Zen and the Art of UX Planning

M i d w e s t U X

M a y 3 1 , 2 0 1 2

C o l u m b u s , O h i o

@ d e r r e n h

@ c o r e y a l l e n b a c h

# m w u x 1 2

# z e n u x p l a n n i n g

WHO WE ARE

Der ren

Hermann@derrenhCorey

A l lenbach@ c o r e y a l l e n b a c h

Laura

Knox

TODAY’S AGENDA9 : 0 0 – 9 : 1 0 W e l c o m e

9 : 1 0 – 9 : 2 0 I c e B r e a k e r

9 : 2 0 – 9 : 3 0 4 E l e m e n t s & O u r S c e n a r i o

9 : 3 0 – 9 : 4 5 E a r t h : I n i t i a l C l i e n t M e e t i n g

9 : 4 5 – 1 0 : 0 5 G r o u p A c t i v i t y 1

1 0 : 0 5 – 1 0 : 2 0 W i n d : E x p l o r i n g A p p r o a c h O p t i o n s

1 0 : 2 0 – 1 0 : 4 0 G r o u p A c t i v i t y 2

1 0 : 4 0 – 1 0 : 4 5 B r e a k

1 0 : 4 5 – 1 1 : 0 0 W a t e r : A p p r o a c h S u m m a r y

1 1 : 0 0 – 1 1 : 2 0 G r o u p A c t i v i t y 3

1 1 : 2 0 – 1 1 : 3 5 F i r e : D e t a i l e d P r o j e c t P l a n

1 1 : 3 5 – 1 1 : 5 5 G r o u p A c t i v i t y 4

1 1 : 5 5 – 1 2 : 0 0 W r a p U p & T h a n k Y o u

GROUND RULES

1. Have fun

2. Bathrooms & breaks

3. Cell phones

STUFF AT YOUR TABLE

1. Book

2. Packet (Agenda, Templates)

ICE BREAKER

1. Draw your d iagram and in t roduce yoursel f (name and super hero power)

2. Write thoughts on post- i ts , d iscuss and organize (What ’s chal lenging about UX planning?)

3. Pick 3 most common to share wi th the room

ICE BREAKER

What were your group’s 3 most common topics?

THE FOUR ELEMENTS

EARTHS e t t i n g y o u r f o u n d a t i o n .

T h e i n i t i a l c l i e n t m e e t i n g .

WINDE x p l o r i n g a p p r o a c h o p t i o n s .

L i s t i n g a c t i v i t i e s .

WATERP u l l i n g t o g e t h e r y o u r i d e a s .

D o c u m e n t i n g y o u r r e c o m m e n d e d a p p r o a c h f o r t h e c l i e n t .

FIREF o r g i n g a d e t a i l e d p r o j e c t p l a n .

H a m m e r i n g o u t t h e s c h e d u l e d o w n t o t h e d a y .

TODAY’S SCENARIO

• National Real i ty Company• Mobile for sales agents• Increase sales• Start developing soon• Ideas for next year too

I n i t i a l C l i e n t M e e t i n g

Gather ing every th ing you need to

draf t an approach .

The in i t ia l c l ien t meet ing i s your oppor tun i t y

to accompl ish two fundamenta l goals :

gather in fo rmat ion & ga in t rus t .

I N I T I A L C L I E N T M E E T I N G

OVERVIEW

An unders tand ing o f p ro jec t goa ls , log is t i cs and cons t ra in ts to feed the

approach document .

I N I T I A L C L I E N T M E E T I N G

GOALS

1. Reques t p re - reads f rom the c l ien t

2. Prepare fo r the meet ing

3. Ho ld meet ing

4. Organ ize your no tes & thoughts

5. Fo l low up emai l t ha t inc ludes thanks & se t expec ta t ions .

I N I T I A L C L I E N T M E E T I N G

STEPS

I n i t i a l C l ien t Meet ing Worksheet

I N I T I A L C L I E N T M E E T I N G

TOOLS

• D o y o u r h o m e w o r k p r i o r t o m e e t i n g .

• T h i n k t h r o u g h a d d i t i o n a l q u e s t i o n s y o u m a y h a v e a h e a d o f t i m e .

• D o n ’ t f o r g e t t o d o i n t r o d u c t i o n s a t s t a r t o f t h e m e e t i n g . . . e x p l a i n y o u r r o l e a s w e l l a s u n d e r s t a n d t h e r o l e s o f t h e c l i e n t s .

• C o n s i d e r o r i e n t i n g c l i e n t s t o t h e U X p r o c e s s & v a l u e .

• H a v e o n e p e r s o n f a c i l i t a t e t h e d i s c u s s i o n a n d a t l e a s t o n e o t h e r t a k e d e t a i l e d n o t e s . D o n ’ t t r y t o d o b o t h y o u r s e l f .

• S e t e x p e c t a t i o n s o n p o s s i b l e c l i e n t i n v o l v e m e n t n e e d s .

• S e t e x p e c t a t i o n s f o r i m m e d i a t e n e x t s t e p s a n d p r o v i d e a s a m e d a y f o l l o w - u p e m a i l t o c o n f i r m .

I N I T I A L C L I E N T M E E T I N G

TIPS

GROUP ACTIVITY #1

1. BLACK markers up front

2. Take notes using the Cl ient Interview Worksheet

GROUP ACTIVITY #1

• What went wel l?• What didn’t?• Any quest ions stand out?• Any other thoughts?

E x p l o r i n g A p p r o a c h O p t i o n s

L is t ing ac t i v i t ies and se t t l i ng on a p lan .

There a re a lways mu l t ip le rou tes you can take . Unders tand ing and exp lo r ing your

op t ions a re key to deve lop ing a p lan . Invo lv ing fe l low des igners can ensure you ’ re th ink ing

c rea t i ve ly enough.

E X P L O R I N G A P P R O A C H O P T I O N S

OVERVIEW

A rough ou t l ine o f your p lan to in fo rm the approach summary.

E X P L O R I N G A P P R O A C H O P T I O N S

GOALS

1. Rev iew pro jec t overv iew & goa ls

2. Determine the User Centered Des ign phase

3. Map cons t ra in ts on a t ime l ine

4. Exp lo re methods and ac t i v i t ies

5. Sequence ac t i v i t ies

6. Determine peop le

7. Crea te d ra f t m i les tones and phases o f ac t i v i t y

E X P L O R I N G A P P R O A C H O P T I O N S

STEPS

UX P lann ing – Methods & Ac t i v i t ies

E X P L O R I N G A P P R O A C H O P T I O N S

TOOLS

• I n v o l v e p e o p l e w h o w i l l a c t u a l l y b e d o i n g t h e w o r k .

• T h e w h i t e b o a r d i s y o u r f r i e n d .

• T h i s i s n o t l i k e n o r m a l b r a i n s t o r m i n g . B e s u r e t o c a l l o u t b a d i d e a s .

• E x p l o r e v a r i o u s l e v e l s o f c o s t / c o m m i t m e n t .

• D o n ’ t r u s h t h i s . I t m i g h t t a k e a n h o u r o r a s e c o n d s e s s i o n .

• I n v o l v e a w i d e a r a n g e o f U X r o l e si n t h e s e s s i o n ( i . e . p r o j e c t t e a m m e m b e r s , m a n a g e r s , d i r e c t o r s , a c c o u n t m a n a g e r s , e t c . ) .

E X P L O R I N G A P P R O A C H O P T I O N S

TIPS

GROUP ACTIVITY #2

1. GREEN markers

2. Use insights from the cl ient meeting to add goals, users, constraints to the framework

3. List quest ions, discuss methods

4. Add draft phases of act iv i ty

5. Add roles

GROUP ACTIVITY #2

• How did i t go?• Was the framework helpful?• Any other thoughts?

A p p r o a c h S u m m a r y

Document ing your recommended approach for the c l ient .

Once you’ve set t led on your opt ions, you’ l l need a way to exp la in to o thers what you

in tend to do, how long i t w i l l take and how much i t w i l l cost . Get t ing the approach on

paper is a good way to s tar t rece iv ing feedback that can help you re f ine i t .

A P P R O A C H S U M M A R Y

OVERVIEW

A h igh- leve l exp lana t ion o f your p lan tha t w i l l he lp you rece ive approva l and serve as the

s ta r t ing po in t fo r your de ta i led p lan .

A P P R O A C H S U M M A R Y

GOALS

1. Trans la te the rough ou t l ine o f ac t i v i t ies f rom bra ins to rm ing to a spreadsheet tha t can he lp you to ta l cos ts fo r UX resources .

2. Use da ta ga thered dur ing the in i t ia l c l ien t meet ing to c rea te background, ob jec t i ves and assumpt ions .

3. Use the rough ou t l ine o f ac t i v i t iesf rom bra ins to rm ing and the fo recas t sp readsheet to de ta i l your approach , de l i ve rab les , schedu le , team and cos t .

A P P R O A C H S U M M A R Y

STEPS

UX Approach

A P P R O A C H S U M M A R Y

TOOLS

UX Forecas t ( sp readsheet )

A P P R O A C H S U M M A R Y

TOOLS

• B e c o n s i d e r a t e o f y o u r a u d i e n c e a n d d o n ’ t u s e U X l i n g o .

• T r i p l e c h e c k y o u r m a t h .

• P r o v i d e a f e w o p t i o n s i f i t m a k e s s e n s e .

• B e s u r e y o u c a n e x p l a i n t h e e l e v a t o r p i t c h f o r t h e p r o j e c t .

• I t e r a t e b y e x p l a i n i n g t h e a p p r o a c h t o o t h e r s .

• G e t a s m a n y e y e s o n t h i s d o c u m e n t a s p o s s i b l e .

• T r y t o p u n c h h o l e s i n i t .

• P r o o f r e a d , p r o o f r e a d , p r o o f r e a d .

• S p e n d t i m e a n t i c i p a t i n g q u e s t i o n s a n d c o n c e r n s t h a t y o u r c l i e n t m i g h t h a v e .

• B e p r e p a r e d t o i t e r a t e , t h i s d o c u m e n t i s o f t e n a c o n v e r s a t i o n s t a r t e r .

• R e m e m b e r , t h i s m i g h t b e t h e f i r s t w o r k p r o d u c t a c l i e n t s e e s , s o m a k e s u r e i t r e p r e s e n t s t h e q u a l i t y o f y o u r w o r k a n d t h e v a l u e o f d e s i g n .

A P P R O A C H S U M M A R Y

TIPS

GROUP ACTIVITY #3

1. BLUE markers

2. Step through the Approach Summary template in your packets and add bul leted content

3. Be sure to discuss each sect ion and make sure you know where you’ l l get that information

GROUP ACTIVITY #3

• What sect ions were most di ff icult to complete?

• Any other thoughts?

D e t a i l e d P r o j e c t P l a n

Hammer ing ou t the schedu le down to the day.

A t ta in ing Zen in UX pro jec t p lann ing requ i res a t ten t ion to the de ta i l s . A day-by -day schedu le

w i l l he lp you do a rea l i t y check on your p lan and s tay on t rack to de l i ve r.

D E TA I L E D P R O J E C T P L A N

OVERVIEW

A de ta i led p ro jec t p lan tha t c lear ly de f ines what w i l l be accompl ished and when.

D E TA I L E D P R O J E C T P L A N

GOALS

1. Use the approach document to se t up your overa l l schedu le .

2. Gather dependency in format ion f rom pro jec t par tners (bus iness , IT, e tc . ) .

3. Meet w i th your UX teammates and c lear ly ident i f y ac t iv i t ies , dura t ions , m i les tones and respons ib i l i t ies .

4. Give your UX teammates and pro jec t par tners a chance to rev iew.

5. Fina l ize .

D E TA I L E D P R O J E C T P L A N

STEPS

Day-by-day Schedu le /Ca lendar

D E TA I L E D P R O J E C T P L A N

TOOLS

• T h i n k a b o u t h o w y o u c a n b r e a k u p l a r g e p h a s e s i n t o s m a l l e r a c t i v i t i e s

• C o n s i d e r d i f f e r e n t p h a s e s o f e a c h a c t i v i t y ( g e t t i n g s t a r t e d , d o i n g t h e w o r k , w r a p p i n g i t u p , e t c . ) .

• C l e a r l y i n d i c a t e k e y U X m i l e s t o n e s a n d i n p u t s o r p a r t i c i p a t i o n n e e d e d f r o m y o u r c l i e n t .

• I n c l u d e b u f f e r s a t t h e a p p r o p r i a t e t i m e s i n t h e s c h e d u l e , e s p e c i a l l y a t t h e e n d .

• I n c l u d e a l l m e e t i n g s , r e v i e w a n d a p p r o v a l t o u c h p o i n t s , a n d d e c i s i o n p o i n t s .

• R e a l i z e t h a t t h i s d o c u m e n t i s o r g a n i c a n d w i l l l i k e l y c h a n g e o v e r t h e l i f e o f a p r o j e c t . J u s t b e s u r e t o c o m m u n i c a t e n e c e s s a r y c h a n g e s t o s t a k e h o l d e r s a s s o o n a s y o u r e c o g n i z e t h e m .

• F a c t o r i n v a c a t i o n s a n d h o l i d a y s .

• D o n ’ t f o r g e t a b o u t t h e t i m e i t w i l l t a k e t o e n s u r e y o u r d e l i v e r a b l e s a r e h a n d e d o f f a d e q u a t e l y .

D E TA I L E D P R O J E C T P L A N

TIPS

GROUP ACTIVITY #4

1. RED markers

2. Use the blank Calendars in your packet to draft 3 months of your plan

GROUP ACTIVITY #4

• Anyone f ind a need to start extending their t imel ine?

• Any other thoughts?

RECAP

EARTHT h e I n i t i a l C l i e n t M e e t i n g

WINDE x p l o r i n g A p p r o a c h O p t i o n s

WATERA p p r o a c h S u m m a r y

F IRED e t a i l e d P r o j e c t P l a n

C o r e y A l l e n b a c hc o r e y . a l l e n b a c h @ n a t i o n w i d e . c o m

D e r r e n H e r m a n nd e r r e n . h e r m a n n @ n a t i o n w i d e . c o m