strategic ux for drupal projects
Post on 27-Jan-2015
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DRUPAL FOR DESIGNERSBringing Strategic UX to Drupal Projects
Dani Nordinfounder, the zen kitchen
• UX Designer and Strategist
• Specialize in design strategy, UX and prototyping for Drupal projects
• Author, Drupal for Designers series
Contact@danigrrldani@tzk-design.com
Lifecycle of a Drupal Project
Discovery• Understand the client’s specific functional needs• Get clear on the client’s marketing and business goals, and
how this project fits in• Get a handle on resource issues, time investment and other
practical considerations• Research the client’s competitive landscape and audience
UX/Architecture• Get an understanding of the site’s target users• Map out how users will flow through specific key tasks, and
what information needs to be there to support them• Find out what content exists for the current site, what needs
to be created, and how the content will be organized• Come up with a set of assumptions, and standards that will
govern the project as you move forward
Selling UX to your team• Back up arguments with success stories from similar orgs• Start with a smaller project/section of the site to build
credibility and show success of the approach• Find techniques that work with the team’s project style• Agile, Lean, Waterfall?
• Set reasonable expectations for deadlines, project flow, and what can actually be accomplished• Get major stakeholders on board early• Lead developers• Managers
UX TECHNIQUESFor Drupal projects
Market research• Assess competitive landscape• Look at competitors• Look at market segments/metrics• Key questions:• What makes your client different?• Who are its customer segments?• What marketing tacticsare currently in play? What has worked and
what hasn’t?
User interviews• Define 2-3 main user types• Set preliminary characteristics based on market research• Aim to interview 3 users of each type• Get client’s help in recruiting participants• Develop questions ahead of time for each type of user• Record interviews for later transcription/analysis• Timing: ½ hour for interview, ½ hour for notes, 2-4 hours
for thematic analysis (once interviews are complete)
PersonasUse for:• Understanding
primary user groups. • Prioritizing
content/functionality needs.
Include:• Typical tasks• Content areas of
interest• Reasons for visiting• Messaging priorities• “Pain” areasBuild from research, preferably 1-3 interviews in each category
Post-upsUse for:• Uncovering themes
from user research• “Sketching”
information architecture
Benefits:• Can be done
anywhere• Very quick to
create and update• Gives stakeholders an
opportunity to participate
Drawbacks:• Uses a lot of paper
Mind MapsUse for:• Uncovering themes
from user research• “Sketching”
information architecture and menu hierarchy
Benefits:• Very quick to
create and update• Helps to see the
whole pictureDrawbacks:• Requires special
software• Clients generally
don’t “get” them
Task FlowsUse for:• Explaining how a
user completes a given task
Benefits:• Helps frame the
design challenge• Helps inform design
& dev team’s processDrawbacks:• Requires special
software• Clients sometimes
don’t “get” them
WireframesUse for:• Establishing page-
level content & functional priorities
Benefits:• Can be sketched or
done in software (Axure, Balsamiq)
• Very familiar to most project teams
Drawbacks:• Often doesn’t take
real content into consideration
• Can be hard for stakeholders to visualize
Digital PrototypesUse for:• Showing stakeholders
how real content & functionality will flow
• User testing and iteration of designs
Benefits:• Can be used for
remote testing and feedback
• Saves time over prototyping in Drupal
Drawbacks:• Doesn’t produce
production-ready code
• Lack of visuals makes it hard to test color, emotion, etc.
PROTOTYPING
Prototyping: Two Approaches• Prototype complex functionality in Axure or similar product• Test task flows and assumptions with real users, and see where you
need adjustments• Avoid spending time on “production code” before you know whether
a given approach is the best option• Refine functional requirements and understand what needs to be
done to finish the project
• Start setting up initial Drupal architecture, and laying in content to see how it works in “the real world”
When to Prototype in Axure• When functionality is complex and time-consuming
to build in Drupal• When development will be done by others on the team,
or by another vendor• When functionality has not been defined yet, and
development tasks have not been defined
When to prototype in Drupal• When there’s a large amount of content to migrate
into Drupal• When complex content relationships are involved
(particularly using References, Views, etc.)• When you have stuff to build that’s already been defined
(content types, Views, etc.)
QUESTIONS?@danigrrl on Twitterdani@tzk-design.com
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