understanding your users a practical guide to user requirements methods tools and techniques

TeAM YYePG Digitally signed by TeAM YYePG DN: cn=TeAM YYePG, c=US, o=TeAM YYePG, ou=TeAM YYePG, email=yyepg@msn.com Reason: I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Date: 2005.02.21 05:07:02 +08'00' Critical acclaim for Understanding Your Users A Practical Guide to User Requirements Methods, Tools, and Techniques I wish I'd had this book ten years ago; it would have saved me an awful lot of time. It's the kind of eminently practical guide that I really appreciate, and the case studies are excellent. I highly recommend it! —Steve Krug, author of Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability Courage and Baxter propel the reader to the beating heart of user-centered design with this comprehensive and practical compendium of process, methodology, and cutting-edge thinking. The techniques they explain so clearly in this detailed and thorough book provide the power to expose the common myth, opinion, and misunderstanding, and reveal the authentic nature of the true engine of wealth in the information age: your users; the people who use your digital systems. —Alan Cooper, Founder & Chairman of the Board, Cooper Here's a book that could easily become your best friend, whether you're just starting out or are a seasoned professional. Courage and Baxter cover it all, from hard science to ethics to the finest practical details. You'll find a wealth of case studies and instantly accessible answers to sudden questions— "My test subject just refused to be video taped. What do I do?" —along with many valuable techniques that will be new even to seasoned interaction designers and usability professionals, techniques that I began applying immediately in my own work. —Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini, Principal, Nielsen/Norman Group This is a detailed, step-by-step guide to user requirements gathering, one of the most critical, yet often overlooked stages in product development research. Courage and Baxter effectively draw on real-world experience as well as tried-and-true methods. —Christian Rohrer, Director, User Experience Research, Yahoo! UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page i Modestly presented as a "how to" book, this work is much more. It helps to consolidate the new field of interaction design by focusing on a common-sense approach to user research. This is an immensely practical book with enduring value for the interaction designer and the usability professional.With detailed discussions of seven key methods of study, clear examples, well-chosen supporting case studies, and an assessment of the proper use of each method, Courage and Baxter have provided an intelligent pathway for those new to the field and a reference work for experienced professionals. The added benefit—in effect, illustrating the very philosophy of user-centered design that they advance—is the way the authors have placed usability study in a wider context of what comes before and after one studies users. This is a thoroughly accessible and usable book. It may well become a classic of the field. —Richard Buchanan, Ph.D., Professor, Carnegie Mellon University and President, Design Research Society Effectively gathering and applying user requirements is one of the most critical areas of focus in today's companies. This invaluable resource provides comprehensive and practical guidance on a variety of methods—including strategies, tactics, tips, and templates— enabling readers to more efficiently apply techniques in their own organizations. —Janice Rohn, Vice President, User Experience, World Savings Bank In Understanding Your Users, Catherine and Kathy give usability practitioners a thorough and practical handbook for conducting user research. They provide details necessary for planning, preparing, conducting, analyzing, and presenting the research for a variety of techniques. Their insights and advice on what to do when something unexpected occurs will be particularly invaluable for those just starting out their careers in user research or those interested in trying out an unfamiliar user research technique. Peppered with checklists, case studies, and practical advice offered in this book, you will immediately increase your ability to conduct user research that yields quality and reliable results. —Pawan Vora, Principal, Inov Information Designs UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page ii UNDERSTANDING YOUR USERS A Practical Guide to User Requirements Methods, Tools, and Techniques UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page iii The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive Technologies Series Editors: Stuart Card, PARC; Jonathan Grudin, Microsoft; Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen Norman Group Understanding Your Users: A Practical Guide to User Requirements Methods, Tools, and Techniques Catherine Courage and Kathy Baxter The Web Application Design Handbook: Best Practices for Web-Based Software Susan Fowler and Victor Stanwick The Mobile Connection: The Cell Phone’s Impact on Society Richard Ling Information Visualization: Perception for Design, 2nd Edition Colin Ware Interaction Design for Complex Problem Solving: Developing Useful and Usable Software Barbara Mirel The Craft of Information Visualization: Readings and