User problems, scenarios and storyboards UCD Hoorcollege blok 1 week 7

Learning goals By the end of the colleges and reading you should: Know what a context based scenario is Understand the role of scenarios is product development Know how to use personas to construct context based scenarios

Agenda Types of scenarios What is a context based scenario? Steps in developing context based scenarios The next stage Summary

Types of scenario

Types of scenario Alan Cooper identifies three types of scenario Context based scenarios Key path scenarios Validation scenarios

Use of scenarios in product development Each of these has a role in product development Context based scenarios are used to define user requirements Key path scenarios are used to define the interaction framework Validation scenarios are used to refine the design and make sure it deals with exceptions and special cases

Context based scenarios

What are context based user scenarios? Context based scenarios are stories (narrative tools) that use personas to describe what a user wants to achieve through use of a product in order to suggest a list of user requirements They can also suggest what is wrong with the situation as is it is currently

Why persona based? Personas are archetypes of the various users of a product (or people with a particular problem) Personas have goals and behaviours They want to achieve certain things and will behave in particular ways to achieve them Personas allow us to construct a story of an ideal usage scenario to help us develop (or change) products that allow users to achieve their goals Personas keep us at the level of goals rather than tasks in initial development

Tasks versus goals Tasks describe how someone makes a product achieve their goals Goals describe what they want to achieve by using the product

Activity: Discuss the following questions with your neighbour What task do I have to carry out when using an email system? What goals might I have for when using an email system?

Goals first, tasks later If we focus on tasks first we get into detail too soon We do not know what is important and unimportant We have not thought about the user’s real problems The first questions should be: Why do they want to use a system (their goals) What does the system have to offer to allow them to do this? Goals allow us to focus on the why and what questions so that we can better fit the hows to the user’s goals Context based scenarios allow us to focus on why and what rather than how in the initial stages of product development (Of course we have to look at how to create a product, but this is done later in the process)

Steps in developing context based scenarios

Steps in developing context based scenarios

Create problem & vision statements The problem statement defines the objective of the product (or design for Cooper) It defines what needs to change for both the personas (users) and the organization The vision statement defines at a high level what the ideal solution will look like for both the user and the organization

Example Problem statement Vision statement Company X has recently tried to grow its market share in the profitable 55+ holidays market segment by 15%, but has not been successful as it conducts its business online only. This is because 55+ users feel that online travel agents lack the “personal touch” to design a holiday specifically for them and so they continue to use high street travel agents Vision statement Company X’s new online booking system will allow 55+ users to create individually tailored holidays comparable with those purchased at high street travel agents in a way equivalent or better than via a high street travel agent. This will allow company X to reach their goal of increasing their market share by 15%

Brainstorm solutions Brainstorming is a process of generating ideas on a specific topic quickly In context based scenarios its role is to get your initial ideas for solutions out of your head so that you can look at the problem more openly These solutions might not be the final solution! But getting rid of preconceived ideas can open your thinking to other solutions

Identify persona expectations The purpose of this stage is to identify the goals and expectations of the personas Based on the personas you should be able to decide what they would expect the product to deliver (their end goals) and how they would expect it to work in an ideal world (their experience goals) This can also be done via brainstorming too (but only after the solution brainstorming)

Construct context scenarios Context scenarios are stories that put the persona into a “real-life” situation where they use the product Imagine situations where the persona(s) have to use the product to achieve their goals in everyday terms Write them down and storyboard them Do not focus on tasks, just what they want to achieve Pretend for now that the product is magic Be general

Things to consider in constructing context scenarios What are the key activities that the persona needs to do to achieve their goals? What is their expected end goal(s) from using the product Where and when will the product be used? Will be used for a long or for a short amount of time? Is the persona frequently interrupted? What other products are used with this product? What is the skill, knowledge levels of the persona - is complexity allowed?

Storyboards Cooper does not recommend making a storyboard for context based scenarios However, they can be useful Visualizing the story helps Clarity Consistency Communication We recommend that you do this here

Example storyboard

Identifying user needs Having written (and storyboarded) your scenario you can now look to see what the user needs are Needs consist of Objects - actual things they need such as screens, buttons, etc. Actions - things they need to be able to do such as sending email, paying, etc.

Next stages - good advice

Summary Scenarios are used in the early stages of a product development process to: Identify user needs Develop initial interaction design Refine design and deal with exceptions Scenarios are based on personas Focus on goals not tasks Context scenario development is the first stage of the process