rapid cross-channel prototyping workshop ias17

ASIS&T INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE SUMMIT 2017

RAPID CROSS-CHANNEL PROTOTYPING

Andreas @Resmini

Vancouver, March 23 2017

WELCOME!

we’ll work on a case and go step-by-step throughthe ins and outs of cross-channel experiences

here’s a little breakdown of our activities for today

STAGE #0 (40mins)

welcome, cross-channel and all that jazz

a quick introduction to the idea ofunbounded experiences and to our case

STAGE #1: PROBLEM SPACE (90mins)

identifying actors and actor groups,actor goals, activities, mapping individual paths

check, verify, discuss

STAGE #2: ECOSYSTEM DRAFT (90mins)

mapping the ecosystem: how-to, initial draft, iterationsLUNCH!

STAGE #3: MORE DIVERGENCE (30mins)

round-robin draft ecosystem critique

groups get to ask questions, comment, and critiquewhat the other group have been doing

STAGE #4: ASSESSMENT (60mins)

the ecosystem map is refined, challenges and opportunities are evaluated, a strategic plan laid out to respond to the initial goals

and to the actors’ experience

a specific touchpoint / artifact is singled out for intervention

STAGE #5: INTERVENTION (90mins)

from ecosystem to artifact. Groups formulate the design or redesign of the touchpoint / artifact and evaluate how it will

affect the ecosystem and the actors’ choices

presentations, reflections, discussion, wrap-up

LUNCHSTASTAGE #1 GE #2 STAGE #3 STAGE #4

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

TAKE-AWAYS #1

understand the logic and nature of cross-channel ecosystems

acquire an actor-centered view of experiences

TAKE-AWAYS #2

learn to identify and map actors, paths, touchpoints, and the seams between them into ecosystems

TAKE-AWAYS #3

learn how to create and use channels for systemic insights

TAKE-AWAYS #4

transform system-level information architecture into context- and touchpoint-specific insights for better user experience

TRADITIONALLY, DESIGN IMPLIES MAKING “THINGS”

the design tradition of “making” has its roots in the craft

making has been associated with “things” for a long time

THE DESIGN OF SOFTWARE INTERFACES

an initial challenge to the idea of “making things” comes along with software interfaces between the ‘70s and the ‘80s

interaction design produces “objects” that are not tangible

A SHIFT TOWARDS THE INTANGIBLE

through the years, intangibles have become the norm

design thinking and service design are an example of this shift, fields of practice and research that approach organizational

processes and services via a design mindset

STILL MAKING “THINGS”

regardless of (in)tangibility, all of these practices are still “traditional design” in the sense that they focus on producing an

“object””: it might be a UI, a service, a process for managing patients in a hospital, a chair. Still, it’s a clearly bounded “thing”

CROSS-CHANNEL ECOSYSTEMS IMPLY A NEW FOCUS

the design process here gets centered on “an experience”

this shift brings in emergence, complexity, uncertainty,and the necessity to move to a bird’s-eye, strategic view

it also brings whomever is having “an experience” center stage

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE

Uber is a service. Sure. But:

in the context of cross-channel design, Uber is a part of a larger ecosystem that is centered on personal transportation

to me, Uber is a piece of “going somewhere for some purpose”

THAT’S THE EXPERIENCE

unless you are plain interested in just riding Uber cars, that is

(hobbies are hobbies. Who am I to judge, right?)

THAT MEANS UBER DOES NOT OWN IT ALL

the experience itself is not owned nor it is fully managed or controlled by any single company or organization

NEITHER PRODUCT- NOR SERVICE-BOUNDED

the experience does not stop where “Uber the service” stops

Uber’s role also changes from completely marginalto absolutely central depending on my own ongoing experience

NEITHER DIGITAL NOR PHYSICAL, BUT BLENDED

a cross-channel ecosystem creates a blended actionable space that straddles across digital and physical environments

THAT BLENDED SPACE

is the ecosystem inside which a specific experience takes place

OK, BUT WHAT DO YOU MEAN, “AN EXPERIENCE”?

think “paying my taxes”. Or “going to the movies”. Or again “having the hamster vaccinated”. These are experiences

the way they happen, actors will go through them moving freely between locations, devices, products, and services

BUSKIOSK

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE: GOING TO THE MOVIES

GREEN LINE AND CIRCLES: AN ACTOR’S PATH DESCRIBING AN EXPERIENCE

WAIT AGAIN, “ACTORS”?

yes, actors. The people formerly known as the users.

a cross-channel ecosystem is an actor-driven construct, both in terms of its structure and its content

