In a user experience design (UXD) process, ease of usability is crucial for your product to succeed. The problem is, sometimes you are so deeply involved in your design that it seems simple to you, and you wonder how users could possibly struggle with it. Chances are, even if you can’t see them yourself, there might be a few serious usability issues that could act as real barriers and stop people from loving what you have produced. ‘Maybe so’, you say, ‘but how do I get started in finding and fixing the issues, and won’t it be horribly difficult and expensive?’

Help is at hand! Actually, the earlier you are in the project the better — even if it’s just a scribble on a whiteboard. And if you have nearly finished the concept then there are still plenty of options to give the project the polish it needs to make it stand out with a better design.

Here are 3 ways you can ensure your product is a joy to use…

1) Concept Review and Feedback: the usability health check

• Prioritize your feature set – In almost every case you will find that you can cut down on the number of features quite significantly while still providing the essentials for your users. Don’t spend your time coding and testing features that won’t get used!
• Keep it concise – Narrow down the scope, and make sure you aren’t incorporating unnecessary steps. Understand the user goals and make it easy for the users to accomplish them. Make sure you have a solid, high-level concept for the user experience.

NOTE: if budget allows, invest in one or two short sessions with a user experience designer or a usability expert – this could be one of the most valuable investments you can make. A good consultant will help you plan the design process and will work with you to create a tighter strategy and provide an expert review and feedback on potential issues.

2) Low Fidelity Prototyping: involve real users

In some cases, low fidelity prototypes work better for some types of feedback than fully functional prototypes because a quick session with an actual user and a deck of printed pages will bring you back to your main goals of the design and draw you away from building your own assumptions into the design. Lo-fi prototyping can be used when:

• There are a few different options for implementing something and you aren’t sure which way to go
• There are disagreements in the product team about which design direction will work better
• You are designing something innovative and want to road test your early design concepts

NOTE: at this stage, the visual design does not matter. Don’t worry about the actual representation of the final product or design, the important thing is to keep it basic because your main goal should be to test the user experience with real people who are likely to use the system in their own lives. A paper prototype could be the perfect method for testing at this stage

3) Iterative Design and Testing: gather rapid feedback from start to finish

Identify a problem; make a design update to fix the problem; test the fixes; and repeat. This approach involves finding obvious issues and fixing them. In each progressive test you find fewer and fewer problems until you’re left with a more solid product from a usability point of view.

• Stay away from opinion-based design – Remember not to rely on opinions or be too heavily influenced by individual users or else your end result will be sorely biased. There is a very delicate balance between making changes rapidly to improve the design and making changes rapidly to satisfy one user.
• Don’t be afraid of making change, just be critical of the changes – Because this process is rapid, you may find that in the first few test cycles you’re making lots and lots of changes. In later cycles the design settles down, changes become smaller, and the overall confidence grows that the design has been optimized.
• Remember that testing should occur at various stages of the project – In the early stages you will be optimizing the task flow and high level user interaction, then in later stages you’ll be working on the visual design, copy and messaging. Things like visual design and messaging actually work very closely with the interaction design because it’s ultimately how your end user will interact with and remember your application. Think of each stage of the process as having a layered effect on the final design and overall user experience so make sure you test, test, test. (Don’t wait until visual design phase to test because you might get caught up in fixing the visuals rather than getting at the root of the problem, which is most likely going to be a usability issue.)

It takes practice to know when a change is warranted, but getting in the habit of iterative testing and design is good because you finish with an updated design that has been tested and shown to work, rather than a list of problems and recommendations that you have to go away to wrestle with and figure out.

NOTE: use tools that are easy to make changes with. The last thing you want is a cumbersome wireframe document where it is difficult to make those quick updates to test with.

After you have worked out the kinks and determined that your interactions are sound, you may decide that you want to go through a more rigorous approach to testing by conducting a formal validation test. This often occurs in a usability lab with video cameras and one-way mirrors. Make sure that you’re not using this method as a way to find usability issues because it’s time consuming and costly. Formal validation testing should only occur when major usability issues have already been identified and corrected. Correct use of formal validation testing is to demonstrate that you already have a usable product, and to catch any minor issues in order to give it that final polish.

