Star Wars-themed presentation given by Georgina Cronin (User Experience Librarian) at i2c2 in Manchester (6-7 March 2013) on the topic of user experience and strategy at Cambridge Judge Business School.

1. Or why we changed our user strategy
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this…”
Georgina Cronin
User Experience Librarian
Cambridge Judge Business School

2. Why the
Star Wars theme ?
At work we kept
calling the
conference R2D2
so we ran with it

3. Overview of our Users
• High-fee paying
• High expectations
• Time-poor
• Competitive
• Confident
• Tech-savvy
• Demanding

4. Are we stereotyping?
• High-fee paying
• High expectations
• Time-poor
• Competitive
• Confident
• Tech-savvy
• Demanding
Some paying more than others, some
paying substantially less
UG students very low expectations
Varies between user groups
Not all. Exaggerated personality type
Perhaps more confident than most
students but again varies considerably
Not as many gadgets or as much
awareness as you’d imagine
Some users don’t use our services no
matter how hard we try

5. Designated Support Librarians (DSL)
UGMBA MFinEMBA MPhils PhD
MEG ANGE CLAUDIA NATASHA SARAH
Identify user group traits and assign each a designated support librarian...

6. Why DSL missed the
target...
• Some didn’t like a single
point of contact
• Some groups didn’t
notice the difference
• Too many emails
• Too generic
• It’s not their course
that defines them

7. Next: User Experience (UX)...
Apply UX principles/approach
• Usability
• Observation/Ethnography
• Service & Space Design
• Personas/User Types

8. Personas/User Types
Benefits
• Better understanding of
our users
• Visualising a concept
• Empathising with a real
experience
• Offering a framework
that can be updated to
suit new needs
Drawbacks
• Personas can be too
simplistic
• Creation of a stereotype
rather than a “real” person
• Over-reliance on theory
rather than IRL experience
• “Hidden” users can be
forgotten

9. values, beliefs and
priorities which
underpin our
UX strategy...
20

10. We represent the real face of the library
service…and must constantly act as its
(galactic) ambassadors
1

11. 99% of people still think we just
‘Stamp, Shelve and Shhhh’
We must seek to dispel these stereotypes!
2

12. We are living in ‘the age of the individual’ so we
must respond with a highly tailored service3

13. Our approach to customer service must
incorporate choice & flexibility…and sweets!4

14. Users expect greater personal control and
autonomy, so we must help them seize that5

15. Our users will try to find rogue droids themselves,
so when they do ask us for help
we must be as visible and approachable as possible
when they need help
6

16. We need to get better at selling a few planets
rather than the whole galaxy (far, far away)
7

17. We can learn a lot from tabloid newspapers,
in terms of content hooks, images and headlines8

18. We need to be present on each and every
communication platform, as all the individual
communities add up to our user base
9

19. We must offer seamless access to services wherever
our users are and whatever device they’re on10

20. We must target as much communication as we can
and avoid generic emails11

21. Broadcasting does not lead to engagement
We must promote our services regularly
through having conversations
12

22. We should continue to develop true awareness
of the real needs of our users rather than
assuming that we know what they need
13

23. When teaching our users, we must tell
stories in preference to delivering facts14

24. Hang out where our users are
and deliver services at the point of need15

25. Offering a responsive, agile service is key – it
creates expectation, but also engaged users16

26. ‘Embrace the informal’ – if we
dress too formally it promotes the impression
of barriers and discourages interaction
17

27. Our content should make an emotional connection
with our users to foster learning and prompt
them to think about us/engage with us more
18

28. We should always seek to innovate
and improve our service –
for the sake of our users and our reputation
19

29. We have an exciting opportunity to engage
with our users more effectively, and to earn
recognition and respect (maybe even gold medals?)
from our users and our employers
20

30. “Do... or
do not.
There is
no try”

31. Thank you!
Georgina Cronin
@senorcthulhu

32. Image credits
All Star Wars characters and images owned by Lucasfilm Ltd. No infringement is intended and images
are being used for educational purposes only. We will comply with any requests to remove content.
Other images:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4229524412/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/8601954407/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/3951143570/
NASA
Famous Monsters of Filmland
Fan Pop
Nokia
Art Streiber
Jeffrey Brown
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/3842546304/
Chris McVeigh
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/4354438814/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4333068306/
NASA/ESA