Reflections Written and edited by Ben Bederson and Ben Shneiderman HCI Models, Theories, and Frameworks: Towards a Multidisciplinary Science Edited by John M. Carroll Web Bloopers: 60 Common Web Design Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them Jeff Johnson Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research Mike Kuniavsky Paper Prototyping: The Fast and Easy Way to Design and Refine User Interfaces Carolyn Snyder Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do B. J. Fogg Coordinating User Interfaces for Consistency Edited by Jakob Nielsen Usability for the Web: Designing Web Sites that Work Tom Brinck, Darren Gergle, and Scott D.Wood Usability Engineering: Scenario-Based Development of Human-Computer Interaction Mary Beth Rosson and John M. Carroll Your Wish is My Command: Programming by Example Edited by Henry Lieberman GUI Bloopers: Don’ts and Dos for Software Developers and Web Designers Jeff Johnson Information Visualization: Perception for Design Colin Ware Robots for Kids: Exploring New Technologies for Learning Edited by Allison Druin and James Hendler Information Appliances and Beyond: Interaction Design for Consumer Products Edited by Eric Bergman Readings in Information Visualization: Using Vision to Think Written and edited by Stuart K. Card, Jock D. Mackinlay, and Ben Shneiderman The Design of Children's Technology Edited by Allison Druin Web Site Usability: A Designer’s Guide Jared M. Spool, Tara Scanlon, Will Schroeder, Carolyn Snyder, and Terri DeAngelo The Usability Engineering Lifecycle: A Practitioner's Handbook for User Interface Design Deborah J. Mayhew Contextual Design: Defining Customer-Centered Systems Hugh Beyer and Karen Holtzblatt Human-Computer Interface Design: Success Stories, Emerging Methods, and Real World Context Edited by Marianne Rudisill, Clayton Lewis, Peter P. Polson, and Timothy D. McKay UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page iv UNDERSTANDING YOUR USERS A Practical Guide to User Requirements Methods, Tools, and Techniques Catherine Courage and Kathy Baxter AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON NEW YORK • OXFORD • PARIS • SAN DIEGO SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is an imprint of Elsevier UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page v Publishing Director Diane D. Cerra Publishing Services Manager André Cuello Editorial Coordinator Mona Buehler Project Manager Anne B. McGee Cover Design Uday Gajendar Cover Image Getty Images Text Design Yvo Riezebos Design Composition SNP Best-set Typesetter, Ltd. Illustration Dartmouth Publishing, Inc. Copyeditor Keyword Publishing Services Ltd. Proofreader Keyword Publishing Services Ltd. Indexer Keyword Publishing Services Ltd. Interior printer Hing Yip Printing Co., Ltd. Cover printer Hing Yip Printing Co., Ltd. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is an imprint of Elsevier. 500 Sansome Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94111 This book is printed on acid-free paper. © 2005 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks or registered trademarks. In all instances in which Morgan Kaufmann Publishers is aware of a claim, the product names appear in initial capital or all capital letters. Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies for more complete information regarding trademarks and registration. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopying, scanning, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher. Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com.uk. You may also complete your request on-line via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com) by selecting “Customer Support” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Application submitted. ISBN: 1-55860-935-0 For information on all Morgan Kaufmann publications, visit our Web site at www.mkp.com or www.books.elsevier.com Printed in China 0405060708 54321 UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page vi CONTENTS vii Preface xxiii Acknowledgments xxvii PART 1 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE CHOOSING AN ACTIVITY 1 1 INTRODUCTION TO USER REQUIREMENTS 2 Introduction 3 User-centered Design 3 Principles of User-centered Design 4 Incorporating User-centered Design Principles into the Product Lifecycle 6 A Variety of Requirements 8 The Product Team’s Perspective 9 User Requirements 13 UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page vii Getting Stakeholder Buy-in for Your Activity 14 Arguments and Counter Arguments 15 Preventing Resistance 18 The Methods 21 2 BEFORE YOU CHOOSE AN ACTIVITY: LEARNING ABOUT YOUR PRODUCT AND USERS 28 Introduction 29 Learn About Your Product 29 Learn About Your Users 41 Step 1: User Profile 43 Step 2: Personas 47 Step 3: Scenarios 52 Pulling It All Together 59 Case Study A: Competitive Intelligence: Mining Design Concepts from Business School Libraries 59 Case Study B: Personas: A Case Study by Microsoft Corporation 75 3 ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS 94 Introduction 95 Ethical Considerations 95 The Right To Be Informed 97 Permission to Record 99 CONTENTS viii UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page viii Create a Comfortable Experience 99 Appropriate Language 99 Anonymity 100 The Right To Withdraw 100 Appropriate Incentives 100 Valid and Reliable Data 101 Acknowledge Your True Capabilities 101 Data Retention and Documentation 102 Debrief 102 Legal Considerations 103 Pulling It All Together 104 4 SETTING UP FACILITIES FOR YOUR USER REQUIREMENTS ACTIVITY 106 Introduction 107 Using Your Company’s Existing Facilities 108 Renting a Marketing or Hotel Facility 110 Building a Permanent Facility 111 Components of a Devoted User Requirements Facility 112 Lab Layout 123 Digital versus Analog Labs 126 Analog Recording 127 Digital Recording 128 Pulling It All Together 129 CONTENTS ix UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page ix [...]