If you are designing a product and you want it to succeed, improving the user experience is one of the most effective investments of time and effort that you can make. Time and resources invested in prototyping and testing repays itself over and over again. If you are on a really tight budget and want to save money, the best way to do it is to include quick usability testing as early as you possibly can — a tiny investment in the early days will be much more effective than a large investment later on.

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This article was co-written with Melanie Walls, Human Factors at Work. For more information about usability testing visit: www.human-factors-at-work.com Got questions about user experience design? Contact us at Pivot to see how we can help you with an Expert Review.

How Can you Think About a Solution if you Can’t See the Problem?

Worse still, how can you improve a service and user experience if you don’t know how to read the information? How can you embrace your frontline staff to help your overall business service experience grow into something relevant and meaningful?

Now more than ever there are tools and processes that can help us work creatively and as a collective to understand the problem(s) at hand. Using today’s immersive and collaborative tools we can discover new opportunities to bring value to business through cost savings, sustainable product lifecycle, energy reduction, and ultimately creativity and innovation. Many organizations are already onboard with the idea that collaborative thinking is integral to the creative thinking process. But at the same time, businesses are faced with the monumental task of grappling with more data than they know how to manage. All too often, they’re convinced that more data is better when in fact quality and relevance of data should place higher than sheer volume.

Using People to Manage Information Overload

In the business world, where data and feedback reigns supreme, customer engagement has taken on an entirely new meaning. Let’s visualize the collaborative problem solving process in the most basic of terms: picture a sea of Post-its and whiteboards as a connect-the-dots puzzle of potential solutions and variables to the problem at hand. Now add a group of stakeholders working to organize those disparate pieces of information into the optimal solution in an efficient way. What a mess.

Data has become the de facto Post-it Note and with that comes the challenge of how to take the data and the tools that exist and leverage them to evolve the service experience into something relevant and meaningful to both the customer and the business.

Improving a service experience today is about allowing your organization to adapt and respond to real-time data and audience feedback. Today, businesses have the ability to capture data and feedback and respond within minutes or hours versus the weeks or months it used to take. However, with this capability comes complexity — complexity in finding consistency of brand, variation in message, and ultimately business value and ROI. The challenge lies in finding ways to synthesize and present data in a meaningful way that is easy to digest so that it can aid organizations to act (not just react) strategically.

Kaizen: A Philosophy for a Better Service Experience

This isn’t the first time we’ve witnessed a monumental shift in participatory thinking. More than 50 years ago a man named Taiichi Ohno was inspired visiting American self-serve supermarkets. He developed the Toyota Production System (TPS) or Toyota Management System (TMS) – later coined “Lean Manufacturing” in the US. This system was built on the Kaizen philosophy, which is about making “continuous and incremental improvements”. Kaizen helped pave the way for Toyota to become one of the most consistently profitable automobile companies in the world.

One of the more amazing outcomes of this process was the way it allowed management and workers to quickly identify a problem, notify others of the issue, and actually fix the problem without having to go through lengthy approval processes. Toyota recognized the need for frontline personnel to deal with unpredictable outcomes and change the current workflows in order to bring efficiency back into production lines. That meant informing workers of the new Kaizen-based system and in turn, empowering them with the process to allow them to make decisions and effect change in real time.

“Why not make the work easier and more interesting so that people do not have to sweat? The Toyota style is not to create results by working hard. It is a system that says there is no limit to people’s creativity. People don’t go to Toyota to ‘work’ they go there to ‘think’” – Taichi Ohno

Ways to Begin Improving your Service Experience

In the world of Interaction Design and User Experience Design (UXD) the same principles can be applied to the improvement of a service delivery. But first, business leaders need to be asking themselves certain questions:

• Are we allowing our people to participate?
• Are they allowed to reflect back to the business what they have heard or perceived in their day-to-day communications with customers/processes?
• Do we have tools that can aggregate, analyze and visualize data in a meaningful way?
• Can we develop quantitative and qualitative processes that work to our advantage?
• Can we create performance-based relationships based on the data collected?
• How can we add more value through participation?
• How can these methods help reduce waste and find efficiencies?