SO AN “ACTOR” GOES THROUGH “AN EXPERIENCE”

yes, and the systems of actors, tasks, touchpoints, seams, and channels in which this experience takes place is the

cross-channel ecosystem

the actual path that an actor walks is one of the many possible trajectories through that specific ecosystem

actors, agents within the ecosystem

youtube.com

all sorts of agents

actors pursue a future desired state

alphasys.com.au

tasks, any activity these agents perform

touchpoints, individual points

of interaction in a channel

seams, thresholds between touchpoints

and across channels

channels, pervasive ecosystem-level

information layers

and their relationships

ACTORS, TASKS, TOUCHPOINTS, SEAMS, AND CHANNELS?

these are the basic building blocks of any ecosystem

their precise nature is specific to an ecosystem and is defined pragmatically based on context and goals

OK. ACTORS FIRST

we know actors very well. If we consider human actors, they are the people formerly known as the users (TPFKATU)

the name change underlines their agency: they are the ones who effectively shape and create the ecosystem

software agents are or can be actors as well, of course

VERY WELL. TASKS THEN

tasks are all the activities actors perform in their pursuingany desired future state

buying a ticket to go see a movie, for example, or logging in to an online system to pay their taxes

tasks are usually coupled with progression through touchpoints

MH. TOUCHPOINTS?

touchpoints are individual points-of-interaction that become part of the ecosystem as actors connect them freely to move on

towards their desired future state

touchpoints are medium-specific (digital, physical, biological)

WAIT. IS MY PHONE A TOUCHPOINT THEN? OR THE APP?

both. Working with ecosystems implies adopting an architectural, systemic mindset and a zoom in/out approach

granularity cannot be discussed or set in abstract, but has to reflect the project’s needs and scope at that moment

seams are thresholds and connections

if you can move from touchpoint A to touchpoint X, those two are permeable and share a seam

seams allow the transmission and use ofcontent and information circulating in the ecosystem

SEAMS HAVE INTERESTING PROPERTIES

seams convey information, which is medium-aspecific,so they can connect touchpoints residing in different channels

and living in different mediums

seams can also of course connect touchpoints residing in totally different physical locations

OK, CHANNELS. NOW.

channels are a design construct. They do not really exist

the best way to imagine them is to think of pipescarrying information around the ecosystem

wherever you have a tap, you have a touchpointas much as taps live on pipes, touchpoints live on channels

PIPES? TAPS?

channels are pervasive layers that carry informationaround the ecosystem, like pipes carry water around

the way they are created is a design decision. They could reflect the formal sectioning of an EA model, be the result of the

designers’ own biases and interpretation, or anything in between

CHANNELS CONTAIN INFORMATION. AND?

that’s the catch. Channels are containers for specific “types” of information. These types can be compared to loose categories

for example, a going-to-the-movie ecosystem could have a “movie-related” channel. In there you would find IMDB, a kiosk

selling tickets, the website for the cinema, and staff

YES, BUT WHY ARE CHANNELS IMPORTANT?

because we are working with informationand our goal is to support better experiences

if staff at the movie theater doesn’t know about tickets or a kiosk malfunction (that is, they do not live on the same channel and have no seams between them), we can be pretty sure that

lack of connection will result in a bad experience

UH. AND THE ECOSYSTEM?

the ecosystem is the product of the ontology, the conceptual boundaries used to organize the experience itself

the ecosystem is a spatial structure in blended space, straddling non-continuous digital and physical environments

its boundaries are arbitrary and depend on goals and context

NON-LINEAR ECOSYSTEMS VS LINEAR EXPERIENCE

while the ecosystem itself is a non-linear network, actors trying to achieve a future desired state consider themselves moving along a personal, linear path of subsequent steps

even more importantly, their experience is a linear narrative

3 45 6

A PATH THROUGH THE ECOSYSTEM

GREEN LINE: ACTOR’S PATH THROUGH AN ECOSYSTEM COMPRISING 3 DIFFERENT SYSTEMS

THE ECOSYSTEM’S BACKBONE IS INFORMATION

actors constantly create, remediate, and use information

this information is transferred along the actor’s path and through the ecosystem, increasing its complexity

designing a successful cross-channel experience means optimizing the information flows and increasing resilience

STAGE #1: PROBLEM SPACE (90mins)

identifying actors and actor groups,actor goals, activities, mapping individual paths

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

OK, SO WHERE DO YOU START FROM?

pragmatically, from the formulation of an individual, organizational, or social need or pain

conceptually, from an actor’s experience

THE PRAGMATIC STARTING POINT

is an organizational pain.“We need to increase the rate of paid to free subscriptions”

“We need to improve our <x>”“We need to enter market <y>”

THE CONCEPTUAL STARTING POINT

is what the actors do, *their* experience.There is no ecosystem if there is no actor experiencing it

WAIT A SECOND, THAT’S NOT AN ANSWER

it is. While a certain project will be initiated because ofa social, organizational, or individual need or pain, that need or

pain is not what generates the ecosystem

that need or pain is a problem space within an ecosystemthat is usually, at project start, largely unknown

HERE YOU GO AGAIN. NEEDS AND PAINS?