... Summary 615 Data Analysis and Interpretation 615 Debrief 617 Affinity Diagram 617 Analyzing Deep Hanging-Out Data 617 Analyzing Contextual Inquiry/Design Data 618 Analyzing Data from Discount User Observations 619 Qualitative Analysis Tools 621 Communicate the Findings 621 Lessons Learned 623 Pulling It All Together 625 Case Study: Understanding the Staples Delivery Experience 625 xx CONTENTS PART 4 WRAPPING... the Participants 429 Practice 429 Card Review and Sorting 430 Labeling Groups 432 Data Analysis and Interpretation 432 Analysis with a Card Sorting Program 437 Analysis with a Statistics Package 437 Analysis with a Spreadsheet Package 438 Data that Computer Programs Cannot Handle 438 Interpreting the Results 439 Communicate the Findings 442 Modifications 443 Lessons Learned 447 Pulling It All Together... resources to help you create a facility for conducting user requirements activities (Appendix C) I A list of resources that can recruit participants, conduct user requirements sessions, and/ or rent facilities to you (Appendix D) I Requirements for creating a participant recruiting database (Appendix E) I Affinity diagramming discussion (Appendix F) I An overview of qualitative data analysis tools (Appendix... resources, and words of encouragement to make this book possible We would also like to thank our wonderful colleagues, friends, and management at Oracle and eBay for their support, ideas, and flexibility In particular, we would like to thank Michelle Bacigalupi for her feedback and encouragement and Uday Gajendar for his superb original cover design We would also like to extend our thanks to Diane Cerra for... activity, and analyze the data Materials, templates, and checklists are provided to get you using the techniques in no time! Lessons learned and method modifications are discussed as well so that you can adapt a method to suit your needs and avoid making costly mistakes The methods covered are: I I xxiv Interviews Surveys PREFACE I Want and needs analysis I Card sorting I Group task analysis I Focus... Learn about Usability, which can provide you with valuable resources and references as someone new to the field Usability professional If you are a seasoned usability professional, this book can provide you with some additional user requirements activities that you may not be familiar with Usability professionals are always looking to add new methods to their toolbox In addition, this book can act as... Computerized Qualitative Analysis Tools 722 H Report Template 726 I Glossary 738 J References 750 Index 759 Figure and Table Credits 779 About the Authors 781 xxii PREFACE How to use this book Usability refers to the effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction with which users can achieve tasks when using a product A usable product is easy to learn and remember; is efficient, visually pleasing, and pleasant to use;... motivating us to write this book, and everyone at Morgan Kaufmann for their assistance throughout this process On a personal note, we would like to individually acknowledge friends and family xxvii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Kathy: I spent nearly every weekend and many a vacation writing while my husband, Joe Balderrama, remained patient and supportive He did whatever it took to give me the time, energy, and love... Initial Assessment 348 Types of Calculation 349 Communicate the Findings 357 Lessons Learned 358 Pulling It All Together 359 Case Study: Using Online Surveys to Quantify Usability Issues 359 9 WANTS AND NEEDS ANALYSIS 370 Introduction 371 When Should You Conduct a Wants and Needs Analysis? 372 Things To Be Aware of When Conducting a Wants and Needs Analysis 372 Preparing for a Wants and Needs Analysis... report and present your results to ensure that they are incorporated into the product Part 5: Appendices We also include appendices with additional information that will be of great value as you begin your user requirements methods The appendices are: I Resources for learning about usability (Appendix A) I A list of helpful usability training sources for those new to user requirements (Appendix B) I A list . +08'00' Critical acclaim for Understanding Your Users A Practical Guide to User Requirements Methods, Tools, and Techniques I wish I'd had this book ten years ago; it would have. McKay UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page iv UNDERSTANDING YOUR USERS A Practical Guide to User Requirements Methods, Tools, and Techniques Catherine Courage and Kathy Baxter AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG •. Designs UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page ii UNDERSTANDING YOUR USERS A Practical Guide to User Requirements Methods, Tools, and Techniques UUAPR 9/18/04 2:24 PM Page iii The Morgan Kaufmann Series