Over the last few years many cloud-based tools have surfaced using the Kaizen thinking methods. These tools help groups collaborate more effectively towards solutions and understanding. (e.g. Flow Kaizen)

Amazon has been using a Kaizen thinking process for many years to collaboratively evolve the efficiencies of their service experience and to increase cost savings in their delivery of services. Recently they’ve introduced a process that also involves service sustainability and is focused on reducing environmental impact while remaining profitable. Here’s what came out of that process:

• In the U.S. they reduced fuel consumption by reconfiguring their trucks to fit 20% more containers.
• In Wales, they introduced larger skylights and motion sensors to more effectively light their factory.
• In Japan, they created a visual guide that shows employees how to power down the conveyor belts when not in use.
• In China, they reengineered their warehousing process to ensure their packaging was fully recycled.

All of these efforts, though implemented on a local scale, are monumental at the global level if you consider the costs and savings to the business.

Trust in your People

These examples prove that allowing stakeholders within the organization to make decisions helps organizations to adapt quickly and survive. But doing this requires a certain amount of trust in your frontline.

So if in doubt, think about this: Toyota became one of the most successful businesses in the world because they figured out how to respond to real-time situations. With the availability of data, feedback and analytics capabilities, the collaboration process has taken on infinitely greater dimensions. You can improve your business by rethinking the way you do things as an organization, trust in your frontline people and adapt as you see change happening, rather than getting caught up in trying to predict outcomes that may or may not occur.

As in the Post-it example, it’s just a matter of getting the right information in the right order to unearth relevant patterns, read the signs and use that information to transform your business. In order to make positive change and business improvements we need to move from static representations of business to a more dynamic, two–way conversation with our audiences and employees and ultimately build better service experiences.

“If you are going to do Kaizen continuously… you’ve got to assume that things are a mess. Too many people just assume that things are all right the way they are.  Aren’t you guys convinced that the way you’re doing things is the right way? That’s no way to get anything done. Kaizen is about changing the way things are.  If you assume that things are all right the way they are, you can’t do kaizen. So change something!”

Tachii Ohno

To kick-off our DesignMeets this year we’re working with IABC Ottawa again!

What design objects have shaped how we view the world today? Does modern-day design improve our daily lives or hinder it? How concerned should we be about sustainability? And how will social media and digital technology affect the next decade?

Be there in Ottawa on March 21st to participate in the discussion and hear speakers from different design disciplines share their perspectives on “Decades of Design – taking risks, making change, building futures”. Speakers will follow the 5-ideas, 5-slides in 5-minutes format.

Find out more and RSVP here.

Within this basic formula, it was usually the tool used to facilitate the meeting that provided the most insights about the meeting. The tool can reflect the culture, time period, social status, and any number of other things. From collaboration contraptions to time-keeping devices, from long-distance gadgets to simple note-taking utensils, we compiled the increasingly changing landscape of today’s meeting tools into groupings to better understand what’s out there.

We realized that in a world rich in social media and communication technologies, it’s not unusual to collaborate, conduct meetings, and have discussions with others without ever meeting in person. So, we conducted a survey last year amongst participants in Southern Ontario, aged 18 and up, to find out if there was a definitive preferred tool or method that people use to meet. As you can imagine we had varying responses, but check out some of our findings…

In spite of a multitude of tools available, 70% of participants still preferred to meet face-to-face instead of by email, phone or using other online tools or methods.

When participants were asked what social network they used most for sharing ideas and collaborating, Facebook far surpassed any other social network — surprise, surprise! But when they were asked what online site they used most for collaborating, interestingly enough Microsoft Live beat out Google Apps.

