My presentation on the history and current developments surrounding the field of User Experience & User Research.

1. UserResearch
By Arthur Hayden

2. A history of User Experience and
the research behind it
My name is Arthur Hayden. I am an intern for the User Research group at EBSCO
Information Services in Ipswich, MA. To gain a better understanding of our department
and the field of user experience design as a whole, I have created this presentation.
Thank you to the rest of the User Research team for giving me this opportunity.
EBSCO Information Services – July 2015

3. History
A breakdown of
major historical
events and
developments for
our field
Techniques
Details about some
of the most
common
techniques used in
User Research
Leaders
Bios and assorted
wisdom from a few
of today’s top User
Research minds
Definitions
Definitions of some
of the key terms and
phrases pertaining to
User Research
Conclusion
Takeaways from the
presentation,
acknowledgements,
Q&A

4. Definitions
Key terms and phrases
Usability
The effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction
with which specified users achieve specified
goals in particular environments.
Simplified by Jakob Nielsen:
“How easy and pleasant [the product] is to use.”
User Research (UR)
Any number of investigative techniques
used to add context and insight to the
design process. The term User Testing is also
often used as these techniques are used on
“finished” products.
User Experience (UX)
All aspects of the user’s interaction with a
product, service, or company that make up
the user’s perceptions of the whole.
UX Design
The process of enhancing user satisfaction
by improving the usability, accessibility, and
pleasure provided in the interaction
between the user and the product.

6. History of User Experience/Research
UX through the ages
Circa 1430 – Da Vinci’s Kitchen Nightmare
In an early example of UX design,
Leonardo created working conveyor belts,
a giant oven, and a primitive sprinkler
system for a feast hosted by the Duke of
Milan. All of these innovations failed, but
only because of poor execution: a good
lesson!
Early to Mid 1900s – Efficiency in Engineering
Mechanical engineers such as Fredrick
Winslow Taylor and Henry Ford created
a framework for the relationship
between workers and their tools: early
examples of documented research on
the relationship between users and
their tools/products.

7. 1955 – Dreyfuss Designing for People
Henry Dreyfuss, an industrial
designer, authors Designing for
People, elaborating on some of
the key principles of usability for
consumer products.
1966 – Disney Designs for Happiness
Walt Disney emphasizes the use
of the latest technologies to
improve people’s lives, inspiring
many user experience designers
today. Design for utility AND joy!

8. 2007 – The Birth of the iPhone
Steve Jobs unveils the iPhone, which proves far
easier and more fun to use than any other
cellphone on the market at the time. Apple’s
success through superior user experience
instantly made UX (and, therefore, user
research) more important for tech companies.
2015 – Responsive Web Design
As smartphones become even more
influential in our lives, tech products and
websites are facing the challenge of
transitioning to mobile devices. Google
and other tech giants have all emphasized
the growing importance of RWD.
1995 – The First UX Professional
Don Norman, of the Nielsen
Norman Group, joined Apple in
1995 as a “User Experience
Architect”, taking the place of
what many consider to be the
first dedicated UX position.

10. Questionnaires
Researchers invite people to say who
they are, what they do, and where
they go. Generally speaking, this is the
easiest method of gathering raw data.
Card Sorting
This is a reliable, inexpensive method for
finding patterns in how users would expect to
find content or functionality. Works by forcing
participants to classify things on the fly.
Contextual Inquiry
Researchers observe what people do as
they go about their day, utilizing the
product. This strategy focuses on users’
actual activities to get as accurate data
as possible from users.
Non-Directed Interviews
Researchers set up some rough
guidelines and converse with their
audience, generally letting the
audience control the conversation.
Common User Research Techniques
Different ways we collect data

12. Thought Leaders
What the best, contemporary UX minds are saying
Jakob Nielsen
HCI specialist: co-
founder of NNG;
extensive experience
with pioneer tech
companies; godfather
of usability
Janice Fraser
Interaction designer
and experienced start-
up consultant; co-
founder of Adaptive
Path; CEO of LUXr
Richard Anderson
Longtime UX
consultant; started the
Experience Center at
Viant; worked for the
UX department of
Yahoo!
The field of User Experience/Design is a vast and expanded landscape and it would be impossible to summarize all contemporary
developments and schools of thought through three individuals; however, these three User Experience professionals have very
different backgrounds and present three unique perspectives into the most important features of User Experience and where they
believe User Research is headed.

13. Jakob Nielsen
Human-Computer Interaction Specialist, Michael Jordan of tech usability
Jakob’s Law of the Web User Experience
“Users spend most of their time on other websites.”
Users form their expectations for your site/product based on what’s
commonly done elsewhere. If you deviate from that norm, the innovation
must offer significant improvement or users will leave.
User Research and Usability Design are Essential
With the number of websites increasing at an exponential rate, those that
do not meet basic usability standards will lose customers to competitors.
Additionally, intranets with poor usability significantly hinder employee
productivity.
Prioritize Testing Over Surveying
While it is easier – and oftentimes very useful – to simply ask users
questions about your products, this is no substitute for watching what users
actually do with the product. What users say can be misleading, even if they
firmly believe in what they tell you. Simple observation eliminates bias.

14. Janice Fraser
Interaction designer, start-up wizard
Two Types of Research Methods
Fraser breaks down the types of user research methods into two groups.
She also talks about the plethora of new tools available for product testing
such as Usertesting.com.
Generative Testing
Generate new
ideas
Few, long
conversations
Produces
qualitative data
Creates
Empathy
More
participants
Quantitative
data
Analytically
focused

15. Richard Anderson
User Experience Expert, Organizational Strategy Consultant, has
exactly one usable headshot on the internet
Design-led vs.
Research-led
Anderson talks about UX
researchers in two different
categories: those who design with
people and those who design for
people. He doesn’t say that one
mindset is necessarily better than
the other, only that transitioning
between the two entails major
cultural change for the company.
Should we call it
User Research?
The term can imply that our department
only does research with users when in
reailty we also study people who are not
yet users of EBSCO products. Anderson
argues that this phrase can prevent UX
teams from being involved early in the
design process.
Yahoo! merged their UX research group
and the market research group to form
the Customer Insights department.
Is Usability
outdated?
Some UX experts believe that
modern computing is minimizing
the importance of usability
studies. Anderson argues that
more emphasis should be placed
on ”social user research” which
relies on huge amounts of what he
calls ”casual data” from Twitter,
Facebook, etc...
Anderson has 20+ years of experience working with different companies to move user
experience into a position of greater influence. He has written and published numerous
articles and teachers numerous courses across the country.
A few of the key arguments that he makes on User Experience:

16. Conclusion
What have we learned
Definitions
• UX encompasses everything
• User Research investigates UX
• Usability is a part of UX
Techniques
• Interviews & questionnaires are easy
• Contextual inquiry generally provides
deeper insight
• Growing number of testing resources
User Research in Action
Usability Testing of Fruit
Thought Leaders
• Nielsen: Use usability!
• Fraser: Generative vs. Testing
• Anderson: Culture matters
History
• UX is still relatively new
• Lessons from Da Vinci
• Apple was important

17. THANK YOU!