• who will end up using your product,
• the context in which they will likely use it,
• their goals for usage, and
• the likely tasks they will need to complete.

Conducting revealing, useful interviews with users (or prospective users) is a skill that can be developed, and the best way to get better is to get out there and do some interviewing.

To assess or improve your interview skills, it is crucial to reflect back on them afterwards—either have someone observe an interview and give you feedback, or videotape yourself and watch the tape later. The following list is a guide only, but should help interviewers identify areas to work on.

What makes a good interviewer?

How effective you are as an interviewer is directly linked to your ability to extract the most useful information to inform your project. Here are some tips on how you can be sure that your next interview is productive.

Active listening skills

• Look alert and interested; use open body language and provide eye contact.
• Be comfortable with a moment of silence now and then.

Context, comfort and curiosity

• Tell the interviewee why you’re there.
• Start with general questions about tasks and flows.
• Follow up on interesting points.
• Start with broad context before focusing on the product or technology.

Effective question types

If you’re stuck for how to dig into the details of your interviewee’s workflow, here are some tips to help get the conversation moving:

• Ask case-specific questions.
• Ask about artefacts.
• Use open-ended questions to elicit information.
• Use closed-ended questions to clarify or take back control.

Before the interview…

The more you understand about your interviewee, their context, and their behaviour, the more productive the interview is likely to be. While you may not be able to get definitive information on all of the following points, make an effort to understand as much of the following as possible:

• What makes a good or bad experience
• What relationships and dependencies are important
• Which of their tasks are most frequent
• Which of their tasks are most important
• What kind of training or experience the interviewee has had
• What frustrates the interviewee
• What their typical workflow is
• What exceptions typically occur while performing their task
• Any vocabulary specific to their area of expertise

Capture information for later

Don’t assume that you’ll be able to remember absolutely everything. Most interviewees won’t mind you taking some notes during the conversation. To improve the information capture process, keep the following in mind:

• Annotate your notes later if you’re unable to capture everything in the moment
• Take photos of the context
• Take copies of relevant useful artefacts
• Obtain permission in advance of the interview if recording audio or video

Interview techniques to avoid

Remember that your role as interviewer is to avoid bias, so make an effort to not make any of these interview faux pas:

• Asking closed-ended questions to elicit information
• Asking multiple questions at a time
• Sticking to a fixed question set
• Asking leading questions
• Offering opinions
• Taking user wish-lists or design ideas at face value
• Judging users (positively or negatively)
• Sharing your own experiences

Whew! That’s quite a list.

Don’t worry if you notice yourself using an interview technique that you know you should avoid—no matter how experienced you are, this self-awareness is a good indication that you’re on track to reducing the frequency of it occurring.

I hope you find these tips useful in your next user or stakeholder interview!

Do you have any interviewing tips or funny interview stories to relay? Share them in the comments!

The post How To Improve Your Interview Skills appeared first on UX Mastery.

1. Listen more often to your users
If you currently get user feedback monthly, strive for weekly. If you already get feedback weekly, strive for richer feedback, and wherever possible supplement your existing research channels with direct observation. And remember: No time? No money? No excuse!

2. Seek more peer feedback
Whether you’re the most senior UX designer or the most junior UX Designer in your organisation, receiving peer feedback on your work can be intimidating, but it needn’t be. Approach feedback session with an open mind—you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what you’ll learn.

3. Take your headphones off once in a while
It’s important to focus on the task at hand when you’re busily designing the next best thing, but it’s also important to know what else is happening in the office around you. Don’t miss the opportunity to be drawn into important conversations by giving the appearance of being aloof and internally focused.

4. Get out of the office
It’s difficult to empathise with your users from the relative safety of your office cubicle, and very easy to put your head down and get lost in the details for weeks on end. Make the effort to get out of the office each day to take a stroll, have a meeting in a local park or café, or take a phone call. You’ll walk back into the office refreshed.

5. Find a new mentor (or mentee)
Most New Year’s Resolutions are about self improvement, so find a local mentor who can help you to reach the next level, and strike up a relationship with them. Don’t feel limited to finding a UX mentor within your own department either—great mentors may be found in other areas of the business, or external to your organisation.

6. Get more involved in your local UX community
Your local UX community can be a great source of support and inspiration. You’ll meet like-minded people and make life-long friends who share the same passions and face the same challenges as you. And if you don’t have a local UX community? Start one!

7. Give your own feedback
How great would it be to receive a constant flow of unsolicited feedback on your own product or service? Well, you have the power in your own hands to provide feedback on the products and services you use. And don’t feel limited to negative feedback—the positives are always nice to hear too.

8. Participate in non-digital experiences
We all download the latest apps and sign up to try the latest services, but there is still much to be learned from the way experiences (both good and bad) are crafted in the non-digital world too. Listen carefully for experiences that your friends rave (or rant) about, experience them for yourself and work out what makes them so good (or bad).

