“This Product Sucks!”Better Experiences, Better Business, Better World

25-Minute version for Centerville Rotary 12May2011

Darren Kall

darrenkall@kallconsulting.com

@darrenkall #thisproductsucks #Rotary

© Kall Consulting 2011

KALL ConsultingCustomer and User Experience Design and Strategy

“Thisproductsucks!”

Allen the Customer

• Stealing money from his company

• Ruining productivity across the enterprise

• Impacting Allen’s health

Allen was rightWe had made a product that sucks

• Target users happy, but we missed Allen• Missed the whole Allen persona• Missed that the product fit poorly in an existing business system

Allen’s User Experience (UX)

Where was this?

Where was this?

My point is . . .

It could have been any of these companies

It could be your company

Not just software, Internet, mobile, etc.

It could be your product

To avoid making products that suck:

Distinguish between bad UX and one that sucks

Know how to prevent products that suck

Audience Test:

Does this product suck?

Distinguish between bad UX and one that sucks

This product

is disturbing

but

does not suck

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This product

is broken

but

does not suck

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This product

is annoying

but

does not suck

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This product

is ugly

but

does not suck

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This product

is a lie

but

does not suck

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YES.

This product sucks

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The people who design products that suck

don’t think about, or don’t know about,

the people that have to use them

Products suck when

they can’t be used for the purposes

they were designed for

But this worst type of user experience breakdown is preventable

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One Dozen Products that Suck

No Internet or Mobile Examples Even Though they Exist

General Principles to Apply to your Product

Problem

Root Cause

Prevention

Know how to prevent products that suck

Problem 1: Triathlon scenario = running, biking, swimming

Watch is ruined if you press buttons underwater

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Root Cause: Implementation or technology did not meet up with user scenario

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Prevention:

•User scenarios

•Task flow analysis

•Usability test

•Beta test

•Customer concept validation

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Problem 2: Adaptive transmission not designed for a shared car or variable driving style

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Root Cause: Designed for ideal-world case not real-world case

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Prevention*:

•User research

•Workflow

•Task flow

•Activity cycles

•Beta test

* To credit VW, they redesigned and eventually dropped this feature

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Pull or Push? Can you tell?

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Problem 3:

Even with signs users bang into doors

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Root Cause:

Handle affordances not distinguishable

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Prevention: Design for affordances. Things that look the same should act the same

•Heuristic evaluation

•Usability checklist

•Remembering your own experiences

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Problem 4: Frustrating experience to pay for parking

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Root Cause:

Bad information architecture, bad visual design, bad task flow …

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Prevention: •Intentional IA design

•Task flow analysis

•Usability study

•Participatory Design

•Guerilla UX

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Problem 5: Scalding or freezing shower

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Root Cause: Fixing bad UI in help, the manual, or in training

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Prevention: Fix the product, not the user

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Problem 6:

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Root Cause:

•Did not anticipate expected user behavior

•Did not prevent fatal errors

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Prevention:

•Do not design against engrained user behaviors

•Usability test

•Task flow analysis

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Problem 7: Believing “Don’t worry, we’ll fix it later.”

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Root cause: “Later” never happens

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Prevention: Prioritize user-impacting “bugs”

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Problem 8: Breaking user trust

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Root cause:

•Telling lies

•Making mistakes

•Assuming customers can’t do math

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Prevention:

•Don’t lie

•Correct even minor mistakes – they accumulate

•Remember users are smarter than you think

Problem 9: The self-locking hotel internal bedroom suite door

Photo Credit: Darren Kall

Root Cause: Things are not used in a vacuum – missed system design

Photo Credit: Darren Kall

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Prevention:•Interactive system analysis•Beta testing•Fix stuff customers complain about

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Problem 10: No sidewalk where people want to walk

“I’m the user damn it!”

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Root Cause: Prohibition does not work

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•Prevention:

•Participatory design

•Catch the user

•Democratize design

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Problem 11: Can’t set alarm. Can’t follow directions. Don’t trust product

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Root Cause: Product not designed for use. Instruction is a poor substitute for good design

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Prevention: Usability test. Products should be easy to use

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Problem 12: Unintended Acceleration

Root Cause: “We lost sight of our customers.” James Lentz

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Root Cause: “Complaint investigations focused too narrowly on technical without considering HOW consumers USED their vehicles.” James Lentz

•Check if solution explains the user data

•70% not the pedal

•Test for worked “as used” not “as designed”

•Ethnographic research into drivers

•Analytics on real users to build test scenarios

•Listen to experts

• …

•Prevention: •Listen to customers

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UX design prevents products that suck:

1. Meet (advertised) user scenarios with capabilities2. Design for real-world use, not ideal-world3. Distinguish affordances 4. Design with conscious intention5. Fix the product, not the user6. Don’t design against engrained behaviors7. Prioritize user-impacting “bugs”8. Correct even minor mistakes9. Remember your product is part of a whole system10. Prohibition does not work – democratize design11. Products should be easy to use12. Don’t lose sight of HOW customers USE your product

Products don’t have to suck

to create a UX breakdown

A UX breakdown can happen if your

product is disturbing, unpredictable, difficult,

untrustworthy, awkward, broken, ugly,

annoying, sloppy, etc.

Customer-centered businesses have insights about the people who purchase and use the system, object, process or concept that they sell

And they keep this in mind as they develop products

UX design is a customer-centered approach to the innovation, design, engineering, development, anddeployment of a product or service

The 12 examples of products that suck could have been prevented if the companies had taken a UX approach

UX design is a way to keep customer insight in mind during product development

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Step 1: Do something yourself - today

Step 2: Learn more on your own

Step 3: Get a coach to teach you

Step 4: Rent UX help through vendors

Step 5: Hire UX employees

Step 6: If you already have UX people, use them!

The Six Step Program

to Better User Experience

In Conclusion:

Don’t tolerate products that suck

Don’t buy products that suck

And …

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Don’t

design

products

that

suckPhoto Credit

Darren Kall• darrenkall@kallconsulting.com• http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenkall• @darrenkall• +1 (937) 648-4966• http://www.slideshare.net/DarrenKall

Thank you.

KALL ConsultingCustomer and User Experience Design and Strategy

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darrenkall

Darren Kall• darrenkall@kallconsulting.com• http://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenkall• @darrenkall• +1 (937) 648-4966• http://www.slideshare.net/DarrenKall