UX on the Go: A Flexible Guide to User Experience Design

243 Pages·2020·7.828 MB·English

by  Andrew Mara

Praise for UX on the Go: A Flexible
Guide to User Experience Design
“UX on the Go: A Flexible Guide to User Experience Design is a pedagogical
gift to our field. In sixteen carefully scaffolded chapters, Mara and contribu-
tors provide students and faculty alike with the practical and theoretical
tools necessary to understand, manage, and demystify complex project cy-
cles, u ser-driven decisions, and action-first paradigms. The creative chal-
lenges and UX examples in this book will define how rapidly-adjusted project
cycles, user-driven decisions, and action-first paradigms are taught in our
classrooms for years to come.”
—Jim Ridolfo, University of Kentucky
Author of Rhetoric and Digital Humanities,
Digital Samaritans: Rhetorical Delivery and Engagement
in the Digital Humanities, and Rhet Ops:
Rhetoric and Information Warfare
“UX on the Go stands out as a textbook with its emphasis on getting out in
the field and meeting users—the people all the work is about. From beginning
to end, Andrew Mara identifies the role of UX research and practical ways to
include users in the entire process, engaging them and embedding their stories
in the product.”
—Whitney Quesenbery, Center for Civic Design
Author of Storytelling for User Experience,
Global UX, and A Web for Everyone
“In UX on the Go: A Flexible Guide to User Experience Design, Andrew Mara
gives us a very clear and practical exploration of UX design. I very much ap-
preciated his step-by-step approach to designing with the users’ needs and ex-
periences in mind.”
—Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Purdue University
Author of Writing Today, Technical Communication Today,
and Writing Proposals

UX on the Go
Designed with flexibility and readers’ needs in mind, this purpose driven book
offers new UX practitioners succinct and complete instructions on how to con-
duct user research and rapidly design interfaces and products in the classroom
or the office.
With 16 challenges to learn from, this comprehensive guide outlines the
process of a User Experience project cycle from assembling a team to research-
ing user needs to creating and verifying a prototype. Practice developing a
prototype in as little as a week or build your skills in two-, four-, eight-, or
sixteen-week stretches. Gain insight into individual motivations, connections,
and interactions; learn the three guiding principles of the design system; and
discover how to shape a user’s experience to achieve goals and improve overall
immediate experience, satisfaction, and well-being.
Written for professionals looking to learn or expand their skills in user ex-
perience design and students studying technical communication, information
technology, web and product design, business, or engineering alike, this acces-
sible book provides a foundational knowledge of this diverse and evolving field.
A companion website includes examples of contemporary UX projects, ma-
terial to illustrate key techniques, and other resources for students and instruc-
tors. Access the material at uxonthego.com.
Andrew Mara is an Associate Professor and Faculty Head of Interdisciplinary
Humanities and Communication in the College of Integrative Arts and Hu-
manities at Arizona State University. He has been teaching user experience,
innovation rhetoric, and technical writing for 16 years. In addition, he has cre-
ated an interactive arts app, built a digital dissertation studio, edited a special
issue of Technical Communication Quarterly, performed a social media game-
show, and published over 20 journal articles, book chapters, and conference
proceedings on writing innovation and communities of practice.

UX on the Go
A Flexible Guide to User
Experience Design
Andrew Mara
First published 2021
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2021 Taylor & Francis
The right of Andrew Mara to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by him/her/them in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mara, Andrew (Associate Professor), author.
Title: UX on the go: a flexible guide to user experience design /
Andrew Mara.
Description: New York, NY: Routledge, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020011694 (print) | LCCN 2020011695 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367228545 (hbk) | ISBN 9780367228620 (pbk) |
ISBN 9780429277238 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Consumer satisfaction. | User interfaces
(Computer systems)—Design.
Classification: LCC HF5415.335 .M36 2020 (print) |
LCC HF5415.335 (ebook) | DDC 658.8/343—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020011694
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020011695
ISBN: 978-0-367-22854-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-22862-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-27723-8 (ebk)
Typeset in Goudy
by codeMantra
Visit the companion website: uxonthego.com
For Miriam

Contents
List of Figures xv
Acknowledgments xviii
Introduction 1
Welcome to User Experience on the Go 1
Defining User Experience 2
Three Principles 2
First Principle 3
Second Principle 4
Third Principle 5
Good News 6
Bad News 6
Filling in the Gaps 6
A Week in the Life of a UX Professional 8
When to Observe and Interview 10
A Note about Face-to-Face vs. Virtual Teams 11
Using This Book 11
The Stretch 13
Challenges 17
1 Take an Active User Experience Stance 18
Do, Observe, Think 18
Just Temperate Brave Action 20
UX Team Justice Manifesto 21
UX Project Plan 21
Preliminary Fieldwork 24
UX Scavenger Hunt 27
Challenge #1: Finding Your Future Network 29
UX Story: Iterating an Orphaned Girls’ School in South Sudan 30
Conclusion 32