UX Workshops – Briefly Presented Using the Example of the Diversity App
You read, hear, and see it everywhere these days: UX or design thinking workshops as a way to launch software development projects innovatively and efficiently. But what exactly is behind this concept? As UI/UX workshop trainers, we would like to use this blog to illustrate what such UX workshops generally look like with an example.
UX workshops are based on the concept of human-centered design. This puts users and their needs at the center. According to this principle, a mindset should be developed in the UX workshops together with the development team and other stakeholders (e.g., a CEO, project manager, or product owner).
Developing an MVP Concept – Smallest, Functional Solution to Generate Feedback
First, it is important to work together to address the problems or requirements that the software is intended to solve or fulfill in an individual case: What is to be achieved, and what could a solution look like? The solution does not have to include all conceivable features right away, but should initially only offer all the functions necessary to be minimally functional. This so-called minimum viable product (MVP) is the smallest, functional solution to a problem or product development. It should ensure usable feedback for the further development of the software. On this basis, a solution with a high user experience (UX) in relation to software or an IT system is created in the course of agile project development through iterative adaptation of user requirements. UX workshops therefore aim to develop a common understanding and an initial concept for a minimum viable product.
UX Workshops Explained Using an Example: the Diversity Workshop
Our workshop trainers recently held a UX workshop for a client. In this workshop, participants focused on the planned implementation of a quiz app on the topic of diversity. The diversity app was intended to make the topic more transparent and understandable within the company and to promote discussion about it.
The Participants of the Diversity Workshop
In addition to the Bredex development team, our UI/UX designers and the client also took part. The participation of people with different levels of involvement is particularly important in UX workshops: it promotes understanding and interest in the product and the user. The UX workshop is moderated by an experienced UX professional.
Our Approaches: Human-Centered Design and Design Thinking
As with comparable projects, our UI/UX designers and the Bredex development team worked at the Diversity Workshop according to the proven principle of human-centered design and the design thinking approach. Both approaches pursue the same goal of developing a common understanding of the context of use and the resulting usage requirements. The design solution created on this basis was to be evaluated and adapted until the usage requirements were met.
The Techniques: Personas, User Journey Maps, Task Models
Based on realistic user data, our UI/UX designers created fictional personas in the diversity workshop. These were intended to clarify the user’s goals and characteristics to the team and stakeholders. User journey maps were used to illustrate the user’s points of contact with the interactive system and how these influence the user experience. Task models were also used to describe the specific subtasks that need to be performed in order to achieve the user goals.
Results and Findings: Greater User Understanding
Thanks to the above approaches and techniques, all participants in the diversity workshop were able to put themselves in the user’s shoes and develop user-centered solutions. The participants used this understanding to derive specific requirements for the interactive system to be developed. During the workshop, the participants said that they were able to identify pitfalls in the operating process at an early stage and better assess the scope of the requirements. In the last part of the workshop, participants translated the requirements they had developed into a rough prototype.
Conclusion
This approach allowed solutions that would not achieve the desired goal to be discarded at an early stage. Similarly, good ideas could be pursued immediately in the diversity workshop. Another advantage was that the requirements developed could be used as specifications for creating user stories in sprint planning.
At the end of the day, participants were able to take something tangible and visible away from the workshop: a prototype and the requirements that had been developed. These can now be used as a helpful basis for discussion and design, but also as a basis for initial evaluations in the form of surveys and tests for further development. In the process, participants were able to eliminate initial potential problems and develop a better understanding of the users.
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Antje Huszarik
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