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What weight loss taught me about user adoption
1. Click to edit Master subtitle
style
Click to edit Master subtitle style
What losing weight reminded
me about SharePoint user
adoption
Virgil Carroll
president high monkey
2. about me
• From the great State of Alaska
• Certified Athletic Trainer
• Masters in Instructional Design (from UAB)
• User Experience Aficionado
• Been building websites since 1998
• Been building SharePoint since 2001
• Blog: http://monkeyblog.highmonkey.com
• Twitter: @vcmonkey
3. about high monkey
• Been around since 1998 (HMC name since 2004)
• Offices in Minnesota and Michigan
• Clients throughout the US and Canada
• Core Competencies
• Web and interface design
• SharePoint / CMS consulting
• User Experience
7. how users think
• The too-easy information seeking model
User asks
question
MAGIC
HAPPENS
User received
answer
8. Context
UsersContent
why users challenge us
• Every user has different experiences
and abilities to draw from
• Every user has different needs and
wants
• Every user learns at a different pace
and by different methods
9. why user adoption doesn’t succeed
• We never ask
• We never understand
• We never learn
• We never enjoy this
10. technology today is challenging for users
• Modern interfaces are trending toward sacrificing
user experience for ‘cool’ user patterns
• People are working to an older age – we cannot
discount their opinions
• Social is popular, but people cannot filter out the
‘noise’
13. there is no secret sauce
• For every project, gaining user acceptance
‘depends’ on a lot of variables
• Different organizations need to use different
methods to be successful
14. adoption cannot be an after thought
• You must have time to work on adoption activities
as part of every aspect of a project
• Set a timetable of adoption activities upfront in a
project plan
• Remember different projects may need different
adoption strategies
15. sample adoption timeline
• 6 months before project rollout
• Identify adoption strategy
• Communicate initial project goals and
timeline
• 3 months before project rollout
• Start communicating specific features
and phases
• Advertise training opportunities
• Project status
• 1 month before project rollout
• Present project sneak peak
• Start communication campaign
• Begin power user training
• 1 week before project rollout
• Full communication campaign rollout
• End user training / information
sessions
• Community site set-up
• Rollout
• Continue communication campaign
• Rollout support channels
• Create moderated Q & A forums
• Continue training
• Post launch
• Communicate out project success /
challenges
16. changing behaviors is the hardest
• People have their own reasons for wanting things
• Changing behaviors is a constant process
• People need a ‘reason’ to adopt
• Quick change is ok as long as you understand what
you are getting yourself into
• Just because you changed doesn’t mean anyone
will believe you
18. be realistic with your goals
• Pay attention to what features will ‘truly’ benefit
users
• Phase in a project to roll out features to users at a
manageable pace
19. major projects may need to go on a diet
• Big systems tend to be over designed
• What you thought you heard from user
requirements usually changes after launch
• The rule of thirds (Microsoft Word)
20. sometimes cheating is ‘ok’
• There are a lot of good ideas that have worked for
others
• Make sure to use ideas but still understand your
own user’s needs
• Focus on good user interactions
24. vary communication avenues
• Tailor communication to unique audiences
• Continually enforce need for change
• Use multiple channels
• Social strategy
• Email campaigns
• In-person sessions (lunch-n-learn) / webinars
• Knowledge centers
• Project status updates
26. learning is a life long endeavor
• Every project comes with new needs and
understanding
• Put together a training plan that makes sense
• Train the ‘why’ not just the ‘how’
• Get users involved
27. solid training ideas
• Create a learning hub
• Community sites /
build your
grapevine
• Share real life
case studies
• Just-in-time training
• Technical skills =
business skills
29. track, track, track
• Track your successes
and failures to
improve your next
project
• Share your progress
• Publish lessons
learned
30. increased success = increase effort
• After successful roll out of a project, you must
continue to improve and refine your adoption
practices
• Once expectations have been set, they will be
greater next time
31. not everything is a win
• You will never please everyone
• Sometimes something you try does not work
32. summary
• Set expectations up front
• Plan your user adoption activities early
• Communicate your project to the world
• Educate
• Improve and refine after each success / failure
34. SharePoint 2010 vs 2013
• Performed a heuristic usability test on both SharePoint
2010 and 2013 team site OOTB template
• Both end user and administrative tasks
• Shows usability issues and challenges
http://monkeyblog.highmonkey.com
35. 101 SharePoint usability tips
For more usability tips, check out my blog series
• 101 usability tips recorded over 101 days around
SharePoint 2010
• Covering design/layout, navigation, content
management, forms and more!
http://monkeyblog.highmonkey.com
Mobile: http://www.lowmonkey.com
