What the New Class Learned-Part 1

In the last few weeks, a cross-functional group of eight Saint Mary's Press employees took the Certified User Experience Professional Class.

Here's what one group of the newest class of user experience professionals had to say  about all they learned:

Eloise, Design Coordinator

Something I realized from this class is how important it is to observe REAL users. There is so much that can be learned from what they say and do, but also from what they do not say- their body language.

They can tell us if they are having trouble reading or comprehending text by leaning farther into the book. If they are uncomfortable or confused, they may clear their throat, or try remove themselves from the situation by pushing away from the desk or book. There is a wealth of knowledge available to us from the Morae video clips, watching the users, observing them and asking questions!

It is also important to realize that just because users are not voicing their concerns or troubles with a product, doesn’t mean the product is easy to use! Maybe we are forcing them to use the product the way we THINK they should, and they are adapting the way they complete a task because of this. Brian shared with us the story of how pineapples were genetically altered to grow a certain shape to fit into the machine that cored and sliced them, instead of changing the machine.

We need to make sure we are not making our customers be the pineapples! I am excited to use my new knowledge to help design products that have the real users at the forefront!

Megan, Web Marketing Specialist

One thing I would recommend to other teams engaged in this process is to surrender to the experience and open the door to “play”. The CUEP class is a forum for learning and it’s easy to get caught up in the definition of “testing.” UX testing, from a facilitator standpoint, is observation.  

Some of our greatest play as children is done from a perspective of observation: doctor, teacher, adventurer. If you can bring a little bit of that light-hearted playfulness to the experience I believe you can open the door to a more enriching experience that will allow you freedom of discovery and exploration toward getting the most out of your user experience work.

 

Christy, Marketing Associate

One of many things that really struck me from this class is how telling people’s physical reactions can be when they became frustrated or stuck on a task. We assigned one particularly difficult task to 4 people. As they became frustrated, their physical reactions became more pronounced.

For example, one person turned very red in the face when he became frustrated. Another person started to whistle as she became more and more frustrated. Eventually everyone was able to complete the task in some form or another.  But their actions as they were performing the task were very revealing as to what they were thinking

Jason, Digital Manager

I realized through this class that even when you think you know how the results are going to turn out, you are often surprised when you are wrong and see that the users are actually seeing it a different way than I'm seeing it. 

I realized through this that the world is not limited to how you might see things. You find that your preconceived ideas of how you thought the results would turn out is often wrong.You just have to learn to open your mind to other people expectations and the experiences the users expect to have.