Kent State UXD Program- Interaction Design Journaling Week 6

This week I wanted an important book that has come up again and again with our recent interactive proto-type.  The book published by O'Reilly is called UX Strategy.  The title could be misleading because Jamie Levy in the book describes elements that are important but not traditionally found within the scope of typical User Experience.  Her four tenets include Business Strategy, Value Innovation, Killer UX, and Validated User Research.  Business Strategy is probably the element that is often missing but is often the most important in this case.  As in my current project there are several requirements and business rules that the User Experience must follow.  Her 2nd tenet is around providing value through innovation.  This is important and one of those elements is to constantly look at how other people have designed through web sites or apps.  I have come across at least 2-3 ideas that can help me after looking at several designs from my classmates.  Her third tenet around Killer design is that a great design can attract a lot of people to your site or app.  This means to continue to iterate your design until you are sure the design is looks great.  The last tenet is one that means to validate what you think are some great design ideas.  There is a balance in approach here.  Surveys can work but often the best experience is to try and view how people work with a current product and understand what is valuable and what is frustrating.  Her book is an excellent resource for ensuring your own strategy balances each of these different but intertwingled topics.