Posts tagged “book”

DDD: Link Roundup

February 10th, 2017


It’s been two months since Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries was released. Here’s links to presentations, podcasts and more stuff related to the book.

The Book

Reviews

Podcasts

Interviews

Presentations

Other

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What’s New: Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries

December 6th, 2016

doorbells-danger-dead-batteries-cover
My new book comes out today and Lou Rosenfeld has an enthusiastic appreciation and a bit of the back story about the book’s journey.
Read it all here

I dipped into about a dozen of the 60+ field research war stories that make up the bulk of the book. The stories do what stories are supposed to do: engage. And the contributors have been through some experiences that will make you laugh, sweat with fear and discomfort, and—let’s face it—enjoy a bit of schadenfreude. But it’s wrong to see Steve’s new book simply as a compilation of user research war stories. In Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries, Steve comes through: he delivers a broader framework that’s useful for making sense of user research—or, actually, situations with people.

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Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries available for pre-order

November 14th, 2016

doorbells-danger-dead-batteries-cover
My new book comes out on December 6!

You can pre-order (with a discount) from Rosenfeld Media (or from Amazon). Also coming soon is an audiobook version! Remember, your review on Amazon really helps drive awareness.

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Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries
User Research War Stories

User research war stories are personal accounts of the challenges researchers encounter out in the field, where mishaps are inevitable yet incredibly instructive. Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries is a diverse compilation of war stories that range from comically bizarre to astonishingly tragic, tied together with valuable lessons from expert user researcher Steve Portigal.

The stories Steve Portigal knits together here have an extraordinary and immediate intimacy, like listening in on 66 researchers’ bedtime prayers. Anne Lamott says there are essentially three kinds of prayers: help, thanks, and wow! Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries covers the whole range, with humor and wisdom.

Dan Klyn, information architect, co-founder of The Understanding Group (TUG)

See more testimonials

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Interviewing Users: Link Roundup

January 6th, 2015

interviewing-users

Welcome to 2016! The New Year seems a good time to post my occasionally updated roundup of links to various bits connected with Interviewing Users. Of course, if you haven’t already, you should buy a copy here! It would be fantastic if you wrote a quick review on Amazon here.

The Book

Reviews

Interviews

Presentations

Other

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Interviewing Users: Link Roundup

October 2nd, 2014

interviewing-users

It’s been well over a year since Interviewing Users came out. Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I’ll republish this occasionally with accumulated updates. If you haven’t already, get your copy here! And if you have, it would be great if you wrote a brief review on Amazon here.

The Book

Reviews

Interviews

Presentations

Other

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Interviewing Users: Link Roundup

April 2nd, 2014

interviewing-users

Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here!

Hi! If you’ve read the book and found it beneficial, it would mean a lot if you would contribute a brief review on Amazon here.

It’s been eleven months Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I’ll republish this occasionally with accumulated updates.

The Book

Reviews

Interviews

Presentations

Other

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The Future of the Book, you say? [2013 edition]

December 17th, 2013

Reading ahead
In 2010, we conducted a public-facing study about the future of books and reading, called Reading Ahead. We raised many fascinating questions including the design implications for the digital book experience: which elements of the traditional experience should move forward and which should be left behind.

Looking at the issue a few years later is the New York Times, with Out of Print, Maybe, but Not Out of Mind

Some functions of physical books that seem to have no digital place are nevertheless being retained. An author’s autograph on a cherished title looked as if it would become a relic. But Apple just applied for a patent to embed autographs in electronic titles. Publishers still commission covers for e-books even though their function — to catch the roving eye in a crowded store — no longer exists.

What makes all this activity particularly striking is what is not happening. Some features may be getting a second life online, but efforts to reimagine the core experience of the book have stumbled. Dozens of publishing start-ups tried harnessing social reading apps or multimedia, but few caught on.
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Much of the design innovation at the moment, Mr. Brantley believes, is not coming from publishers, who must still wrestle with delivering both digital and physical books. Instead it is being developed by a tech community that “doesn’t think about stories as the end product. Instead, they think about storytelling platforms that will enable new forms of both authoring and reading.”

