Observing the User Experience, 2nd Edition

Observing the User Experience, 2nd Edition

by Elizabeth Goodman, Mike Kuniavsky
Released September 2012
Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 9780123848703

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Book description

Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research aims to bridge the gap between what digital companies think they know about their users and the actual user experience. Individuals engaged in digital product and service development often fail to conduct user research. The book presents concepts and techniques to provide an understanding of how people experience products and services. The techniques are drawn from the worlds of human-computer interaction, marketing, and social sciences.

The book is organized into three parts. Part I discusses the benefits of end-user research and the ways it fits into the development of useful, desirable, and successful products. Part II presents techniques for understanding people’s needs, desires, and abilities. Part III explains the communication and application of research results. It suggests ways to sell companies and explains how user-centered design can make companies more efficient and profitable. This book is meant for people involved with their products’ user experience, including program managers, designers, marketing managers, information architects, programmers, consultants, and investors.

  • Explains how to create usable products that are still original, creative, and unique
  • A valuable resource for designers, developers, project managers - anyone in a position where their work comes in direct contact with the end user
  • Provides a real-world perspective on research and provides advice about how user research can be done cheaply, quickly and how results can be presented persuasively
  • Gives readers the tools and confidence to perform user research on their own designs and tune their software user experience to the unique needs of their product and its users

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. Biographies
  6. Preface
  7. PART I: Why Research Is Good and How It Fits into Product Development
    1. Chapter 1. Introduction
      1. Learning from LEGO
      2. In Conclusion
    2. Chapter 2. Do a Usability Test Now!
      1. A Nano-usability Test
      2. A Micro-usability Test
      3. What Did You Learn?
      4. What to Do Next
    3. Chapter 3. Balancing Needs through Iterative Development
      1. Success for End Users Is…
      2. Success for the Company Is…
      3. Success for Advertisers Is…
      4. A System of Balance: Iterative Development
      5. Where User Research Fits In
      6. Example: A Scheduling Service
  8. PART II: User Experience Research Techniques
    1. Chapter 4. Research Planning
      1. Setting Goals for Research
      2. Integrating Research and Action
      3. The Format of the Plan
      4. Budgets
      5. Example: Research Plan for Company X
      6. Maintenance
    2. Chapter 5. Competitive Research
      1. When Competitive Research Is Effective
      2. Competitive Research Methods
      3. Analyzing Competitive Research
      4. Example: A Quick Evaluation of Match.com
      5. Acting on Competitive Research
    3. Chapter 6. Universal Tools: Recruiting and Interviewing
      1. Recruiting
      2. Interviewing
    4. Chapter 7. Focus Groups
      1. When Focus Groups Are Appropriate
      2. How to Conduct Focus Groups
    5. Chapter 8. More Than Words: Object-Based Techniques
      1. When to Use Them
      2. Dialogic Techniques
      3. Writing the Script
      4. Generative Techniques: Making Things
      5. Associative Techniques: Card Sorting
    6. Chapter 9. Field Visits: Learning from Observation
      1. What Are Field Visits?
      2. How Are Field Visits Used?
      3. The Field Visit Process
      4. Note Taking
      5. Why Can’t You Just Ask People?
      6. Conclusion
    7. Chapter 10. Diary Studies
      1. When to Do a Diary Study
      2. How to Do a Diary Study
      3. Conclusion
    8. Chapter 11. Usability Tests
      1. When to Test
      2. How to Do It
      3. How to Analyze Usability Tests
      4. Anatomy of a Usability Test Report
      5. Appendix B
      6. Conclusion
    9. Chapter 12. Surveys
      1. When to Conduct Surveys
      2. How to Field a Survey
      3. How to Analyze Survey Responses
      4. Follow-up and Ongoing Research
    10. Chapter 13. Global and Cross-Cultural Research
      1. What Is Global and What Is Cross-Cultural?
      2. Research Planning
      3. Multilingual Research
      4. Recruiting
      5. Field Interviews and Observation
      6. Global and Cross-Cultural Surveys
      7. The Elephant in the Room
      8. Tactical Challenges for Implementing Research Plans
      9. Analyzing the Data
      10. Course Corrections
      11. Building Your Global Research Program
    11. Chapter 14. Others’ Hard Work: Published Information and Consultants
      1. Published Information
      2. Hiring Specialists
    12. Chapter 15. Analyzing Qualitative Data
      1. This Is Not a Fishing Trip
      2. An Ideal Process for Qualitative Analysis
      3. Coding with Paper
      4. Digital
      5. Mixing Digital and Paper Coding
      6. Typical Analysis Plans
      7. Conclusion
    13. Chapter 16. Automatically Gathered Information: Usage Data and Customer Feedback
      1. Usage Data
      2. Customer Feedback
      3. Explore the Data, Then Go Observe!
  9. PART III: Communicating Results
    1. Chapter 17. Research into Action: Representing Insights as Deliverables
      1. Choosing the Right Deliverables
      2. Representing People: Personas
      3. Representing Situations: Scenarios
      4. Representing Activities and Processes
      5. Representing Systems: Experience Models
      6. Putting It All Together
      7. A Final Warning
    2. Chapter 18. Reports, Presentations, and Workshops
      1. Informal Reporting
      2. Preparing and Presenting Formal Reports
      3. The Presentation
      4. The Workshop
      5. Extending the Reach of Research
      6. Conclusion
    3. Chapter 19. Creating a User-Centered Corporate Culture
      1. Work with the Current Process
      2. What If It’s Just Too Difficult?
      3. Following and Leading
  10. References
  11. Index

Product information

  • Title: Observing the User Experience, 2nd Edition
  • Author(s): Elizabeth Goodman, Mike Kuniavsky
  • Release date: September 2012
  • Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
  • ISBN: 9780123848703