MSN 9: new user-centered desirability methods produce compelling visual design

ABSTRACT

The MSN User Experience Team developed new user-centered methods to provide structured user input on the visual design of the newly-released MSN Explorer, an integrated software package. In the final product, users rated "appearance" above all of the product's features. This case describes how the MSN User Experience Team derived a design direction to set the most appropriate pace of visual change for millions of users with widely variant preferences. It discloses how these new methods maximized the product's visual appeal to the widest segment of the potential user base. The methods included design mark-up, a semantic design-description task, a statement rating task, a semantic desirability group card sort task, and a modified focus group discussion. This case documents the value of these new methods in predicting user reaction to visual design. Lessons learned from this collaboration are discussed from three perspectives: user experience management, design and usability.

REFERENCES

• 1: Benedek, Joey and Miner, Trish, Measuring Desirability: New Methods for Evaluating Desirability in a Usability Lab Setting, A paper on the Desirability Toolkit Proceedings of the Usability Professionals Association Conference 2002.
• 2: Greenbaum, Thomas L., The Handbook for Focus Group Research, 1997, Sage Publications; ISBN: 0761912533
• 3: Templeton, Jane F., The Focus Group : A Strategic Guide to Organizing, Conducting and Analyzing the Focus Group Interview, 1994, Probus Pub Co; ISBN: 1557385300
• 4: Jeffrey Rubin , Theresa Hudson, Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1994

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.2 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
      D.2.8 Metrics

General Terms:
Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
branding, business case, business strategy, cognitive psychology, concept design, content strategy & creation, design planning, experience design, experience strategy, graphic design, graphics design, human-centered design, industrial design, interaction design, interdisciplinary design, methods, multidisciplinary design, organizational culture, organizational planning, participatory design, product design, product management, service design, system design, usability research, user experience, user interface design, user research, user-centered design, visual design, visual systems