Whenever I try to frame a usability problem we have with some sort of solution, I usually get overwhelmed. Usability research is difficult to execute well even if you know what you’re doing .. but UX is a field with an over-abundance of methods and strategies. All of these strategies have pros, cons, proponents, and detractors, academic and otherwise. Luckily every once in a while I run across a paper that attempts to frame all of these methods in some sort of matrix that I can make a business decision on. I can have a hunch, go to my manager, point at graph, say “we should do 2 of these.” Christian Rohrer‘s presentation to BayCHI is one of those useful papers.
Slide about quantifying desirability - Like whoa ...
His original presentation and blog article have links to the PDF, as well as a link to buying the presentation for $70 or so. We watched the presentation at work and it’s … not great for a group audience. The slides read better than they are presented, but I can’t fault Christian for this .. just the sheer amount of good content is overwhelming.
User Experience Leader Christian Rohrer provides a framework for understanding and explaining different user research methods, delves into details on a few of the lesser-known methods, such as desirability and true intent studies, and discusses key insights to succeed in modern-day corporate environments.