{"id":154,"date":"2008-05-29T13:59:05","date_gmt":"2008-05-29T12:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/?p=154"},"modified":"2008-05-29T13:59:05","modified_gmt":"2008-05-29T12:59:05","slug":"mental-models-sparking-creativity-through-empathy-indi-young-media-2008-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/mental-models-sparking-creativity-through-empathy-indi-young-media-2008-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Models: Sparking creativity through empathy, Indi Young [@media 2008 notes]"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"zemanta-img\" style=\"margin: 1em; float: right;\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/52494613@N00\/2533870396\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: medium none;\" src=\"http:\/\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3167\/2533870396_be3517e5d7_m.jpg\" alt=\"Di prima mattina\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Image from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/52494613@N00\/2533870396\/\" target=\"_blank\">Flickr<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>How do we make the data actionable? We get lot of data in form of demographics and our audience. \u00e2\u20ac\u015312% of movie goers preffer to go movies alone.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d How do we figure out what to do with this piece of data?<\/p>\n<p>Answering questions about Mental models. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a mental model, how do I use it, how do I decide to make a model, or not? Etc.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is a mental model?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a diagram of underlying reasons that drive people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior. You match it in the ways you support people with your product.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does a mental model look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2326\/2140204872_95dafb8415.jpg?v=0\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/rosenfeldmedia\/2140204872\/in\/photostream\/\">Rosenfeld media @ flickr<\/a><br \/>\n[It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a long piece of paper, long narrow diagram]<\/p>\n<p>Mental models are very closely tight to the kinds of audience you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re designing for.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Above the line, you have little boxes that describe: behavior, philosophy, feeling<br \/>\nThen you group them in a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153tower\u00e2\u20ac\u009d &#8211; conceptual group. You get a sort of skyline. A lot of people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voices can be represented in the boxes and then combining all the towers together in mental spaces. The language above the line are verbs and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really colloquial.<\/p>\n<p>Bellow the line, there are ways to support the tower.<br \/>\nPurple below the line &#8211; a pretty strong connection between product and what people are trying to do with the tower.<br \/>\nWhite box below the line &#8211; kind of aligned but not really.<\/p>\n<p>You get data on top of data by using:<br \/>\nDiaries<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Field data<\/li>\n<li>Interviews<\/li>\n<li>Customer feedback<\/li>\n<li>Call center recording<\/li>\n<li>Card sort data<\/li>\n<li>Voice of the customer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Mental models sits inside the nest of all the other user experience processes. You can make personas, scenarios and all sorts of task based audience separation out of it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a different visualization that keeps track of things.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mental models show people that they need to develop separate application for separate sets of people.<\/li>\n<li>The other ulterior motive, actually get things slated for the mythical phase 2.<\/li>\n<li>Focus on customers, not internal organizations\/categories<\/li>\n<li>Get rid of stuff that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help.<\/li>\n<li>Give stakeholders something that feels actionable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can it resolve some of the problems my team has?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Problem: We struggle to agree on a common design (everyone has a different opinion)<br \/>\nMental model is an independent research model, that allows you to agree on interpretations of the field data.<\/p>\n<p>Problem: We have difficulty taking off our employee hat<br \/>\nHelps you figure out what customers want.<\/p>\n<p>Problem: We cross our fingers that the design will be successful<br \/>\nMental models helps you in a way that gives you lots of confidence up at the start.<\/p>\n<p>Problem: we worry we might have missed some part of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153whole user experience\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<br \/>\nProblem: we wish we could attract loyal, adoring fans.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Mental models solve all this \ud83d\ude09<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2268\/2125040269_f64d8ac289.jpg?v=0\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"234\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/rosenfeldmedia\/2125040269\/\">Rosenfeld media @ flickr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>We all hear stories, and when we hear a story, it helps us understand a situation that this person is in. And when you emphasize with someone, you can play their role and then you can understand the depth at which they are operating and it makes your decisions much easier.<\/p>\n<p>Hear stories -&gt; Feel empathy -&gt; Deep understanding<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do I decide to make a mental model, or not?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153generative type of research\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an mental environment in which things get done. You want it to use it for your Interaction design.<\/p>\n<p>Mental models are Not Used for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Evaluating usability<\/li>\n<li>Showing cyclical relationships<\/li>\n<li>Depicting detailed process flow<\/li>\n<li>Creating art (composing, painting, \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What do I put in a mental model?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Behavior, philosophy, feeling\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 vs.\u00c2\u00a0 Direct, implied, third party. You need to have good skills at reading between the lines.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why focus on emotion?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Distrust\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is an emotion and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that is really important to be aware of.<\/p>\n<p>The hallway test: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153what is she thinking while walking down the hallway.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Trying to focus on a higher level: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to get report done, or I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be able to go to the movies.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>How can I do this by myself?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, there are number of shortcuts you can use:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Rough sketch<\/li>\n<li>Rough draft: 1 day, 1 conference room, lots of coffee and chocolate<\/li>\n<li>Rough notes: do your analysis on the fly, while you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re talking to people. You write tasks, and emotions on sticky notes on the fly.<\/li>\n<li>Fly Under the Radar<\/li>\n<li>Piggyback on Other Research: add another half-hour to User research<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How do mental models fit the agile principles:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Synchronize UX with development<\/li>\n<li>Separate modeling from design<\/li>\n<li>Increase design literacy<\/li>\n<li>Design on the whiteboard with developers, stakeholders<\/li>\n<li>Strip documentation<\/li>\n<li>[One more]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>How can I use mental model to innovate?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Innovation is something that is not forced. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something that is understandable, when you make a brand new flashlight, people won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get it since it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too different. Innovation occurs while you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re crafting details. The innovation needs to focus on people, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s long term.<\/p>\n<p>Look at the mental model for possibilities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find a gap below the line to fill<\/li>\n<li>Look for scarce of Weak Support<\/li>\n<li>Redefine &amp; augment existing features to better match<\/li>\n<li>Combine related behaviors and features<\/li>\n<li>Look for surprises<\/li>\n<li>Look for emotions<\/li>\n<li>Examine spaces formerly crossed out<\/li>\n<li>[Two more]<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>===<\/p>\n<p>Book: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rosenfeldmedia.com\/books\/mental-models\/\">Mental models<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.rosenfeldmedia.com\/i\/covers\/mental-models-lg.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"161\" height=\"235\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image from Flickr How do we make the data actionable? We get lot of data in form of demographics and our audience. \u00e2\u20ac\u015312% of movie goers preffer to go movies alone.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d How do we figure out what to do with this piece of data? Answering questions about Mental models. What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a mental model, how do [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117,16],"tags":[241,244,242,240,243,232],"class_list":["post-154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conferences","category-ideas","tag-atmedia","tag-atmedia2008","tag-indi-young","tag-mental-models","tag-notes","tag-writeup"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jurecuhalev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}