Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER 11
Ten Keys to Success
279
CONTENTS
11.1 MAKE DATA COME ALIVE
279
11.2 DON'T WAIT TO BE ASKED TO MEASURE
281
11.3 MEASUREMENT IS LESS EXPENSIVE THAN YOU THINK
282
11.4 PLAN EARLY
282
11.5 BENCHMARK YOUR PRODUCTS
283
11.6 EXPLORE YOUR DATA
284
11.7 SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS
285
11.8 SHOW YOUR CONFIDENCE
285
11.9 DON'T MISUSE METRICS
286
11.10 SIMPLIFY YOUR PRESENTATION
287
Some of the concepts and approaches we've described may be new to some read-
ers, and maybe even a bit overwhelming at first, so we wanted to highlight 10
key elements that will help you succeed. These are lessons we've learned—some-
times the hard way—over the years.
11.1 MAKE DATA COME ALIVE
One of the most important factors that will determine how much impact you have
with your research is the extent to which you can make the data come alive for your
stakeholders. It's easy for eyes to start glazing over when looking at a bunch of num-
bers. However, it is very different when you bring the data to life by showing the
actual experiences users are having with a product. Even though this is anecdotal, it
can have a tremendous impact on getting your point across. Essentially you are put-
ting a real face to your data. It is much harder to ignore your metrics when some-
one has a deeper level of understanding, or even emotional attachment to the data.
Tomer Sharon, in his topic “It's Our Research: Getting Buy-in for User Experience
Research Projects” (2012) does an excellent job of explaining how critical it is for UX
professionals to make your data come alive.
Several techniques can be very helpful in making this happen. First, we rec-
ommend that when conducting a usability test you bring key decision makers
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