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Interviewing Users: Link Roundup

December 2nd, 2013

interviewing-users

Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here!

It’s been seven months Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I’ll republish this regularly with accumulated updates.

The Book

Reviews

Interviews

Presentations

Other

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Interviewing Users: Link Roundup

November 4th, 2013

interviewing-users

Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here!

It’s been six months (whaa???) since Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I’ll republish this regularly with accumulated updates.

The Book

Reviews

Interviews

Presentations

Other

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Interviewing Users: Link Roundup

October 3rd, 2013

interviewing-users

Interviewing Users is now available. Get your copy here!

It’s been five months since Interviewing Users came out! Below is a roundup of links to various bits connected with the book. I’ll republish this regularly with accumulated updates.

The Book

Reviews

Interviews

Presentations

Other

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Overture, curtain, lights!

May 2nd, 2013

bugs
Today Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights is finally released! I’m so excited; last night was like the night before my birthday (or at least the way that felt when I was a kid).

I’m grateful for all the enthusiasm and am looking forward to people’s thoughts when they’ve had a chance to read and digest and reflect.

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Seventeen types of interviewing questions

February 14th, 2012

I’m cited in Developing Your Interviewing Skills, Part I: Preparing for an Interview, with a set of question types. The article suggests those question types are helpful in preparing an interview guide. I think they are also very helpful in the interview itself, as you will often have to probe a number of different ways to get at what you are think is interesting.

Anyway, I’m not sure where the author found that set of questions, but I’ve recently rewritten and restructured them for the book. This seemed like a great opportunity to share them with everyone. I’d love your feedback: What am I missing? Do you disagree? What else would be more helpful for readers?

Questions to gather context and collect details

  • Ask about sequence “Describe a typical workday. What do you do when you first sit down at your station?-Then what do you do next?”
  • Ask about quantity “How many files would you delete when that happens?”
  • Ask for specific examples “What is the last movie that you streamed?” – Compare this to “What movies do you stream?” The specific is easier to answer than the general and becomes a platform for follow up questions.
  • Ask for the complete list “What are all the different apps you have installed on your smartphone?” – This will require a series of follow up questions, e.g., “What else?” because few people will be able to generate an entire list of something with some prompting.
  • Ask about relationships “How do you work with new vendors?” – This general question is especially appropriate when you don’t even know enough to ask a specific question (e.g. in comparison to the earlier example about streaming movies). Better to start general than to be presumptive with a too-specific question.
  • Ask about organizational structure “Who does that department report to?”

Questions to probe on what’s unsaid

  • Ask for clarification “When you refer to “that” you are talking about the newest server, right?”
  • Ask about code words/native language “Why do you call it the ‘Batcave?'”
  • Ask about emotional cues “Why do you laugh when you mention ‘Best Buy?'”
  • Ask why “I’ve tried to get my boss to adopt this format, but she just won’t do it-” “Why do you think she hasn’t?”
  • Probe delicately “You mentioned a difficult situation that changed your usage. Can you tell us what that situation was?”
  • Probe without presuming “Some people have very negative feelings about Twitter, while others don’t. What is your take?” – Rather than the direct “What do you think about Twitter?” or “Do you like Twitter?” this question introduces options that aren’t tied to the interviewer or the interviewee.
  • Explain to an outsider “Let’s say that I’ve just arrived here from another decade, how would you explain to me the difference between smartphones and tablets?”
  • Teach another “If you had to ask your daughter to operate your system, how would you explain it to her?”


Questions that create contrasts in order uncover frameworks and mental models

  • Compare processes “What’s the difference between sending your response by fax, mail or email?”
  • Compare to others “Do the other coaches also do it that way?”
  • Compare across time “How have your family photo activities changed in the past five years? How do you think they will be different give years from now?” – The second question is not intended to capture an accurate prediction. Rather, the question serves to break free from what exists now and envision possibilities that may emerge down the road. Identify the appropriately large time horizon (a year? Five years? Ten years?) that will help people to think beyond incremental change.

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All This ChittahChattah is the Portigal blog, bringing you observations of daily life, disdainful snark over bad design, updates on my activities, and info about user research since 2001.

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