI Cancer Bulletin: http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/101910/page6

58. Immersive environments encourage stories
Ad agencies create rooms that
represent the target market
for a brand.
http://www.core77.com/blog/business/core77_toyota_calty_studio_visit_round_2_how_theyre_winning_11167.asp
58

59. Map the stories into the design
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60. Create the stories you want other people to tell
What connections do you want to make?
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61. Storytelling can make your work richer
and more effective

62. Storytelling for User Experience
UX St o ry Card s
A g uid e t o
craft ing st ories
for UX
www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling
www.wqusability.com/storycards.html

63. Coming soon…
A look at global UX
through interviews with
over 65 practitioners