A presentation for Silicon Beach Fest Pasadena at Idealab deconstructing what UX is, how to apply it and why Startups will benefit from investing in UX strategy. Includes a case study on Dollar Shave Club. Presented by Jon Fox, Petra Cesario Wennberg, Kristen Ding and Erik Wingren Follow @NELAUX on Twitter

1. WHAT IS UX?

2. UX is a design approach that
focuses on creating the best
experience for the end user.

3. UX IS…
Usability
A/B Testing
Research
Requirements
Focus Groups
Prototype
Simplification
CSS
GUI
Wireframes
Performance
Iterate
User Experience
HTML 5
Mobile
Interaction Design
Typography
Marketing
Design
Process Flows
Information Design

4. COMPONENTS OF UX DESIGN
• Process Flow Diagrams
• Information Architecture
• Wireframes
• Interaction Design
• Copy Writing / Content Strategy
• Data, Information and Layout Design
• Visual Design and Color
• Document Management for easy
iterating
• Research
• Market Understanding
• Business Requirements
• Technology
• Sell ROI
• Social Media
• Global Understanding
• Mobile and Device Knowledge

5. UX IS…
1. Psychology - Understanding the user
2. Engineering - Technology Involved
3. Business Knowledge - Objectives
4. Science - Experimentation and Testing
5. Design - Layout, Typography, Visual Hierarchy

6. GOOD UX IS INVISIBLE
• People don’t use a product because
of the great design.
Great design helps them use the
product.
• Don’t make user think.
Have them do.
• Challenge for designers:
How do you put together a portfolio
of invisible stuff?

7. GOOD UX IS INNOVATIVE

8. GOOD UX SOLVES PROBLEMS

9. GOOD UX IS SIMPLE

10. WHY DO STARTUPS NEED UX?
1. Reduce Risk
2. Validate ideas
3. Understand the user base
4. Bridge Engineering, Design, Marketing and More
5. Streamline the experience
6. Simplify the message
7. Test

11. WHY DO STARTUPS NEED UX?
UX is about all the areas where a product engages a consumer.
• Product Design
• Engineering
• Branding
• Marketing
• Customer Service
• Social Media

12. WHY DO STARTUPS NEED UX?

13. STARTUPS WITH DESIGNER CO-FOUNDERS

14. WHERE TO START

15. UX VALIDATION LOOP
1. IDEATE
Generative research, ideation,
mental & behavioral models,
concept maps, test results,
competitive analysis, Personas
2. DESIGN
Hypotheses, Sketches, Flows,
Wireframes, mockups,
Prototype
3. VALIDATE
Evaluative research, A/B testing, site
analytics, usability testing, interviews,
funnel analysis, surveys
PRODUCT/MARKET FIT

16. IDEATION
• Identify Business Vision, Requirements and Goals
• Engage in Conversation
– Get out of the building
– Focus groups and customer interviews
• Get Competitive and Market Analysis
– Is this a high-value problem and will people pay for the product?
– Who are the market stakeholders?
• Use Validated Learning from Previous Rounds of Testing
• Develop Intuitive Conceptual Models
• Create Personas (based on research)
– Who is it for and how/where will they use the product?
– What can they do that wasn’t possible before?

17. DESIGN
1. Sketch / White board sessions
2. Brand Development
3. Site maps & Flow diagrams
4. Wireframes w/ Annotations
5. UI / Visual Design

20. WIREFRAMES

23. VALIDATE
1. Stats
2. User Feedback (social media is great)
3. Focus Groups
4. User Testing

24. DOLLAR SHAVE CLUB
Case Study

26. USER NEEDS
1. Value
2. Quality
3. Convenience

27. E-COMMERCE BUSINESS OBJECTIVES
1. Lifetime Customer Value
Repeat
Purchases
Transaction Now or Later?

28. TRADITIONAL E-COMMERCE FUNNEL
1. Home
2. Browse / Search
3. Detail
‣ Reviews
4. Add to Cart
5. Checkout
6. Registration
7. Payment Method
8. Confirmation
9. Repeat Visit
10. Repeat Purchase

29. SUBSCRIPTION E-COMMERCE FUNNEL
1. Home
2. Quiz
3. Registration (Social OAuth)
4. Payment Method
5. Confirmation (Share & Earn)

30. FLOWS
Reviews
Home
Browse
Search
Detail Add to Cart Checkout Registration Credit Card Confirmation Repeat Visit Repeat Purchase
Traditional E-Commerce
Home
Register
to see result
Credit Card
Confirmation
(Share & Earn)QuizQuizQuizQuiz
Beachmint et.al
Home Select Register Credit Card
Confirmation
(Share & Earn)
Dollar Shave Club

31. 31

37. RESULT
• $1M seed round raised.
• 10.5M plays, 96k likes, 52k retweets, 27k followers.
• $9.8M series A raised.
• International expansion.
• New product lines.

38. TAKE AWAY
• Good UX starts with user needs.
• Good UX can offset, but not make up for poor
quality/value.
• UX methodology can help re-think (re-
sequence) established business processes.
• Details matters. Lean is NOT an excuse for
releasing crap.

39. SAY HELLO
Jon Fox — @JonFoxUX, jonfoxux.com
Petra Wennberg Cesario — @petrawcesario, interactivism.com
Erik Wingren — @erikwingren, interactivism.com
Kristen Ding — @kyding, idealab.com
@NELAUX