In the world of meetings, with a multitude of tools available at your fingertips and with Apps quickly becoming the be all and end all, we can only imagine what’s coming next… beam me up, Scotty.

Got a meeting tool that you’d like us to add to this visualization? Leave a comment or send us an email to chat about it.

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At Pivot, we love visualizing design research because it helps us understand our changing social, cultural and technological landscapes. If you wish to find out more about this observation or how we can work with you to use Pivot’s design research methods, please drop us a line at hello@pivotdesigngroup.com. We’d love to hear from you!

As we researched further and further back in time, our list of meetings continued to grow with dates, historical events and interesting places.

We identified that the origins of human gatherings was likely when primitive humans found that living and cooperating in groups (or tribes) helped them meet basic survival needs such as food, territory, safety, and reproduction.

As humanity evolved into society, people gathered for more and more specific reasons — meetings to trade wealth, meetings to share or teach new ideas, meetings to ponder our existence, meetings to satisfy social urges, or meetings to discuss our dominion — though when we take a closer look, the reasons at their core are often still to protect, accumulate or enforce our basic needs (trade, education, faith, socialization, and war or conflict).

With a wealth of information and research dating as far back as the Neolithic Revolution circa 8,000 B.C. (thank you Wikipedia!), we began the natural course of organizing the information into a timeline mapping various types of meetings and some of the tools used in them in a data visualization that is an interesting look at the evolution of meetings.

We found that the first large, organized gathering of people was during the first agricultural revolution – the Neolithic Revolution. This sparked a transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture and settlement, resulting in the development of villages and towns. It was this initial gathering and settling of people that likely brought about the first town meetings, eventually becoming more social and political in nature.

We also found it interesting to see how today’s government is similar to that of the Spartan Gerousia & Apella. In Sparta, the gerousia were a council consisting of the two Spartan kings and 28 Spartan elders who filled the role of the Supreme Court. They would prepare motions for a public, deliberative assembly of male citizens 13 years of age or older – called the Apella – to vote on.

So check out our History of Meetings poster as a downloadable pdf and the next time you find yourself stuck in a meeting, maybe you’ll take a moment to think about the long history of meetings that you are a part of.

Stay tuned for next week’s Meeting Tools poster — an in-depth look at the types of tools used in meetings.

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At Pivot, we love visualizing design research because it helps us understand our changing social, cultural and technological landscapes. If you wish to find out more about this observation or how we can work with you to use Pivot’s design research methods, please drop us a line at hello@pivotdesigngroup.com. We’d love to hear from you!

Over the past several months we’ve had the pleasure of working on the rebrand of Morneau Shepell with Instinct Brand Equity. From design research and brainstorming periods aimed at visualizing the brand foundation, to work sessions with key Morneau Shepell stakeholders to nail down the colour schema, typography and image style — the coming together of the Morneau Shepell visual brand system was a rapidly moving design project with a very passionate, collaborative, and hard working team.

“Morneau Shepell Ltd. (previously Morneau Sobeco and Shepell fgi) is the largest Canadian-based firm providing human resource consulting and outsourcing services. The company’s solutions are designed to assist employers in managing the financial security, health and productivity of their employees. With over 2,500 employees in offices across North America, Morneau Shepell Inc. provides its services to organizations in Canada, the United States and around the globe.” morneaushepell.com

In a matter of 4 months, Pivot worked with the brand foundation to establish a visual brand identity through iterations of mood boards, colour palettes, image styles and typography. Then, with an understanding of the audience needs, business goals, and marketplace, we used the approved look and feel to roll out stationery applications, document templates, communication collateral, tradeshow booths, a website reskin and a slew of other design elements.

The visual brand identity represents the coming together of two exceptional teams of people. It is an integration of their cultures and services and a representation of unity. It is a holistic view, and a symbol of Morneau Shepell’s commitment to building long-term relationships with their clients.

Congratulations on the launch, Morneau Shepell! The Pivoteers are so proud to have been a part of it!

