iconstorm

Object Mapping für UX Designer

Bild: Cover 97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know

Wieder einmal eine Publikation aus unseren Reihen: Unser Kollege Tim Heiler hat sich mit einem Fachartikel am Buch 97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know beteiligt, das vor Kurzem im O’Reilly-Verlag erschienen ist. Darin findet ihr eine Reihe von kurzen, nützlichen Artikeln, die heute für jede:n in diesem Feld nützlich sein sollten. Interessant vor allem finden wir die teils innovativen Ansätze für altbekannte Probleme.

Der Verlag war so freundlich uns zu gestatten, Tims englischen Originalartikel hier für euch zu veröffentlichen. In Kürze werden wir hier außerdem ein Expertengespräch zum Thema veröffentlichen, um die Hintergründe noch näher zu beleuchten. Viel Spaß beim Lesen!

 


Republiziert aus 97 Things Every UX Practitioner Should Know bei O’Reilly Media, Inc. Das Buch könnt ihr hier bestellen:
 
 

Use object mapping to create clear and consistent interfaces

Humans naturally understand the world through objects. According to Jean Piaget’s work in cognitive development, most 8 month olds have already discovered object permanence: They are aware that even if they cannot see, hear or otherwise sense them, objects still exist. The kids have now formed mental images of these objects.

Designers can leverage this knowledge to not only create more intuitive products by removing cognitive load, but also to ease communication with their team and organization.

While UX Designers like to think in terms of screens and user flows, thinking of the objects that make up interactions results in a level of clarity that your users, team, and stakeholders will appreciate.
 
 

Here are a couple of observations about physical objects we want to remember:

Objects in the real world don’t typically change, but we might see them from different perspectives or in different conditions.

Objects have parts and are themselves often parts of other objects or categories.

Objects in a category usually share similar properties.

Certain parts and properties are more important to visual and mental recognition. For example: You will recognize a person by their face rather than their fingerprint.

In your design process, you can leverage this knowledge through a series of steps:

1.
Identify the objects in your product:
Write down the objects in your experience with which your user will interact. For example, a user story may say, “As a user I want to join an event as a guest,” the objects to identify would be “Event” and “Guest.” Focus on the nouns used to describe the product you’re working on.

2.
Assess the properties of your objects:
Add more information about how your objects are identified. The “Event” object will likely include data like “Time & Date”, “Title”, “Location” and maybe a “Preview Image”.

3.
Assign the matching actions:
For our “Event” object, there will be actions like “Attend”, “Invite a Friend”, and “Comment” among others.

4.
List the relationships:
In addition to the data above, the “Event“ will also contain a variety of “Guests” that have registered to attend. Each “Guest” will be defined as their own, linked object, and have their own set of properties.

5.
Sort to priorities:
Once you have figured out the properties, relationships, and actions, determine the first, second, and third things users may want to know about an object. That list will likely resemble the result of a card sorting activity.

6.
Use your object map to build consistent interfaces:
Every time a type of object appears in your interface, whether it’s in a list, on a card, or in a notification, use the prioritized information to display instances of the same object type in a consistent way. Also use consistent Call-to-Action elements according to your global priorities.

In real life interfaces, users are often confused by identical objects depicted and labeled in inconsistent ways. This happens across screens, touchpoints, teams, products, and throughout entire companies. Mapping, understanding, and communicating about these objects is an essential practice for every UX Designer. Adopting this object oriented approach will make your interfaces clearer, layouts more consistent, team discussions more focused, and various touchpoints more aligned to one another.

 

References:

http://www.lern-psychologie.de/kognitiv/piaget.htm Ansgar A. Plassmann & Prof. Dr. Günter Schmitt, Universität Duisburg-Essen
https://alistapart.com/article/object-oriented-ux/ by Sophia V. Prater
https://alistapart.com/article/ooux-a-foundation-for-interaction-design/ by Sophia V. Prater

 


Autor

Tim Heiler ist Design Director bei Iconstorm. Wenn ihr Fragen zum Thema habt, meldet euch gerne bei ihm.

Kontakt

Die mobile Version verlassen