Mental Models - Indi Young

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it means actions, thoughts, feelings, and motivations—everything that comes up when a person accomplishes something, sets something in motion, or achieves a certain state. See What Do You Mean by “Task?”.

      What are task-based audience segments?

      Task-based audience segments are, quite simply, groups of people who do similar things. While personality types do touch upon behavior, generative research for building mental models requires that you select from groups of people who want to get different things done. Because you will want to tailor your end solutions to fit each audience exactly, grouping audiences by differences in behavior is important. You want to end up with solutions that match behaviors and philosophies closely rather than with one solution that fits several audiences loosely. Figure out what people want to accomplish, look for differences, and group accordingly. See Task-Based Audience Segments.

      How do I uncover the root task?

      During analysis, you are required to interpret a little. This is the “art” to the process. You will find it easier if you ask yourself, “What is this person really trying to do?” The idea is to simplify to the “root” task.

      What do you mean by a content map’s “content”?

      Let me assure you that the name “content” does not limit your map to text documents. Your content map should include all the ways you serve people, including things like monthly account statements or yearly awards banquets, registration for training courses, or a mortgage calculator. See Draw a Content Map of Your Proposed Solution.

      Does a content map show every detail of my solution?

      It includes all functionality that exists or is intended for your solution. See Draw a Content Map of Your Proposed Solution.

      How can analyzing gaps in a mental model show me innovative ideas?

      The first thing to look at is the obvious gaps where there is an absence of content items. Your hope is that you can find a gap that you can fill easily. Then look for scarcity of content items. Think about where you can flesh out things a bit. Look for opportunities to redefine, combine, or augment existing content.

      How can mental models help me make sense of all my web properties?

      Each one of your web properties is a building on your internet campus. Each property has its own unique navigation that represents the mental model of the people populating it.

      Foreword

      “You’re researching all the creativity out of this project!”

      I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard designers, developers, and even business owners say this. It usually comes just after a project has begun, as I’m preparing for interviews with users. Designers just want to start designing, developers want to start writing code, managers want the thing to ship—so why are we spending all this time talking? And all this stuff just seems so obvious. Do we really need users to tell us what we already know?

      I try to be diplomatic. “Maybe a few interviews now will save us lots of grief later,” I tell them. “Think of this as insurance: Let’s make sure we’ve got the basics right before we’ve designed everything and written all the code.”

      But no matter what I say to convince a team to do research early in their project, I never let them know my dirty little secret: I used to be just as skeptical as them.

      I’ve always believed in a user-centered design methodology. Even early in my career, when I was journalist, we always started with the mantra “know your audience.” Later in my career, I’d go to conferences and watch presentations with process diagrams—boxes representing users needs with arrows pointing to boxes representing product requirements. Intellectually, I agreed. But when I started a new project, in that intoxicating first stage when anything is possible, I’d jump straight to solutions. “Let’s use Flash for this part! And over here, we’ll design some awesome icons for navigation…” Our users were still important, but they were there to bear witness to how cool our designs were.

      Then I met Indi Young. Indi and I were among the founding partners of Adaptive Path, a user experience consulting company that focused on research-driven design. We founded the company in the dark days of the Web industry. It was 2001. “Dot com” was a dirty word, companies were cutting their Web budgets, and projects were drying up everywhere.

      It was then that “research-driven” started having real meaning to me. As Indi introduced her methodology and resulting visualizations, it became clear that she wasn’t just trying to make designs better in some abstract way. Rather, her process was simple enough to resonate with anyone on a Web team. And perhaps more importantly, it would help connect Web teams to other core parts of their organizations who were skeptical of spending even another cent on their web sites.

      In the end, using Indi’s process, we were able to convince teams that we weren’t researching all the creativity out of their projects. We were researching the risk out. And no matter how the industry is faring, that’s a story people want to hear.

      This book is an excellent guide to a research method firmly grounded in common sense. But don’t let the simplicity of the process detract from the power of the change it can enable. Talking to users in a structured way, analyzing in a collaborative way, and diagramming with clarity can transform the way you approach the Web.

      And it might just ignite your creativity!

      Jeffrey Veen, San Francisco, August, 2007

      CHAPTER 1

      What and Why? The Advantages of a Mental Model

       What is a Mental Model?

       Why Use Mental Models?

       Confidence in Your Design

       Clarity in Direction

       Continuity of Strategy

      You might be thinking, “What does she mean by ‘mental models?’” Since the phrase “mental model” is somewhat commonly used—at least in the realm of research—I want to set out what I mean by the term and then outline why you would ever want to make one.

      What is a Mental Model?

      Designing something requires that you completely understand what a person wants to get done. Empathy with a person is distinct from studying how a person uses something. Empathy extends to knowing what the person wants to accomplish regardless of whether she has or is aware of the thing you are designing. You need to know the person’s goals and what procedure and philosophy she follows to accomplish them. Mental models give you a deep understanding of people’s motivations and thought-processes, along with the emotional

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