book

UX for Business

by Joel Marsh

December 2023

Beginner to intermediate

360 pages

6h 49m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Will You Risk It?How Did We Get Here?“Everybody Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Face”—Mike TysonOK, Cut to the Chase: What’s the Secret?(How This Book Is Organized)Wait, Go Back. What Was That About Money?Why Should You Believe Anything I Write?
How Do You Know You’re Designing the Right Thing?UX Is a Process: Humans Are the ConstantUX Is a Process: Business Is Always DifferentThe VDP Framework for UX in Real Life
V = ValueUser Needs + Business Needs = ValueValue Is User First, Business Second, and Always BothOK, but Seriously, What Is a Business Model?Value for the User, Not Lingo for the UX People Efficiency: Do More with LessEntertainment: Good FeelingsValue for the Business: EfficiencyValue for the Business: How Does It Grow?Great. So, What Are You Making?Let the Business Model Guide YouValue Summary
“We Tried That; It Didn’t Work”Allow Me to Introduce Diagnostic DesignImagine a DoctorNow Imagine Like a DoctorTake a History: Context Is EverythingAsk Basic Questions First: Who, What, When, Where, WhyIdentify SymptomsHow Do Symptoms Change Over Time?Make a List of SymptomsFind Clusters of SymptomsFormulate the ProblemTest to Confirm (Ideally, with Real Users)Hypothesis + Positive Test Result = DiagnosisYou Are the Doctor; Your Designs Are the Patients Diagnostic Design Comes with a Lot of Big BenefitsDiagnostic Design Is Battle-TestedOn a Personal Note...Diagnostic Design, in Summary
Don’t Be Lucky; Be SmartAll Things Being Equal, What Will a User Click? Probability Intuition: You Can’t Do the Second Thing Before You Do the First ThingEffort and Time Both Work This WayIncentives (Motivations) Also Work This Way!“Yeah, but Who Would Do That?”UX Is a Numbers GameData + Understanding Probability = InsightsMore Users, More PredictableProbability Is How We OptimizeDesign Is Redesign: Your Second Try Is Often Luckier Than the FirstThere Is a Lifetime of Nuance to ThisProbabilistic Design, in Summary
Make It Work, Make It Right, Make It Scale Value, Diagnostics, and Probability Work Together
Most Advice Is Bad Advice
A Button Is One of the Simplest Things to Design. Or Is It?It’s Just a Button. How Hard Can It Be?Is a Button the Right Answer? Take a History: What Does This Button Do? Constructive Buttons Add ValueConstructive Buttons Need Higher ProbabilitySpecial Buttons: Constructive Buttons That Are Make-or-BreakDestructive Buttons Reduce ValueDestructive Buttons Need Lower ProbabilityAppropriate Friction Ethical Note
No Button Is an IslandConstructive and Special Modals Need Higher ProbabilityDestructive Modals Need Appropriate Friction