yes. Needs or pains are usually the reason an investigation starts

examples of organizational pain are “not intercepting the actor’s path because they go to competitors”, “increase our paid-for vs

free customer ratio”, or “enter the online grocery market”

a social pain could be reduce traffic, or promote equality

NOT FOLLOWING. ONE MORE EXAMPLE? PLEASE?

sure. That’s what our case for today is for

suppose the chairs want to “make the summit great again”

this need or desire to improve the summit experience is the organizational pain that acts as the catalyst for design

WE HAVE AN INITIAL PROBLEM SPACE

what we need to know is who the actors are and what do they do and think

so let’s start stage #1 and have everyoneget on paper two different artifacts

INDIVIDUAL ARTIFACT #1

what is the summit for you?

(that is, what is your goal or goals?)

INDIVIDUAL ARTIFACT #2

describe your summit experience

(if this is your first time, describe what you’ve seen sofar or describe your experience at another conference)

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

STATE YOUR GOALSDESCRIBE YOUR JOURNEY

D. Willis, Intent Paths (2011) - https://www.flickr.com/photos/uxcrank/albums/72157626618631035

PRIMARY

SECONDARYTERTIARY

PRIMARY

SECONDARYTERTIARY

PERSONAL

LOCALREMOTE

phoneinfo

Accessing GMaps through phone Accessing local phone info Accessing AR through phone

Waiting for the bus at the bus stop: when does the bus arrive?

bus stop

person

phoneFacebook

bus stop

person

bus app

Facebook

bus driver

person

bus stop

phoneFacebook

bus app

GROUP ARTIFACT #1

we have hexagons, markers, stickers

let’s transform your goals and descriptions into paths

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

STATE YOUR GOALSDESCRIBE YOUR JOURNEYMAKE PATHS

STAGE #2: ECOSYSTEM DRAFT (90mins)

mapping the ecosystem: how-to, initial draft, iterationsLUNCH!

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

WE HAVE OUR INDIVIDUAL PATHS

now we need to merge them somehow andcreate an initial view of our current ecosystem

WE USE A SIMPLE VISUAL VOCABULARY

we turn each and every touchpoint in a circle andevery existing seam in a line, and give the seam a direction

BUSKIOSK

A NOTE ABOUT SEAMS

only attribute a direction you verified existsand is used in your descriptions

GROUP ARTIFACT #2

there’s more we can add to the mapbut let’s give this thing a go and learn while we do

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

ECOSYSTEM DRAFTCHANNELS DRAFT

GROUP ARTIFACT #3

let’s make the ecosystem map better

GROUP ARTIFACT #4

now the hard part: the channels

REMEMBER WHAT WE SAID

channels are a design construct. They do not really exist

the best way to imagine them is to think of pipescarrying information around the ecosystem

THEY ARE A DESIGN ARTIFACT

the way they are created is a design decision. They could reflect the formal sectioning of an EA model, be the result of the

designers’ own biases and interpretation, or anything in between

EXAMPLES

a going-to-the-movie ecosystem could have a “movie-related” channel containing IMDB, ticket kiosks, the website for the

cinema, and possibly staff

a conference experience could have an “official comm” channel

most times it’s possible to identify physical, biological, and digital primary channels. They are also not usually very useful

REMEMBER: CHANNELS ARE IMPORTANT

they allow us to visualize continuity or gaps in the information flows that actors totally miss or do not care about because they

do not possess an ecosystem-level view

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

ECOSYSTEM DRAFTCHANNELS DRAFT

ECOSYSTEM REFINEMENTCHANNELS REFINEMENT

STAGE #3: MORE DIVERGENCE (30mins)

round-robin draft ecosystem critique

groups get to ask questions, comment, and critiquewhat the other group have been doing

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

CRITIQUE

TAKE A LOOK, GIVE FEEDBACK

one group member remains to discuss, take notes, and explain

the other members move to another table to give feedback

we proceed until we complete a full rotation

USE THAT FEEDBACK TO REFINE YOUR MAP

iterate your map once more

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

CRITIQUEREFINEMENT

STAGE #4: ASSESSMENT (60mins)

the ecosystem map is refined, challenges and opportunities are evaluated, a strategic plan laid out to respond to the initial goals

and to the actors’ experience

a specific touchpoint / artifact is singled out for intervention

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

STAGE #5: INTERVENTION (90mins)

from ecosystem to artifact. Groups formulate the design or redesign of the touchpoint / artifact and evaluate how it will

affect the ecosystem and the actors’ choices

presentations, reflections, discussion, wrap-up

STAGE #5

STAGE #0

OVERVIEW

THANK YOU SO MUCH

please remember to fill in the evaluation forms and do get in touch if you have questions, doubts, or want to share your own

investigations. Ping me @resmini anytime

have a great summit!

rapid cross-channel prototyping workshop ias17

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