Design: Data-Informed Design

This is the first edition of my new column, Data-Informed Design, which will explore the use of data to inform UX design. Data, in many different forms, is changing how we think about ourselves and the world. And, for better or worse, it is definitely changing our experience with technology—from great new mobile apps that we can use to monitor our health to incremental improvements on our favorite Web sites to those annoying ads that follow us everywhere.

In my column, I’ll describe how to use different types and sources of data to create better user experiences and how to achieve some balance—so data isn’t driving decisions. There are three key topics that I’ll cover:

• Starting at a high level, I’ll look at why you would want to use data, some misconceptions around data and UX design, and discuss a process for incorporating any kind of data into your decisions.
• Then, I’ll move on to considering various data sources such as analytics, A/B tests, social-media sentiment, and various types of quantified data from UX research.
• I’ll also describe how to use and analyze data, including metrics and measurement frameworks, as well as presentation tips and visualization tools.

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Chief Product Officers (CPOs), Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), and other corporate leaders have become well acquainted with the ebb and flow of budgets in recent years. Long periods of economic uncertainty have sparked conversations about doing more with less. This phrase is now both as ubiquitous as it is difficult to accomplish. Leaders must look beyond labor cost reductions and instead allocate their investments to strategic, impactful technologies and analytics. However, this mindset shift can pose quite a challenge, particularly considering the pivotal role of consumer data. However, by embracing this transformative mindset, companies can harness the power of data-driven insights and learn to truly do more with less.

Fortunately, the tide is turning. CMOs, CPOs, and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) are among the leaders who are beginning to recognize that customer-experience data is just as valuable as demographic or identifiable data—if not more valuable in certain circumstances. This is occurring largely in response to changing customer sentiments about data privacy and security. The reality is that customers are more aware of—and wary about—how companies are collecting and using their data. As a result, we’re seeing a meaningful shift away from users’ engaging with brands that ask for more data than they truly need. Changes in customers’ behaviors and expectations have helped us to identify some topics that leaders need to revisit. Read More

The amount of data we produce every day is growing exponentially. This explosion of raw data means synthesis, analysis, and interpretation are more important than ever before. Without the right processes and tools in place to understand and act on our data, it has little value. It is essential that we understand what data is available, how it can answer pressing questions, and how it can enable action.

As UX professionals, we collect a wide array of data through a variety of sources and techniques—from market trends to one-on-one interviews to product-usage data to usability testing to sales feedback. We must collate, classify, and comprehend disparate sources of data to create a more holistic understanding of whatever question we need to answer. While the volume of data might seem overwhelming at first, design thinking and a tinkering mindset are invaluable in helping to break down the problem, define a plan of action, and iterate and refine solutions as necessary to turn the raw data into actionable insights and concrete products. Read More