Later, Hansen backtracked and said Gap would not crowd source the logo, stating: “We’ve learned a lot in this process. And we are clear that we did not go about this in the right way. We recognize that we missed the opportunity to engage with the online community. This wasn’t the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing.
 There may be a time to evolve our logo, but if and when that time comes, we’ll handle it in a different way.”

Regardless of what this says about design, creativity and leadership, it’s an interesting development in the “community as mob decision-makers” phenomenon. Where will this lead the design community, particularly when the iconoclastic baby boomers move aside and make room for the networked, connected millennials? Will design become a lowest common denominator groupthink goulash, much as national political elections have become in recent years as a result of rapid response scientific polling and twitter literati (twitterati)?

I strongly believe in user research to understand how design is used by customers to acheive their goals. I have formulated co-creation design research protocols. But at the end of the day, designers need to be able to design solutions using what they know from experience and insight, taking into account the data they have at their fingertips. What kind of chair would a corporate committee design? Certainly not an Aeron. They don’t know how. They don’t understand the best way to achieve a desired result unless that is their metier. Design strategists need to assimilate the massive amount of feedback and data that’s available using recent tools, and then make bold, forward-looking decisions.

When conducting ethnographic studies, Usography researchers sketch out a map or diagram of the observed space, whether it is a store, an airport, or an area of a home. The most significant elements of the environment are represented either literally or conceptually. Flows that represent activities or processes are designated by arrows or other directional visual elements. The map can be a snapshot in time, but more typically interactions and physical paths are timed and represented as a holistic view over time. We usually include a few codes at the bottom of the interaction maps that indicate common types of behaviors or expressed emotions, such as consulting a salesperson (S) or acting frustrated (F).

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts

Interview outline:

-       Review the ReGIS design comps of key screens with participants

-       Ask participant to describe each of the elements on each page, and what they think each component does

-       Ask participant to describe the destination of the most important links on the page

-       Ask participant to mark up the page using a highlighter, specifically indicating with components should increase or decrease in prominence

-       List components that the participant considers as missing

Data to capture:

-       Marked up design comp

-       Identification of design elements that cause confusion

-       Notes about participant’s design preferences

-       Research assistant’s coding of participant reactions (see “coding” on page xxx)

Example Script:

Please take a look at this design for the start page of ReGIS. I would like to get your your feedback about this design. This design was not created by anyone in the room, or anyone from the Company for that matter, so nobody’s feelings will be hurt. Be as direct and opinionated as possible.

As we talk through this design, I’m going to ask you to mark it up to show your thoughts and opinions. To do that, please use these highlighters and this pen. When you see a type of information or tool that you would be likely to read or use, highlight it with the green highlighter. When you see a type of information or tool that you don’t understand what it means or how to use it, highlight it with the yellow highlighter. When you see a type of information or tool that you would not be likely to read or use, mark through it with the black marker.

Okay, now I would like to ask you to begin in the upper left hand corner, and describe what you see in each area of the page. Describe what you think it is for, and what you think will happen if you click it.

Probe regarding participant’s understanding of each design element on the page.

What is your understanding of how the “Bring It Now” feature works? What products do you think you would find there? Do you think there is an extra service charge to have these products delivered immediately? What do you think that service charge is? What do you think it should be?

What is your understanding of this element in the middle of the page (Coupons for on-site amenities)? How do you think it works? What will happen if you click one of these links?

Remind participant to describe what the expected outcome is of clicking each major link on the comp.

If participant omits component, ask question to make sure they can identify component when prompted.

Missing components

Now you’ve responded to the design elements on the page. Let’s talk about what’s not on the page, that you would like to see added in. You can review the ideal guest site you designed earlier or the lists of tasks we covered earlier in the interview if you want to.

What components would you like to add to the page?

For example: “How do you think community tools such as Locate Guest, Post Pics, or Post Video should be accommodated in this design, if at all? If they were included, how often would you use them?”

Specific outcomes of the design evaluation module include:

• Customer-generated requests for design modifications
• Opportunities for innovative design features and functionality
• Identification of interaction design elements that confuse customers

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts

To determine participant’s concept of the ideal Kiosk system for on-site booking of reservations and events.

1) Introduce list of 50 tasks used in card sort, to provide more raw material for participatory design exercise.

2) Provide blank wireframe with placeholders for header, navigation, portlets

3) Ask participant to design their own Home Page using their personal task list created above, and the list of 50 tasks provided

4) Probe regarding design elements

5) Offer possibilities based on previous comments if participant is stuck

Data to capture:

Wireframe sketch

Notes regarding optimal kiosk design

Script:

Introduce topic

In this exercise, I’d like to ask you to create the ideal Guest Kiosk Home Page. I’m not so much concerned about what everybody else would want on the Home Page. I’m concerned right now with what the ideal would be for you personally.

Before we start this exercise, I’d like to remind you of the tasks and content you’ve already mentioned. I’d also like to present you with a list of tasks have come up before, so that you can have plenty of raw material for doing this exercise. But again, we’re interested in what’s most useful and interesting for you.

Please take a moment to read through this list quickly, to jog your memory about things you would like to see represented at the very top of the kiosk Home Page.

Give participant time to review list and mark desired tasks.

This is a blank page, on which I’d like to ask you to draw your ideal kiosk home page. If you need more room, we can just make a notation on the front of the page, and continue that element or list on the back of the page.

First of all, what do you think the main sections you would like to see here at the top, or perhaps along the side?

What kinds of news or other content would you like to see spelled out here on the Home Page with a paragraph and perhaps a picture?

What kinds of links would you like to see?

What kinds of spotlights or highlights of content would you like to see here?

Would you want those to be just links, or part of the story as well?

What else would you like to place on the Home Page? Where would you place the search box? Do you want to be able to print this page? What about save this information for later viewing.

What kinds of functionality would you like to see on this page? How do you think it should work? Do you expect to have to sign in to use it?

Allow participant to fill in page. Probe as necessary using participant’s lists of tasks and content, as well as the pre-determined list of tasks.

Design review

Let’s talk about the page you’ve created, to make sure I understand what you’ve represented.

Review design, and ask for explanations as needed.

Conducting participatory design exercises is much easier than getting stakeholders to agree to the sessions in the first place. In participatory design exercises I’ve conducted, results showed a surprising consistency. Using the results of other research exercises I’ve described previously in this blog, I was able to pull the participants’ concepts together into a coherent screen design that emphasized the consensus elements. This doesn’t mean that we took the participants’ design consensus as our final solution, but it was compelling to the project sponsors, and our resulting design had substantial anchors to customer mental models that made it difficult for non-substantiated design “arguments” to pull us off track.

In the next post, I’ll give an example script for a participatory design exercise for a resort user experience.

Copyright 2009, Paul Bryan, Usography Corporation (http://www.usography.com)

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts