Category: Tech

User Experience Considerations in Digital Personalization

What comes to mind when I say: digital personalization?

Personalization is the method used to bring an enhanced digital experience to users when visiting a website or working on an application. This is accomplished by studying various data point references and applying content targeting behind the scenes to increase content relevancy. This approach has been rapidly growing in the recent years and developing some controversy along the way. It’s also one of the most popular features I get questions about as a technology consultant.

Personalization vs. Customization

Personalization and Customization are two terms that are often mistakenly used interchangeably in the industry. Both of these features bring value to the digital experience and can complement each other during an implementation, but they are not the same. Customization can be any feature that has been especially configured to serve a functionality in a website that otherwise would be not available. This can also include any configuration setting on which the user can customize their preferences on how they choose to interact with an application. For example, selection of language, theme, notification preferences, etc. Personalization, however, is that additional layer in a digital experience, that enables an application to make smart decisions and facilitates the provisioning of relevant content to the end user.

Personalization performance tracking presents a challenge to IA specialists when all that is being gathered in the system are data points and metrics that lack the necessary depth of dimension to explain user behavior. For example, we can capture the number of visitors to an website and also the time spent interacting with the site but this data is incomplete if we forget to introduce the UX aspect of measuring the ‘why’ users would behave that way when visiting the site. A simple assumption could be the fact that users really enjoyed using the application and that’s why they spent a long time interacting with it. A more in-depth study might provide a clearer perspective declaring the users took a long time finding information and that’s the reason why they spent more time in the site. These are both valid scenarios that can only be proven when User Experience is introduced in the analysis as a new test factor.

Avoiding the Creep Factor

As User Experience specialists, our job is not only to analyze data and provide results based on these metrics, but we also help test this data in a multi-dimensional manner on which Intention, Failure and Success can be measured and traced back to a successful connected experience.

When studying user behavior and coming up with content targeting solutions, User Experience specialists take a thoughtful approach on which sensitivity, and empathy are applied in a holistic manner. This is where UX brings that test-and-learn attitude to the table on which the main purpose of personalizing a product is to find solutions that better serve the user. Measuring this information provides that sharp understanding of the product’s audience and calls the user to focus by thoughtfully serving relevant information that can potential enhance their experience and save them time when performing a tasks.

In the past few years, users are becoming more aware of digital content targeting and in some cases it has developed a sense of fear and lack of trust, especially in the ad industry. As a technology consultant, I’ve been part of projects on which personalization was successful implemented in applications and products and has had a positive impact in their processes. This could only have been accomplished due to a combined effort of technology specialists taking a holistic approach during the application implementation. There are many practices that as User Experience experts we tend to apply when measuring data. Sometimes, it can be necessary to spend time measuring the level of distrust and disengagement in an organization before introducing a new feature. In every step of the way, think empathy and sensitivity.

A Successful Personalization

Transparency is important when implementing content targeting. Providing additional information as to ‘why’ a certain type of content is being presented to the user can be helpful to build trust and even loyalty. Netflix, for example, lets the users know that a certain list of Movies or TV Shows genre is being presented to them due to previous selections they’ve made in the past. In a corporate website, it can be extremely helpful to display content that is to be consumed by a particularly user group based on the tasks or role they perform in the organization. A manager that is part of the leadership team in a company, can benefit from seeing a targeted Leadership News Feed, Documents Awaiting My Approval, or My Team’s News Feed right in the homepage.

Some other helpful content targeting can be due to localization. Presenting content that is specific to me as a user based on my current geo-location or my office location. For example, weather or time information, regional news, division news, etc.

Brighter Future

Due to rapid technology advancement especially when it comes to digital data collection, data usage, and content targeting, there are many new privacy policies that are being established to help provide user privacy protection and regulate better quality procedures around connected experiences. The implementation of GRDP (General Data Protection Regulation)  in 2018 is a great example of regularization that made a great impact especially on international organizations that have a presence in Europe. Many other companies like Facebook are being forced to re-examine their processes and abide to privacy regulations that protect the user and the information they choose share.

An empathetic approach and the application of privacy policy regulations when establishing digital strategies can ensure the success of connected experiences in a world that is constantly evolving and relies on technology on a day-to-day basis.

Takeaways

  • User Experience specialists bring the necessary empathy, thoughtfulness, and sensitivity to deliver a solution that serves the user’s needs in a positive manner.
  • AI needs to be supported by IA / UX in order to provide a successful personalization, with the correct ‘test-and-learn’ methodology that best serves the user.
  • User Experience specialists introduce personalization as a new dimension into design proposing content targeting variations based on user needs, roles, location, etc.
  • Personalization used properly provides an enhanced layer in user’s connected experiences.
  • A holistic approach in design is important to establish the level of Intention, Failure, and Success, when implementing personalization.

 

 

The Importance of User Research

There is an important aspect of user experience that is usually taken for granted and sometimes it doesn’t get the spotlight it deserves: user research.

User research is the first step in a user experience analysis. This is the part where we gain better understanding through observation of users behaviors, needs, and motivations. The information gathered at this stage of the project, will inform the decisions made throughout the entire planning and implementation of the solution.

User research is often divided into quantitative and qualitative methods.

Surveys and A/B testing are commonly used quantitative method during user research. Quantitative user methods seek to measure user behavior in a way that it can be quantified and used for statistical analysis.

Qualitative methods such as user interviews and usability tests seek to get an in-depth understanding of the experiences and everyday lives of individual users or user groups.

User research can be very helpful when trying to keep track of the return of investment (ROI) of a solution. It’s often a lot easier when we’re able to show the positive impact a change in the design made in sales or in the increase of visitors or customers in the site. This helps make a much stronger case for investing in user experience.

Takeways

  • User research ensures that the updates being applied are truly relevant to your target user group.
  • User research helps you make educated decisions when planning an implementation or update of your site or product.
  • User research helps measure ROI.

Featured in: Furniture Manufacturer Implements Cost Effective Mobile App

I was recently interviewed to share my experience working on the development of one of the many mobile apps we’ve built for one of the largest furniture manufacturing companies in the world.  It was an amazing experience working along side a very talented group of professionals. You can read the full article here http://www.cdh.com/resources-events/case-studies/furniture-manufacturer-implements-custom-app

 

The journey of User Experience in software development

One of the most common problems that I’ve encountered when first analyzing an application is that it is often built up around what people think the customer wants, rather than an analysis of what the customer actually wants – or even more importantly – what the customer needs.

Let’s say there is a software application that you or someone you know interacts with on a daily basis that could really use an update. You have some ideas on what is needed but, as a stakeholder, you’re hesitant to make a large financial investment in a new software application without a full grasp of what is needed.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

  • Do I understand my users’ needs and current frustrations in their entirety?
  • How often do my users seek assistance when interacting with the application?
  • Is my system built on a strong technical and strategic foundation that will satisfy my long-term goals?
  • How can I validate the usability of my application?

These are only some of the questions that are worth considering before initiating a development process. By bringing UX thinking into the very beginning of the process, it helps bring into focus the real obstacles, and subsequently, the strategic approach to overcome them. At the same time, on the back end, whatever has been designed needs to be built. And how something is built plays a major role in how it works for the end user.

Okay, I get it. User Experience is important. But what does User Experience actually mean?

User Experience encompasses the entire set of affects that is elicited by the interaction between a user and a product, including the degree to which all of our senses are gratified (aesthetic experience), the meanings we attach to the product (experience of meaning), and the feelings and emotions that are elicited (emotional experience). (Hekkert. 2006)

A successful software application is evaluated beyond its functionality. The product’s functionality needs to go hand and hand with a positive user experience, no matter the device or the platform.

So, how can I ensure a positive user experience?

A successful development process would include the presence of User Experience all throughout its lifecycle; from conception, to execution, to implementation.

When a user interacts with an application and the results of the interaction can be described as efficient and painless, then you’ve built a successful usable product.

The development process consists on the following phases:

Planning > Design > Development > Implementation

User Experience takes on an important role, especially during the Planning and Design phases. This is also known as the Discovery phase. Its main purpose is to trim off requirements that don’t help the product, and to ensure that the requirements that remain will ultimately benefit the experience. This is where user analysis, environmental analysis, task analysis, and needs analysis are usually performed, depending on the type of project.

There are many methodologies that are used during a User Experience analysis. My responsibility as a UX Consultant is to implement the best strategic UX approach that will generate the most positive results.

A great way to gather information during a UX analysis is to perform user interviews; specifically stakeholder interviews that will provide a valuable introduction to the current state of the application and the needs of the people they represent within the company. The interviews are usually followed by the creation of Personas, a Concepting stage (User Story Boards, User Journey Maps, User Flow, Taxonomies, to mention some) and a Product Planning stage (Content Audit, Sitemap, use cases, etc.)

These methodologies produce a great amount of information that become a strong foundation during the Development phase, and a guideline throughout the entire lifecycle of a constantly evolving product.

This is how we, UX consultants, are able to generate educated assumptions that are later put under scrutiny by a very meticulous validation process. Eye-tracking tests, Heat mapping, A/B testing, Card Sorting, Usability Tests, are only some of the methodologies we use in order to validate proposed improvements.

The last part of the UX analysis heavy lifting duties in this phase is the Prototyping and Wireframing stage. The success of these artifacts are based on the data that is collected from the validation process. At this point of the analysis, the probabilities for an application to provide a positive experience are looking really good. We now have a strategic approach for the execution, implementation, and maintenance of our application.

These UX artifacts are taken as strategic guidelines by the development team and user interface designers during Development and Implementation to make sure the visual and technical recommendations are present throughout the entire process until the product is put into production and available to the masses.

So, is this when User Experience ends?

A constantly evolving product will require User Experience throughout its entire lifecycle. User Experience ends when the product retires. There is always something new to learn from the user. New technologies are constantly emerging and there is always a new way to interact with an application. A product should be able to go through small iterations of improvement without the need of having to perform serious refactoring every time.

Conclusion

User Experience adds a great value to product development. Contrary to what most people believe, User Experience is more than wireframes and user interface design. It is what ensures an efficient and pleasant experience in a functional application. In internal applications, it may help reduce hours of unnecessary training or promote employee engagement and interaction within the organization. In the long-term, this will convert to savings on unnecessary expenses. For an external audience, it can potentially increase your online traffic and produce an increase in your ROI as a result of a satisfactory user experience. After all, understanding your end-users’ preferences as well the technical requirements for short and long term goals, will give you a technological advantage to improve, expand, and grow as a business much more efficiently.

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This article was also written to be featured at cdh.com

HowTo fix: failed rule “Restart computer” when installing MSSQL Server 2014 in Parallels Windows 10

I finally decided to install Parallels in my MacBook Pro. I’ve started working on various .Net + MSSQL projects again so it only made sense to have these tools available in my Mac in addition of having it already setup in my Lenovo ThinkPad W541.

During my MSSQL installation process in Windows 10 in Parallels, I encountered the Global Key error ” Restart computer” – failed. Of course I had already tried restarting my Windows 10 in Parallels, and restarting my entire MacBook computer multiple times, but the error was still there. After searching for a solution online, the only answer that worked for me was to shutdown my Windows 10 from the Command Line using shutdown -r -f -t 0

Have you experienced this issue before? Did you find a different solution to this issue? Share below.