Goal-Oriented Design: a Primer

Design is purposeful, and, by definition, aims to achieve goals. Good Design, therefore, begins with a careful examination of the specific goals it aims to achieve. Because Design is engineered to achieve goals, there is a process to follow, which includes the observation and analysis of potential end-user engagement, with the Design.

There is unprecedented potential for user engagement and interactivity with contemporary, digital applications. Engagement is multi-channel, complex, and social. Therefore, it is more important than ever for Designers to conduct contextual research with end-users, and analyze their behavior across a wide spectrum of devices.

Step 1 - Identify End-User Goals, in addition to Business Objectives, for the Design

Design, for business applications, aims to achieve two sets of goals:

1.      First and foremost, Design aims to achieve measureable, business objectives.

2.      Innovative businesses also understand that Design needs to meet end-user goals

Step 2 – Hire a “Design Research Specialist”
It takes a special type of Designer to properly identify and document end-user objectives. She must begin the process as a detective, systematically observing and analyzing relevant user behaviors to the business. Luckily, this specialist (an Information Architect, perhaps), has a Design research methodology at her disposal. Following a “User Centered Design” process, she conducts her investigation, and sifts through a mountain of behavioral data to plan a Design that can achieve its intended objectives.

Step 3 – Perform the Right Research: “Contextual, Behavioral Research”
Only a specialist is able to recognize the influence that an environment has on user behavior. She understands that a special type of user research is required, to collect information about environmental factors on behavior. Contextual, ethnographic research is the ideal method of observing natural user behavior, versus lab-based research, which may be less accurate due to environmental bias. This type of research, called “Contextual Inquiry,” captures relevant behaviors, where the interaction is most likely to occur (e.g. - an office, a home, or a shopping mall).

Step 4 – Understand how to Properly Analyze Research Data – Information Architecture
Contextual Inquiry findings are qualitative in nature, so the richness of the finding is more important than the amount of data that the research study produces. The reason that the quantity of data is not important in qualitative research is due to the fact that behavioral trends emerge quickly. That being said, Contextual Inquiry can still generate a large quantity of rich data, which require a specialist to interpret. As behavioral trends emerge, so do different “types of users.” Information Architects illustrate key behavioral differences, as uncovered in the research, in the form of behavioral personas. Behavioral personas highlight different sets of primary tasks that are important to each “type of user.” Aggregating key tasks, in the form of personas, help designers make sure that their Design accommodates the needs of each primary type of user.

Information Architects go a step further in their qualitative analysis, by extracting the key tasks from each persona to form end-user “mental models.” Mental models are a grouping of each user segment’s tasks, into task categories and sub-tasks. The goal of the mental model is to identify and prioritize all key user tasks for each segment. Once completed, the Information Architect can generate ideas for content to satisfy each user task identified in the mental model. This process makes it easy for an Information Architect to define the high-level information architecture of a digital application.

Step 5 – Synthesize Research Data into Design – Interaction Design/UI
Once an overarching, information architecture is established, an Information Architect proceeds to define the screen-level user interface, and interaction model, for the application. Often, screen-level design begins with a simple, series of questions that the Information Architect asks herself. “What is the most important element on this screen?” Then, “what is the second most important element on this screen.” It is a process of task prioritization that drives the layout of each screen. Behavioral research also provides valuable insights about the level of sophistication with the interfaces that each user type encounters on a daily basis. Observing this behavior helps Information Architects understand the “Technographic Profile,” or level of proficiency with technology, of each user segment. They then use this knowledge as a filter for the level of sophistication of the user interface elements they propose.

Design Tip: Collaboration is the Key to Great Design
A good user centered design process should strive to include participation from different Design disciplines. I recommend having a visual designer accompany an Information Architect on research studies to observe, 1st-hand, likely, end-user behavior. Observation gives Designers greater Empathy for the application’s end-users.