Strategy, design concepts, and estimates based on user-research
Most projects start with Research & Concepting to make sure we thoroughly understand your project. Using an object-oriented user experience (OOUX) strategy, we’ll help you pinpoint the right digital product – with interactive wireframes, prioritized estimates, and a robust plan for development and launch.
We’ll guide you through the Object Oriented User Experience (OOUX) process – popularized by Sophia Prater – to define the "objects" that make up your web app, the relationships between those objects, and the ways users want to interact with those objects. We will deliver an Object Map to streamline communication between designers, developers, and stakeholders throughout the project.
It was easy to talk about technology options. OddBird was both flexible (working within the constraints of our existing systems) and opinionated (bringing context from past experience).
—Matthew King, Engineering Manager at Second Measure
OddBird communication is excellent. They come prepared, they are deeply technical, and they can express complex concepts to a variety of audiences. I have invited them to meetings with execs, designers, engineers, and our own customers. They always do a great job representing the project.
—Nicole Sullivan, Product Manager for Web UI at Google Chrome
This process delivers all the information required to take your project to the next step. We’ll help you understand the full scope of your vision, experiment with interactive visualization, define the Minimum Viable Product (MVP), get to know your customers on a new level, and see a full estimate for design and development. Use the Research & Concepting deliverables to present your idea to your board or CEO, or to take the leap into creating your web project!
Together we’ll discuss the goals, scope, and requirements of the project and create a map for our journey. Some of the information may be available in planning documents you have already created. This process includes a review of technical, brand, and marketing goals as needed. Below are a few sample questions.
What is the goal of the application? In other words, when it’s done and working great, what specific outcomes will occur? Are we trying to close sales? Are we telling a story? Are we earning permission to follow up? Are we hoping that people will watch or learn?
Who are we trying to reach? Is it everyone? Existing customers? A certain kind of prospect? What are the existing apps and sites that this group has demonstrated they enjoy interacting with?
Does your audience have specific accessibility needs? Basic accessibility is included. Do varying ability levels play a role? Languages or other cultural/location differences?
Next we will create User Profiles to help us imagine a day in the life of your users. When and where do they use the application? What are they trying to do on the tool, and why? Below is a sample excerpt from a User Profile.
User 1 - Coach In the morning, Sam sits down at her desk in her office and opens CoachHub on her desktop in Chrome browser. She skims the dashboard and notices two alerts – new customer signups – that she needs to respond to right away. She clicks on one customer name and is taken directly to their profile information. Sam quickly browses their list of needs and clicks on her calendar to confirm the meeting date the new customer requested. It is easy to continue to the next customer because the tool bar with alerts still appears at the top of this page. After taking care of the immediate tasks...
We will also create a basic, interactive design of the application, showing the movement of users through core interactions. We’ll make it look good, but lo-fi and unbranded, including several linked gray-scale pages. Wireframes are a great way to start visualizing your web product or site – helping us get into the specifics of what your app should do. Wireframes are also a fantastic tool to get investor, CEO, or board approval.
Using the Goals, User Profiles, Interviews, and Wireframe we will create a list of expected features or ‘stories’ written from the perspective of individuals. The final list of User Stories represents all the ways people will interact with the web application or site. User Stories help us provide an accurate estimate, and collaborate with you to prioritize tasks, keeping you in control of the cost. Below is a sample set of User Stories. Large projects can have over 100 Stories.
As a Coach, I want...
As a Client, I want...
What are the core concepts or "objects" that users want to interact with in the application? What are the relationships between these objects? What attributes does each object have, and what is the data-type for each attribute? Our certified object-oriented UX strategist will map out the objects in the web application to create an Object Map – giving every object a unique name and describing the relationships between them. This Object Map will guide development and keep the entire team on the same page.
We’ll estimate each User Story individually, providing you with an itemized hourly estimate, organized into phases where appropriate. We’ll work with you to add, remove, and rearrange features to find the right balance of functionality and budget.
The purpose of a web app or site is to improve life for people. We offer these additional items to help you get to know the people who will interact with your digital product more fully. Let’s find out what’s familiar to them, where they are struggling, and what would make their lives easier.
Let’s take a look at existing web apps and companies that serve a similar audience to get an overview of industry trends and potential pitfalls to avoid. We’ll do a more detailed analysis of a direct competitor, asking questions like ‘what are the specific features this competitor is using to serve people?’ and ‘how comfortable do users feel when using this competitor’s web app?’
Because your digital product needs to serve different people with distinct needs, we would like to have direct conversations with a variety of users in order to create something they will all find useful. These interviews can happen over the phone, via video chat, or through an online survey.
by Sondra Eby on
OddBird met for a work retreat in April. On the Oddgenda: grow the company, and redesign OddSite. I came home from retreat tasked with reviewing OddBird’s eb presence, and proposing ways to improve communication about our process and services in order to attract new clients.
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