9. Try a new UX technique
Always wanted to run a diary study? How about a Collaborative Design Workshop? Pick a technique or two that you’d like to try, do a little research, then keep an eye out for an opportunity to give it a go.

10. Learn a new tool
It seems every other month a new UX tool becomes available. You’ll be surprised how energising it can be to start using a new tool, and just how fast you can pick it up and become proficient. There’s a great list of over 100 UX Tools in the Resources section of the UX MAstery site. 

11. Think beyond the UI
It’s an easy trap to fall into, and we’ve all been there. The Ui is still the ‘sexy’ part of the output for many of your key stakeholders—many will still adhere to the old UX = UI adage. But if you can find the time to think beyond the UI, your users will thank you.

12. Take part in strategy discussions
Find out who the key strategic thinkers are in your organisation and invite yourself to the table. You may need to do some prep work first by sharing key user needs and UX insights, but you’ll be rewarded by having a chance to effect strategic roadmaps and product directions—all of which will be well worth the effort.

13. Design something you can be proud of
There’s nothing worse than looking back at a large body of work and not seeing anything you are particularly proud of. This year, take the time to document the big and small wins you make along the way. While it may seem at times you are drudging along, you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you keep track just how many things there are to be proud of over the course of a long year.

What other resolutions have you set yourself this year? Share them in the comments!

The post 13 User Experience Resolutions For 2013 appeared first on UX Mastery.

It doesn’t have to be that way! While any UX Designer will most likely be happy with a Moleskine notebook and a range of Sharpies, there are a number of other alternatives you can consider as gifts this holiday season.

Gifts To Keep Them Comfortable While They Work

It’s hard to be at your best if you’re not comfortable. Whether in your home studio, or in a shared office space, air conditioner wars are a fact of life for many people. However, if you’re buying for a UX Designer, there are a number of gifts that will both help the recipient be more comfortable and reinforce his or her reputation as a cutting-edge designer.

USB Desk Fan and Lamp

A clever idea and well implemented, a 2-in-1 USB powered lamp and fan will help keep designers cool when hot, while also lighting up the darkest workspace. There are a number of different designs available on the market, so choose one that best fits the personality of the designer for whom you are buying.

Nest Learning Thermostat

Beautifully designed under the watchful eye of the former President of the iPod division at Apple, yet at the same time highly useful and functional, the Nest thermostat is high on many UX Designer’s wish list. Gorgeous industrial design that learns from your behaviour to regulate the temperature in your home, while at the same time saving you money and making your home more environmentally friendly.

Gifts To Keep Them Looking The Part

As a UX Designer, your friend has a reputation to uphold. Whether it be a long sleeved black t-shirt with blue jeans, or an iDevice falling out of each pocket, many designers do their best to live the stereotype, so consider buying something that will perpetuate the designer stereotype for them.

Headblade Head Shaving Razor

A former Time magazine Design of the Year finalist, and now a classic item, the Headblade has continued to evolve since it was first launched over 10 years ago. Pure, functional, and aesthetically pleasing, the Headblade has just one single function in mind—to make head shaving easy. 

The Sneaker Speaker

New York studio Ray Kingston Inc. has developed a wireless speaker that you wear over your sneakers. Paired to your favourite music device via Bluetooth, the Sneaker Speakers aim to bring back the heady days when we used to carry boom-boxes on our shoulders. Not for all designers, but a good candidate to consider if music is one of your designer’s favourite sources of inspiration.

Puurco iPhone Wallet Case

With a design process that includes extensive sketches, schemas and prototypes, the Puurco iPhone Wallet Case is designed using a similar user-centred process to that used by many UX Designers themselves.  Lovingly handcrafted with an amazing attention to detail placed into the creation of each individual item, this is another option that beautifully combines both form and functionality.

Allegory Mini-Precision Pen

Funded via Kickstarter, Allegory have created an amazing set of handcrafted pens constructed from reclaimed woods, each with its own unique documented history. On top of using reclaimed woods, the company also participates in reforestation programs run by the national forest program in the US. Oh, and they look beautiful too.

Remote Controlled Flying Shark

A remote controlled, helium filled, near-silent flying shark should provide hours of fun on Christmas day. Depending on the designer’s inclination, I believe it is also available as a clown fish, and more recently as a Zombie Shark!

Gifts To Tempt The Tastebuds

UX Designers generally have a tendency to yearn for quality products and services, which is often reflected in their choice of food and drink. If the designer you’re purchasing for is a dedicated foodie, they may be interested in experiencing one of the following taste sensations.

