cxpartners' Senior User Experience Consultant and Lead Google Launchpad Mentor Stavros Garzonis' presentation on Co-design. NUX4 October 2015

1. Co-design:
Group therapy to bridge the client-user gap
@StavrosUX
Dr Stavros Garzonis
23 October 2015

2. @StavrosUX
Co-design in context
Planning a session
Briefing your accomplices
Running a session
Debrief

3. @StavrosUX
Co-design in context
Planning a session
Briefing your accomplices
Running a session
Debrief

4. “A development process
where design professionals
empower, encourage, and
guide users to develop
solutions for themselves”

5. @StavrosUX
Who should be involved?
UX agency
Clients
Users

6. @StavrosUX
Who should be involved?
Clients
Users
What I call
co-design
UX agency

7. @StavrosUX
Workshop risks
UX agency
Clients
Users
CHAOS!
Clients bully users
Users insult clients
You lose face to client
Solving
the wrong
problem
Too
“Blue sky”
Too
marketing
focused

8. @StavrosUX
A typical setting
Team 1
Team 2 Team 3
Team 4
CustomerFacilitator ClientMeta-facilitator

9. @StavrosUX
The Double Diamond design process

10. @StavrosUX
Why you need the 2nd diamond
Day dreaming

11. @StavrosUX
Why you need the 1st diamond
Solving the wrong problem

12. @StavrosUX
Where I do co-design
Collaboratively
explore the
problem space
Collaboratively
explore
solutions

13. @StavrosUX
For me, co-design is not about
design. It’s about research
through design.
Concept
development
UI
design

17. @StavrosUX
Fitting co-design within projects (an example)
User
Interviews
Stakeholder
Workshop
Stakeholder
Interviews
Co-design
Prototype
Testing

18. @StavrosUX
Co-design in context
Planning a session
Briefing your accomplices
Running a session
Debrief

19. @StavrosUX
Space (people, wall space, drinks etc)
Materials (post-its, whiteboards, name labels, magazines)
Food & beverages (beer?)
Signposting
Camera / photographer
Project Manager support (many things you will forget)
Basics checklist

20. @StavrosUX
Designing the co-design process
Divergent
exercises
Convergent
exercises
Warm-up
exercise
Tip: Include optional
exercises that you can
skip if needed

21. @StavrosUX
Design each exercise
1. What do the users need from it?
2. What does the business need from it?
What is the purpose of this page?
13
Write down each piece of content
that the customer needs on this
page
(1 post it per piece of content)
10 mins
Individually:
Prioritise each post it based on how
important it is to the users needs
(Evaluate the content against the
purpose of the page)
10 mins
In your teams:
Keep instructions of exercises visible
Time bind exercises
Provide templates
when appropriate

22. @StavrosUX
Aim for…
Under-facilitated Over-facilitated
Focused
Boring Stressful
Flow
Verbal Visual
Qualitative

23. @StavrosUX
1:1 ratio, or more users than clients
Have at least 1 meta-facilitator
Split client functions in different teams
Group similar users together in teams
Introduce friendly competition?
Team dynamics
Personalities?
Criteria?
Personas?
Tip: Work with recruiters to get
participants in your target group
that are gregarious people

24. @StavrosUX
It’s ok to feel lost or uncertain.
TRUST THE PROCESS!

25. @StavrosUX
Co-design in context
Planning a session
Briefing your accomplices
Running a session
Debrief

26. @StavrosUX
Gets them to reflect before they arrive
Grounds the workshop in reality
Generates empathy from clients
Acts as bonding material between users
Brief users (homework)
Tip: Make sure you let user know
that their homework stories will
be shared in the session

27. @StavrosUX
Tip: If you want to share existing insights
about your users in the session, make
sure it is done visually.

28. @StavrosUX
They are there to listen
They are there to engage
They should be mindful of potential sensitivities
We rely on them to be there!
Brief clients
Tip: Consider giving clients
facilitator roles (to help them build
their UX skills) or a note taker role
(for the most senior stakeholder)

29. @StavrosUX
Visualiser
Maintains neutrality
(while asking questions)
Visual interpreter
(not just about sketching)
Motivates others to
visualise
Facilitator
Maintains peace
(while motivating debate)
Maintains floor equality
(while protecting users)
Records points of friction
Brief facilitators/visualisers
Tip: Find/train people to be
both: facilitator & visualiser!

30. @StavrosUX
Co-design in context
Planning a session
Briefing your accomplices
Running a session
Debrief

31. @StavrosUX
Dreamer - Realist - Critic
Personas
Storyboards
Content hierarchy + 6ups
I like, I wish, I wonder
Dot voting
gamestorming.com
Many exercises to choose from
Tip: Have quick catch-ups
with facilitators to make
sure everything is ok
Remember to split user & client votes

32. @StavrosUX
Dreamer - Realist - Critic
Personas
Storyboards
Content hierarchy + 6ups
I like, I wish, I wonder
Voting
gamestorming.com
Many exercises to choose from

33. @StavrosUX
(1) DREAM
Generate as many “blue sky” ideas as you can
Do not critique your ideas!
(e.g. “this is not going to be possible”)
Create a new concept for commuting
5 mins
5 mins
(2) REALISE
Work in your groups to make the dream come true
(engineer the solution)
Do not critique your ideas!
(e.g. “this is not going to be too expensive”)
5 mins
(3) CRITIQUE
Constructively critique the solution
How can it be improved?

34. @StavrosUX
Tip: Consider revealing the
brand when appropriate
(not from the beginning)

35. @StavrosUX
Co-design in context
Planning a session
Briefing your accomplices
Running a session
Debrief

36. @StavrosUX
Ask users:
How did they feel?
How did their perception change?
Ask clients:
What did they take away?
What didn’t they?
Ask facilitators:
What could work better?
Iterate your co-design skills
Did you get:
• Better understanding of user needs?
• Novel ideas for potential solutions?
• New-found empathy from your clients?
This can be the skeleton of your report!

37. @StavrosUX
It’s ok to feel lost or uncertain.
TRUST THE PROCESS!
For me, co-design is not about
design. It’s about research
through design.
•Better understanding of user needs
•Novel ideas for potential solutions
•New-found empathy from your clients

38. @StavrosUX
Go forth and co-design!