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This session will describe a company-wide program to generate user empathy among one company's engineering workforce through direct user interaction. Attendees will learn about how the program was designed to address key challenges, the results achieved, and the lessons learned.
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MOTIVATION THROUGH USER EMPATHY
Michael Kronthal (@mkronthal)
Sr. Director, User Experience Research
U X PA 2 0 1 4
user experience research @ Yahoo
make our products useful, usable, and delightful by connecting
our teams with our users
@mkronthal
@mkronthal
Companies prosper when they tap into a power that every one of us already has – the ability to reach outside ourselves and connect with other people
“ ”
empathy is important
Dev PatnaikWired to Care, 2009
@mkronthal
@mkronthal
@mkronthal
empathy = direct observation
emotional response
+
@mkronthal
“researcher” roles IN EMPATHY BUILDING
influence decisions
project teammatesresearcher
best possibledecision
data
empathy
@mkronthal
users project teammatesresearcher
researcher as “broker”
@mkronthal
@mkronthal
@mkronthal
users project teammatesresearcher
researcher as “diplomat”
@mkronthal
@mkronthal
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users project teammates
researcher
researcher as “facilitator”
@mkronthal
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focus on the immediate project team
limited researcher resources/budget
remote observation/replay lacks emotional intensity
!limitations of scale
motivating at scale
2013 annual goal: user focus
Every engineer observes users of their product (users they are not related to), for 1 hour of active use each quarter
“ ”
@mkronthal
RESEARCH LOVE-FEST!!!
@mkronthal
OR …
@mkronthal
@mkronthal
Every engineer observes users of their product (users they are not related to), for 1 hour of active use each quarter
“ ”
2013 annual goal: user focus
@mkronthal
Every engineer observes users of their product (users they are not related to), for 1 hour of active use each quarter
“ ”
2013 annual goal: user focus
@mkronthal
Every engineer observes users of their product (users they are not related to), for 1 hour of active use each quarter
“ ”
2013 annual goal: user focus
@mkronthal
Every engineer observes users of their product (users they are not related to), for 1 hour of active use each quarter
“ ”
2013 annual goal: user focus
@mkronthal
“project moccasin”
Yuser NightsD.I.Y
designed for distributed and employee facing engineer teams
tips, templates, training posted to intranet for engineers to use
designed for co-located consumer facing engineer teams
users visit Yahoo for engineer-led “listening” sessions
every engineer observes users of their product for 1 hour of active use each quarter
Learning Management System records completion
@mkronthal
Yuser Nights - orientation
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Yuser Nights – building rapport
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Yuser Nights – listening session
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Yuser Nights – team debrief
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results
30 Yuser Nights worldwide
30% average engineer participation WW
80% consumer product engineer participation
Positive engineer feedback (average 4/5):• Increased empathy with my users• Helped identify opportunities to improve my product• Was a good use of my time
Extended and expanded in 2014
@mkronthal
This is easily one of the best 2 hours spent in my job.
User night is the best way for gathering and interacting with real users and gather real unbiased feedback!
It gave me a unique perspective into how users use Yahoo Mail and how difficult new things were for them to discover and some of the most common issues that impact them.
Sometimes we know things about our products, but its not until we see our users struggle do we actually prioritize and act. It’s invaluable.
“
”
results
@mkronthal
lessons learned
Dedicated Team
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thank you to the team
Wako Takayama
Debbie Krysiak
Jack Griffin
Samantha Shaver
Rosie Cabreros
HC Lai
Sukhada Jog
John Hu
Joanne Locascio
Gary Moulton
Sajid Reshamwala
Sonja Yeh
Jihye Kim
Jennifer McNally
Mike Shebanek
Sarit Arora
Kingman Yu
Jose Villareal
Maria Stone
Shirin Sabahi
executive sponsors
Marissa Mayer
David Filo
Andrew Schulte
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lessons learned
Dedicated Team
Executive Sponsorship
User Recruiting Quality
Cross-functional Participation
Actioning Insights
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users project teammates
researcher
researcher as empathy designer
@mkronthal
We Are Hiring!careers.yahoo.com
mkrontha@yahoo-inc.com@mkronthal
Thank You!careers.yahoo.com
mkrontha@yahoo-inc.com@mkronthal
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