The recipe of #UX

I love cooking shows, especially ones where people explain to you the science and the techniques of cooking. Alton Brown is a particular favorite – his Good Eats show taught both cooking and how things like heat and pressure impact food. Inspired by his approach and explanation, here’s some thoughts applying a similar approach to user experience.

What is the recipe of UX? Or, to be more precise… what makes a good UX recipe? What are the components and processes that result in an experience that resonates and appeals to end users? How can you “cook up” an effective solution for customers? Here’s some thoughts…

Prepare the workspace

In cooking it’s called mise en place.  This is French for “putting in place”, as in set up your work area. It is used in professional kitchens to refer to organizing and arranging the ingredients that a chef and his/her crew will require for the menu items that are to be prepared for diners.

When it comes to UX projects, you have to put things in place to set up that project for success. You are going to have to educate stakeholders and project members around how UX works, the value UX brings, and the activities they will have to engage in to support the project.

A key to this is understanding the level of “UX Maturity” of the organization you are working with. Many years ago a UX Maturity Matrix, similar to the capability maturity matrix that is used to evaluate software development process maturity at organizations, was created to be used to evaluate organizations – you can see it here. Use this tool to get the “lay of the land” to know how much education you may need to provide to ensure success.

Define the proper cooking time

Design takes time… and you have to identify how much time you take based on the project scope. If you spend too much time, you risk falling into “analysis paralysis” and never shipping anything. If you spend too much time, you will skip important steps (like user research).

Have the right balance of ingredients

In order to design the best experience for your customers, you need the best ingredients – that is, the key inputs and steps to take in to inform your work. This involves understanding the business drivers, knowing the technology available, and how much time is available to do UX activities.

YOUR INGREDIENTS LIST:

A spoonful of empathy

Empathy is a key skill that UX practitioners need to bring to the table – it helps you sympathize and understand the users. It will also help you tell the story about the design more effectively, framing the design around the pain-points and needs of the users. You uncover these needs through…

Three cups of user research

The prime ingredient, the “base” and binder of all user experience work, is user research. Knowing how they work, what they do, and what they need will help you cook up the right solution for them. If you do not add user research to the mix, you will not produce an experience that users will consume with pleasure.

Two cups of (appropriate) technology

The best UX practitioner keep up with the latest and greatest technology – this allows the designer to align user needs with tech in new and inventive ways. A good example is the Microsoft Band. Because it is a programmable device, unlike other wearables, the Microsoft design team was able to add features like bicycling and golfing to the device through software updates – taking advantage of the hardware and sensors that were built into the device.

Leveraging and extending the best technology allows us to provide the best experience – but the key word is “appropriate”. If the technology does not align with the user needs or business drivers, it is technology looking for a problem.

A heaping helping of business drivers

Every project needs to take business needs in mind – in fact, the best projects align user and business needs. What is the business drivers that the project needs to align to? Think of it like three legs of the small table that you will serve your “dish” on – if you have a good understanding of the user and align that with the best technology, but you still don’t know the business, then the two-legged table will fall over… and your “dish” will end up in the trash.

Test your “dish”

The best chefs spend a lot of time testing their dishes with friends and family. We apply the same practice in UX – Usability Testing. Usability testing allows us to take design concepts and get feedback from users – this lets us understand what works,. what doesn’t, and what needs to be improved. Without usability testing you risk “plating a dish” that is too salty, or sweet… or, as Gordon Ramsay would say, is “f***ing raw!”

The proper presentation

Plating is very important, because food is a sensory experience – how the food looks will be key. You may spend a lot of your design process sketching and creating concepts with your customer on whiteboards, but when you present these concepts you will need to do some level of clean up to make it presentable and professional.

Sizzle with the steak: Tell the story of the dish

At some point the designed solution will have to be presented to key stakeholders and decision makers – and this means it has to look good. Smart UX “chefs” take the time to prepare the delivery materials to make them engaging and tell the story. Like a waiter describes how a dish is prepared, you have to give context and rationale to help “sell” the work.

Know the difference between cooks and chefs

A lot of people SAY they are good at UX, but when you talk to them and look at their work, you realize they are just “dabblers”. They are cooks, not chefs.
UX “Chefs” are professionals who focus on understanding users and aligning technology and solutions with what users think and do.  “Cooks” can design a UI, but that’s usually it. Know the difference, and understand what you need for what you are doing – a cook, or a chef.

Finally, get a good cookbook

As good as you think you are at UX, you will still need a good reference volume available to refresh your skills. Here’s some recommendations:

  • Designing for the Digital Age by Kim Goodwin
  • Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
  • About Face by Alan Cooper

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