The early phases of UX: Why they are important (more than evaluation), and what they are? Timo Jokela Joticon Oy and Aalto University Helsinki, Finland timo.jokela@gmail.com ABSTRACT is needed for redesign and possibly for many sets of Evaluation is a key activity in developing high level UX. iterative design – evaluate cycles. This paper argues, however, that the early phases form the basis for UX, and evaluation should be seen only as a Further, as Cooper (Cooper, 2003) argues, evaluation is supportive role in ensuring UX. Four (4) main early useful for correcting small problems. If major design activities are identified and their challenges briefly problems are found, their redesign is always a big discussed. challenge. If the product has ambitious UX targets, the less effective INTRODUCTION evaluation-driven development will be. The author argues Good user experience (UX) and usability are key factors for that in-depth ‘thinking’ is needed for the generation of successful products and systems. design solutions with high level UX. Evaluations reveal For developing good UX and usability, a general paradigm which design solutions work and which do not; but ‘user-centered design’ (or ‘human-centered design’) is evaluations are not ‘design solution generators’. being established over the last few years. A well-known Overall, it is more effective if the design solutions would be reference is ISO 9241-210 (ISO/IEC, 2010). of ‘good quality’ before any UX evaluation is started. This ISO 9241-210 identifies four main activities: (1) would lead to less need for changes and redesign during understanding and defining the context of use, (2) evaluation. specifying the user requirements, (3) producing design Well-thought and elaborated design solutions reduce the solutions, and (4) evaluating the design. These activities are need for redesign. But how one can achieve high-level of general nature, and more or less included in other models design solutions, before evaluation? In the following, key of UX development. activities are identified. Much of the research and pragmatic work around UX – and also usability – is around the evaluation activity (for KEY PRE-EVALUATION ACTIVITIES OF UX example this workshop). Although evaluation important, What should then be done, to produce design solutions of this paper argues that there are several reasons why the good quality form the beginning, before any UX earlier activities are probably even more critical for evaluation? successful UX. In the following, four interrelated early activities are Four such early UX activities are identified, and there identified that can, and should be done. But each of them is challenges briefly discussed. challenging. EVALUATION IS ALWAYS A LATE, REACTIVE ACTIVITY 1. Defining the desired business impact of UX Before any evaluation can be made, some design solutions This is a key, fundamental activity. Before any project need to be produced. Moreover, the design solutions need starts, one should define what do we want to achieve with typically be developed to be ‘working ones’ in the sense good UX in the first place? What is the desired business that a user can try to use them. impact of UX? The only way to make evaluation effective is to make This is a business issue, and is dependent on the specific changes to the design solutions, based on the results of the business context of the product/ system. The desired UX evaluation. impact should be defined in a measurable way. Making changes to design solutions is always a reactive As an example, in one of the author’s projects, a desired activity where resources are needed. The more and bigger usability impact was defined as to reduce 90% of users’ problems are found in the design solutions, the more work support calls, compared with the old system. The author argues that similar impact targets should be have limited budgets and tight time scales). If the UX defined for UX, too. As said, this activity is very much targets are ambitious, the design team knows from the business related: the appropriate impact measures and target beginning that ‘any design’ would not be acceptable. values are business related and a business decision. For measurable UX targets, one needs to define what is the This is an important activity for guiding and resourcing UX measure, what is the measuring instrument, and what is the work. The more important UX is for business, the more target value. For example, a measure may be a SUS resources one can be expect from the business management (System Usability Scale (Brooke, 1986)). Measuring for UX work. instrument defines how SUS evaluation is exactly conducted (e.g. with how many and what kind of users, and 2. Understanding the system’s and users’ world in what kind of context). The target value defines the Understanding users’ world is a well-known activity. It is desired level of UX, e.g. the target may be ‘90’ of the called the definition of context of use in ISO 9241-210: average SUS results. know users’ goals, tasks and environments of use. Well- known techniques for understanding user’s world (work) A key challenge here is: how to define the appropriate UX are interviews and contextual inquiry (Holzblatt, 1993). measures and target values? This is naturally an important activity. 4. Designing high-quality design solutions The author introduces another, complementary activity: This is the ultimate and decisive activity. The designers defining system’s world. This is even a more profound one need to transform their in-depth knowledge of users’ world to be defined. System’s world is about defining what is to (activity 2) into design solutions that meet the UX targets be built. (activity 3). The background for this activity is the author’s experience This is obviously dependent on the designers’ talents, in consulting work. When joining system development creativity and knowledge of HCI. But at more detailed projects and trying to understand ‘what system’ is to be level, the big question is, how to do this? How to transfer a built, the case is always that no one in the project team can UX target such as “the average SUS score must be at least explain it in a systematic and analytical manner. Not even 90” into a design solution? persons who have worked in the domain for many years. The “trial and error” – i.e. design and evaluate with users - The author argues – although has not done literature studies approach might work. But the author has a hypothesis – but or such – that this important activity is not generally no evidence - that in-depth ‘thinking’ when creating the recognized. In this paper, the author does not give a more design solutions before evaluations, is required as a basis. elaborated definition for what is ‘system’s world’ – because the author does not have it. The author has experience on IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH carrying out this activity and modeling the results (system’s The author’s understanding is that these four activities are world), with absolute excellent customer feedback. But remarkably less in the focus in UX research than UX when asking the customers to describe, “what did we evaluation. exactly produce”, they cannot find any name or term to The author has some experience and solutions for these describe it. activities in cases where usability has been in the It is obvious that the designers need to understand ‘what is development focus. The challenge is not easy, and for to be developed’ to be able to produce good design developing good UX the challenge may be even more solutions. If this knowledge is weak, it is likely that the demanding. design solutions include (major) problems. The activity 2 – understanding the system’s and users’ world – probably is quite the same, no matter whether 3. Defining measurable UX targets and giving incentives for achieving them usability or UX is the design focus. But defining valid This activity is to define ‘how good UX’ we want to measures for the UX business case, and valid measurable achieve. This activity transforms the desired UX business UX targets may be very challenging. impact and the understanding of users’ and system’s world In summary, the author proposes that following activities into concrete, measurable UX design targets. are key ones for designing good UX, and more research is Further, it is useful if the design team gets some incentives needed for how to do these in an effective and efficient for achieving the defined UX targets. The more challenging way: the targets are, the higher incentives the business 1. How to define the desired business impact of UX? management should consider. 2. How to get an understanding on the system’s and The usefulness of UX targets with incentives is that the users’ world? targets drive the design team for good solutions from the very beginning of the project (project teams anyway always 3. How to define UX targets for design? 4. How to transform this knowledge into design Holzblatt, K. (1993). Contextual Inquiry: A Participatory solutions? Technique for System Design. In D. Schuler & A. Namioka (Eds.), Participatory Design: Principles REFERENCES and Practices. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISO/IEC. (2010). 9241-210 Human-Centred Design Brooke, J. (1986). SUS - A “quick and dirty” usability Processes for Interactive Systems. ISO/IEC 9241- scale. Digital Equipment Co. Ltd. 210: 2010 (E). Cooper, A. (2003). About Face 2.0: The Essentials of Interaction Design. Wiley.