This year, RGD Ontario has put together a compendium of logos in the form of an agenda — or daily planner. It’s great for a quick browse-through for inspiration and also, super handy if you need to jot down a note and get organized for 2012!

Pick up your copy from the RGD and check out Pivot’s work on the Sakaa logo on the July 9-15 spread.

In 2010, on one of her regular visits to Liboré, Robin Mednick learned that a large number of girls were not attending school. Instead they had to stay home to help support the family by working in the fields to prepare grain and food for their sustenance. In fact, in Libore, it is quite rare to find a girl in school beyond the sixth grade.

“Women in Niger spend up to six hours each day pounding millet (a small grain cereal) to make the grain into flour, which is their main food source for every meal. Often they can be seen in groups taking turns pushing a heavy wooden pestle into a wooden mortar. Every muscle of their bodies is engaged in this strenuous activity.”

In the past P4K has been focusing funding efforts towards the construction of schools and libraries and the provision of supplies to schools. But from this visit, it was clear that there needed to be a way to get more girls into schools and continue their studies to become better educated and help their communities grow. By providing scholarships to girls, families can afford their daughters to be away from home and in school. If we want to help future generations of girls avoid the hardships their mothers face daily, the only way out is through education.

A Program Based on Partnership

We, at Pivot, partnered with George Brown’s School of Design to engage with students of StudioLab, a work-study program. Pivot worked to develop the program name, define the audience, and outline what communication materials would be required to support the fundraising and awareness program. Then, during a 4-week period, eight students worked in pairs with guidance from Pivot and P4K to develop the logo and communication materials for the millet-pounding program. In the end, “Pound for Change” was born.

This self-driven fundraising event allows organizers to play their own part in educating others and building awareness for the cause. Guests at the event can experience millet pounding for themselves in a fun way to get together with friends and family to learn about millet pounding and raise money for Scholarships for Girls in Liboré, Niger. Each scholarship costs approximately $600 which covers the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, food allowance, and tutoring for a year.

Why this is important

Every year we spend educating a girl enriches her life, broadens heropportunities, and promises a better future for her whole community.Every year of secondary education for girls reduces malnutrition, reduces over-population, reduces infant mortality, increases economic opportunity and leads to empowerment and building better futures for these girls.

Happy Holidays!

To learn more about Pencils for Kids and the Pound for Change program, please visit www.pencilsforkids.com

The years of confusion and multiple swipes to get your card facing the right way is the result of a poorly designed illustration made to fit in the tiny space above the slot of the debit machine. Imagine my elation last night, when I went to pay for my Americano and I actually understood which way my card should face.

Barista at Starbucks, little do you know it but, by adding those three simple words “stripe facing barista” you used language that was relevant to my context of use and you made my payment experience Joyful.

I get it now. Thanks, barista!

Media theorist, Marshall McLuhan, developed the concept of figure and ground based on Gestalt psychology. He used this concept to explain how a form of communications technology – defined as the medium or figure – necessarily operates through its context, or ground. In his work, and through this concept that we can better understand the meaning of his famous phrase, “The medium is the message.”

McLuhan strongly believed that to fully grasp the impact of a new technology, one must examine both figure (medium) and ground (context) together. Neither figure nor ground is fully intelligible without the other. He argued that it was critical to study media in its historical context – particularly in relation to technologies that preceded them. This was because the present environment, made up of the effects of previous technologies, gives rise to new technologies. In turn, these new technologies further affect individuals and society.

McLuhan believed that all technologies are embedded with their own assumptions about time and space. The message conveyed by the medium can only be understood if the medium and the environment in which it is used are analyzed together. He believed that an examination of the figure-ground relationship could offer a critical commentary on culture and society.

To gain a better understand media, technology, culture and society in its current form, we should look back on the past and reflect on the first methods of communication and their context, and how they have shaped our society and culture, and the technology we use today. From smoke signals to social networking, humans have come a long way in the quest to communicate in the most efficient way. So what’s next? We’d like to think that holographic communications circa Star Wars and augmented reality in Minority Report is the natural next step, but what do you think?