Samenvatting boek: the elements of user experience.
Chapter 2: meet the elements
The 5 elements of user experience:
1. The surface plane: how does the surface look, it is made up of images and text.
2. The skeleton plane: beneath the surface you have the placement of buttons, controls,
photos and blocks of text.
3. The structure plane: how users got to the page and where they could go when they are
finished (navigational elements).
4. The scope plane: which features and functions are part of the structural plane.
5. The strategy plane: what does the user (and people running the site) wants to get out
of the site?
The 5 planes can be splitted in functionality and information.
Chapter 3: strategy plane
Start with examining your own objectives for the product or service.
- Start with brand identity: codifying the specific qualities of the impression you want to
make.
, - Set success metrics: indicators which will show you how you will know if you reached
your objectives.
After clearing up your own objectives, decide the user needs: conduct user research among
users.
- To decide who you want to approach you have to apply user segmentation.
- Segment the audience based on demographic criteria (gender, age, education
etc.), or;
- Segment the audience based on psychographic criteria (attitudes and
perceptions)
- Decide which testing method you want to use
- Market research method: like surveys and focus groups.
- Contextual inquiry: the researcher watches the user in the course of the user's
normal activities.
- Task analysis: closely examining the precise steps users go through in
accomplishing a task.
- User testing: get users to test what you have produced.
- Card sorting: users categorize information elements in a way that feels most
natural to them.
After user research it is helpful to create personas. A persona is a fictional character
constructed to represent the needs of a whole range of real users.
Product objectives and user needs are often defined in a formal strategy document. This
provides an analysis of the relationship among the various objectives and how those objectives
fit into the larger context of the organization.
Chapter 4: the scope plane
Translate the user needs and product objectives into specific requirements.
The scope plane consists of functional specifications and content requirements.
Defining requirements: the input comes from stakeholders and directly from users. The
requirements will fall into three categories:
1. The things that people say they want.
2. Sometimes the things people say they want are not the things they actually want. It is
good to dive into underlying causes.
3. The features people don't know they want.
Coming up with requirements:
1. It is helpful to use the personas and put them into little stories (scenarios) on how they
fulfill one of their user needs.
2. Take a look at your competitors for inspiration.
Chapter 2: meet the elements
The 5 elements of user experience:
1. The surface plane: how does the surface look, it is made up of images and text.
2. The skeleton plane: beneath the surface you have the placement of buttons, controls,
photos and blocks of text.
3. The structure plane: how users got to the page and where they could go when they are
finished (navigational elements).
4. The scope plane: which features and functions are part of the structural plane.
5. The strategy plane: what does the user (and people running the site) wants to get out
of the site?
The 5 planes can be splitted in functionality and information.
Chapter 3: strategy plane
Start with examining your own objectives for the product or service.
- Start with brand identity: codifying the specific qualities of the impression you want to
make.
, - Set success metrics: indicators which will show you how you will know if you reached
your objectives.
After clearing up your own objectives, decide the user needs: conduct user research among
users.
- To decide who you want to approach you have to apply user segmentation.
- Segment the audience based on demographic criteria (gender, age, education
etc.), or;
- Segment the audience based on psychographic criteria (attitudes and
perceptions)
- Decide which testing method you want to use
- Market research method: like surveys and focus groups.
- Contextual inquiry: the researcher watches the user in the course of the user's
normal activities.
- Task analysis: closely examining the precise steps users go through in
accomplishing a task.
- User testing: get users to test what you have produced.
- Card sorting: users categorize information elements in a way that feels most
natural to them.
After user research it is helpful to create personas. A persona is a fictional character
constructed to represent the needs of a whole range of real users.
Product objectives and user needs are often defined in a formal strategy document. This
provides an analysis of the relationship among the various objectives and how those objectives
fit into the larger context of the organization.
Chapter 4: the scope plane
Translate the user needs and product objectives into specific requirements.
The scope plane consists of functional specifications and content requirements.
Defining requirements: the input comes from stakeholders and directly from users. The
requirements will fall into three categories:
1. The things that people say they want.
2. Sometimes the things people say they want are not the things they actually want. It is
good to dive into underlying causes.
3. The features people don't know they want.
Coming up with requirements:
1. It is helpful to use the personas and put them into little stories (scenarios) on how they
fulfill one of their user needs.
2. Take a look at your competitors for inspiration.