Let’s Combine a Few Design Clusters into a Whole PageTake a History: What Does This Page Do?Take a History: A Lead Generation PageTake a History: Pricing PageYou Know Too MuchPrioritize the Clicks You PreferScrolling Is NavigationProtip: Looking Versus SeeingIt Is Hard to Stop Scrolling!Visual HierarchyUse Visual Hierarchy to Control ProbabilityDesign Good ComparisonsBe Ethical When You’re Designing Choices
One Type of Information Architecture: A FlowConversionTake a History: What Is the Purpose of This Flow?Design Is a Two-Way ConversationA Flow Includes TimeDesign Each Flow for What It DoesOptional or Required? Get the Valuable Stuff First! How Familiar Are the Questions? Speed or Accuracy? Information or Conversions? How Necessary or Valuable Is It, for the User? Easier Steps or Fewer Steps? How Often Will the User Do This Flow? Are You Just Getting Input, or Are Users Making Choices? Is It Long? Are There Legal, Financial, or Security Risks? How Should We Measure a Flow?
Design Is RedesignReasons to Design More Than One Version of the Same ThingShould Everything Be Responsive? Consistency Isn’t Always a Good Thing (Functional Inconsistency)Brand Isn’t UXA/B Testing Is Science, Not Guessing
Another Type of Information Architecture: StructureBuild Structure Around Value, Not SemanticsProbability Should Define the StructureDon’t Stop Yet! Leaving Is Still an Option.Analytics: Diagnose Structures as a SystemA Three-Screen Banking AppWe Also Need SettingsDiagnosis: This Is an Efficiency AppProbability: Make It More EfficientAnother Structure: A Three-Page Portfolio SiteIs a Portfolio Efficiency or Entertainment?Diagnosis: Users Only See One Project?!Probability: Why Only That Project?Why Does a Loop Work?Little Loops Become Big at Scale
Let’s Start with an Ecommerce SiteUnderstand the Brand!Value 1: Browsing and Finding ProductsValue 2: Buying ProductsAim for PerfectionBe Quantitative and QualitativeThink About More Than One Visit Think in ComparisonsUse Probability to Sell More
Content Is the PurposeRevenue Without ConversionPage Views as a PriorityTime-per-Visit as a PriorityDiagnosis: Balancing User Value and Business ValueConflict: User Value Versus Business ValueAnother Conflict: Paywalls Versus AdsObserve Long-Term TrendsProbability: Your Best Content and Users
Most Real Products and Services Are Not SimpleWhen a Site Is Big, Structure Is Very ImportantWhat Should Be in the Main Menu?Information DensityPut the Business Value Near the User ValueDon’t Get That Backward!Navigate All the Things: Shortcuts Are PowerfulSearch, Menus, Scrolling, Dynamic Content...It’s All One Thing
Search Is Just a Sophisticated Menu—Or NotGoogle Is the Internet’s Main MenuBad Search Can Be Worse Than No SearchGood Search Can Add a Lot of ValueSearch Is Hard to Predict: Data Is Your FriendSearch Should Have a PurposeProbability: Order Things with Data
Too Much Agency Work Can Warp Your Sense of ValueBrand Value or Business Value?The Purposes Are DifferentThe Real Difference Is in the Inputs and Outputs
Real Competitive Advantages Are Long-Term
Complex Products and Services Are More Than the Sum of Their FeaturesSupply and Demand as ProductsMarketplaces Make Money in Specific WaysDiagnosis: How Do Users Look for Each Other?Diagnosis: What Percentage of Users Find a Match? Diagnosis: What Else Do Users Need to Make a Decision?Cheaters Gonna CheatProbability Kills a Lot of MarketplacesMarketplace Design Should Increase Probability, RadicallyProbability Is in the Nature of a Marketplace
What Is B2B?B2B Versus B2C Versus B2B2CB2B and B2C in General Welcome to Sales-Driven UX!Buyers Versus UsersWhat Are You Selling, Really? Design for What You Really Sell Self-Service Versus SalesWhat Does the Company Buy to Make What the Customers Buy?Revenue Models: How Customers Pay Is Make-or-BreakImpulse Purchase or Highly Considered Budget?Protip: Design Around Credit Card Limits
Users Are the Product Human Connection as a FeatureFree Things Can Make a Lot of Money...EventuallyWhat Are Network Effects, Really?Virality Multiplies All of Your Choices ExponentiallyA What-Not-to-Do Example: ClubhouseHow You Monetize Determines Your ProblemsSocial Incentives Are Powerful WeaponsDon’t Wave That Thing Around; It’s Loaded!Why Algorithms? The Probability of Content Creation and ConsumptionWhy Most Companies Kill Their Own Communities
Deep Game Design Is Beyond the Scope of This BookGames Are Entertainment, Not Efficiency Quantified Feelings: Games in a NutshellGamificationThe First Taste Is FreeDifficulty Is a FeatureMatch the Business Model to the Structure of the GameDiagnosis and Probability Depend on the Game