Ardbeg Corryvreckan Islay Whisky

The peatiest and smokiest of the Islay Scotch Whiskeys, Ardbeg’s Corryvreckan Islay Whisky really needs to be experienced to be believed. Tasting notes from the official Ardbeg website say it all:

Plunge into the whirlpool and taste the mysterious depths of Corryvreckan. Torrents of taste well up on the palate; deep, peppery and chewy, bombarding the tongue with its intense tastes and textures. The first plunge brings forth chewy peppered steak soaked in pepper sauce with the tang of crispy seaweed. As you descend deeper, encounter a mouthful of black tarry espresso coffee that coats the palate with rich melted dark fruits (blackcurrants, blueberries and cherries) and bitter almonds. As the taste soaks in deeper, star anise and hickory dry out the palate before a surprise of chalky effervescent violets fizz to the surface.

Single Origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans

Coffee plays a major role in the lives of many designers. If you want to surprise and delight the designer in your life, search out a single-origin Ethiopian Yirgacheffe bean. This surprising bean shows a characteristic brightness in the cup due to the distinctive red tint in the local silty, loan clay soil. The slightly bright red fruit fragrance hints of citrus, berry, peach and pineapple and is sure to take a first-time drinker by surprise.

Give The Gift of a Well-crafted Experience

A good UX Designer spends all day, every day, crafting immersive digital experiences for the users of his or her product. Whether it be an art gallery tour, a well-planned degustation, or a beer appreciation night, there are numerous opportunities in every local city in the world to explore and experience unique aspects of the world around us. In my hometown of Melbourne, I can recommend a couple of options.

Puffing Billy Steam & Cuisine Luncheon Train

The famous Puffing Billy steam train still runs along the scenic mountain track from Belgrave to Gembrook in the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne. While travelling the scenic railway is an experience in itself, adding a gourmet three course meal makes this an experience your friend will never forget.

Hand Feeding Sharks and Rays

In Melbourne (and also in Sydney) the Australian Shark and Ray Centre allows you to wade into the water with sharks and rays of all sizes. From the youngest child, through to the young at heart, hand feeding sharks and rays is an experience that no-one will soon forget.

Note: some product links contain affiliate codes.

What memorable gifts have you received, or given to a UX Designer? Share them in the comments!

The post What To Buy A UX Designer For Christmas appeared first on UX Mastery.

Sound familiar?

The exact rationale will vary, but it will generally boil down to objections about two key resources: time and money. If you find yourself in this position, you have a choice: you can shrug your shoulders and hope your design intuition has served you well, or you can work out a way to get feedback from your users despite the hurdles placed in your path.

The best designers I’ve worked with will not take ‘No’ for an answer when it comes to testing their designs, but this doesn’t need to start a war with your key stakeholders. A quick “pressure test” will reveal whether you’re able to change their mind. If you simply can’t win them over, it’s time to take matters into your own hands.

Any feedback is better than no feedback

There is plenty of advice out there stressing the fact that testing with the wrong users is a cardinal sin, and there is an element of truth to this. However, the reality is that most of us aren’t working on a niche product aimed at 75-year-old smartphone-wielding goat herders. Most of us are designing solutions for ordinary people, and chances are we (or one of our colleagues, friends, or family) will know someone who fits the right profile.

And if you are designing a service for 75-year-old tech-savvy shepherds, grab a few people you know who most closely fit that profile and test anyway. Take the feedback with a grain of salt if you must, but I guarantee you’ll learn something of value.

Just observing how people use your solution can provide all kinds of important feedback. in particular whether some aspect of your design is working or not. As a designer, you’ll have areas of your design that you are worried or curious about—get people to use these parts of the design! You’ll satisfy your curiosity and get the chance to improve on areas that make you feel uncomfortable.

Remember, there is no such thing as bad feedback. Approach each feedback session as an opportunity to learn which parts of your design work, and which ones don’t work and need improvement. Even the best designers can improve on their designs with a little feedback from users.

Recruiting users without time or money

So your project has no time or money built into it to get formal feedback? Never mind—just get informal feedback instead. It costs less, and takes less time too.

Here are some tips for soliciting participants:

• Send an email to a few people in the office specifying the type of user you’re really after, and see if anyone knows someone who fits the profile.
• Put a message on Facebook or Twitter (as long as the product development isn’t confidential).
• Make a few phone calls to friends and family. Friends and family will generally be receptive to helping out, so calling in some favours should produce a handful of people with enough spare time to take part in a feedback session.

Be sure to thank participants for their input and reward them as best you can. Beg, borrow, steal, and hoard—well, maybe don’t steal. Keep a drawer full of vouchers; buy them coffee or a beer—whatever works best for you. I’ve found in the past that sometimes just the opportunity to catch up for a chat and to get a peek at what it is you do for a living is all the thanks required.

So what are you waiting for?

As I’ve demonstrated here, soliciting user feedback on your design needn’t be timely or expensive, so you have no excuse not to do so. Drop everything and spend a day—or even half a day—testing your designs. Your absence from the office would have no greater impact than if you’d taken a sick day.

In fact, taking a “sick day” to do some user testing may be the best way to actually get the feedback you need …

The post User Feedback: No Time? No Money? No Excuse! appeared first on UX Mastery.