Captive Users Understand What Makes Money, Not Just User RequestsInternal Tools Should Increase Your CapacityAvoid the Temptation to Prioritize YourselfProtips: Reliable SymptomsData Without Significance: Not Enough Users
AI Is the New Black Think: New Speed, Not New KnowledgeData Doesn’t Always Mean AIData for What? Data Quality Is a UX Problem TooVisualizing DataControlling and Confirming Bias If You Aren’t Comfortable with Numbers, Don’t Take the JobUser Research About Data Is Data!Does Anybody Even Want the Truth?
What Is an “Ecosystem”? Probability Still Defines Structure!VDP Still Applies! Strategy: What Kind of Ecosystem Do You Need? Brand EcosystemEcosystem Value Can Be Very IndirectA Note About Strategy
“Your Process” Isn’t One Process. Be Flexible.Only Consider Solutions You Have Researched First Dogfooding: The Best Research Method Nobody UsesDogfooding Should Be Uncomfortable Don’t Pass the Buck
VDP Is a Great Way to Prioritize Your WorkThe Value of a FeatureV Then D Then P
Designing with No BudgetDesigning with a Huge BudgetDesigning with a Tight DeadlineDesigning with No Deadline Designing with Total Freedom Designing with Strict Limitations Designing with Painful Legacy Designing for Growth Versus Revenue Designing from Scratch
Value Creation Diagnostic Design Probability
It’s Not You, It’s Them (Probably) “How Do I Persuade Stakeholders?”You Don’t Have to Explain Everything “Choose the Hill You Want to Die On”
UX at Startups UX at Big Companies UX as a Team of OneUX in a Big Team UX at Regulated Companies UX at Public CompaniesUX for a Famous Brand
Why I Haven’t Focused on Documents in This Book Everybody Focuses on Documents!Some Quick Notes About Communicating with Documents
Everybody Can’t Do UXThe Benefits and Conflicts of Working TogetherUX Versus SalesUX Versus MarketingUX Versus ProductUX Versus Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)UX Versus DevelopersWhy Coders Love “Agile” and UX Designers Don’tUX Versus Customer SupportUX Versus UXUX Versus UIUX Versus Project ManagersUX Versus FinanceUX Versus Leadership
User Research in Real Life Your Biggest Results Will Come from Good ResearchI Often Start with Data, Not Users Why Complicated Methods Are Usually Worse The Exception: High Volumes of Users Accessibility Protip: Make Users Comfortable First Observation SurveysUser TasksUser InterviewsFocus Groups (and Why They Suck) Don’t Help Users Everybody Lies User Testing with External Services A/B Testing
We Are Human How to Convince Stakeholders: Another PerspectiveThe Right Thing Versus Your Favorite ThingMake Things Easier for Users, Not Yourself Discovery Versus ResearchResearch Theater Is Bad for Everyone Treat Causes, Not SymptomsYou Can Have Too Much Empathy “A Paying Customer Wants a Stupid Feature. What Should We Do?”Pragmatism Should Always WinNo Research and No Strategy = Random Decisions Design Like You Own the Place

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Preface

Will You Risk It?

Imagine you are sitting on a motorcycle looking up at a huge ramp. The crowd is waiting. The engine is roaring between your knees. You may or may not ruin your underwear. In a few seconds, everyone expects you to jump that motorcycle to the other side.

Congratulations on getting your first job as a stunt driver! You earned it!

After reading all the books, doing all the boot camps, watching all the YouTube videos, and changing your X (formerly known as Twitter) profile to Aspiring Stunt Driver, you’re finally here. But for some reason, now that you are here, you don’t feel ready.

The ramp is bigger than you imagined. The crowd is distracting. The motorcycle isn’t the one from the book, and everybody on your team has opinions about how you should drive it. The mechanics all wanted a lighter motorcycle, but the promoters wanted a louder motorcycle. You’re driving the motorcycle that was “good enough” for everyone in the planning meeting. As you stare at the ramp and start to panic, you look to your coach for help. He smiles and yells, “We have a schedule to keep; just jump! Don’t worry, the model we made says you should be fine!”

For some reason, that doesn’t make you feel any better.

Models won’t help you jump a real motorcycle any more than a user experience (UX) design course will help you solve real problems for real users. A model of UX work isn’t ...