Know Your Users

The foundation for a successful product is to know the end users of the application that you are creating. It is important to gather actual user data rather than relying on assumptions that may be inaccurate. Understanding key characteristics of your users, the environment they work in, and the tasks they perform will help ensure that your product has the right set of features and an optimal user experience. In addition, knowing your users inside and out will help you in all the design and development decisions that you make.

Validate Who Will Use Your App

You most likely already have an idea about which user roles will use the mobile application that you are creating. To ensure that you have identified the correct users and that there are not any additional roles to consider, do the following three things:

1. Review the user profiles for the desktop application. These users may or may not need to use the mobile app.
2. Review competitor product information to determine who is using their products.
3. Talk with product managers, product strategists, implementation consultants and Oracle sales representatives to see if they have additional insights regarding the users of your product.

Do not limit yourself to only one user role if there is a possibility of more than one role using your product. Secondary roles are possible. For example: A sales application might have sales representatives and sales managers using the product.

Determine If Your Users Are Mobile Workers

Next decide if the user roles you have identified are mobile workers. You should only consider developing an Oracle mobile application if your potential users are mobile workers [1]. Mobile workers are people who shift locations throughout the day for work purposes and have a necessity to act upon and capture data while on the move.

Identify Your Type of Mobile Worker

Determine if your user is a Constant Mobile Worker, who does their entire job while moving, like a retail worker or a field service technician; an Occasional Mobile Worker, someone who travels between locations, but usually do their work at their destination or a stationary location, like a software developer; or a Hybrid Mobile Worker, who shares characteristics of both, possibly needing to access information on the go, but also working sometimes in a stationary environment. An example of a Hybrid Worker would be a sales representative or sales manager.

Characteristics of a Mobile Worker

Characteristics of mobile workers are different from those of stationary workers. You cannot assume that if you design a mobile application similar to a desktop application that it will meet the needs of mobile workers.

Some characteristics of mobile users include:

• On the move: Users may move around while actually using the application, or may be mobile between each step of a task flow. Being mobile means that the users' location and their physical and social context change as they move about [2,3].
• Complete tasks in short spurts: Mobile users often only have a few minutes to quickly perform a task while they are mobile [3].
• Easily distracted: Changes in environment can easily distract mobile users, often making them stop what they are doing on their device and shift their focus to something else (for example, train arriving). Furthermore, the device itself can interrupt the user with a call or text message [2,3].
• Availability: Mobile workers are often more readily available because the device is with them at all times, whereas stationary workers are not always accessible because they leave their desk [3].
• Contextual: The environment of users affects how the device will be used. For example, users may send a text message versus making a voice call if they are in a loud place or want privacy [2,3].

Create a Mobile Persona

An effective way to document information about your users is to create personas. Personas are imaginary characters that are created to document the goals, behaviors, wishes, and limitations of a real set of users. These personas have fictional names, social lives, and families to help approximate a user type. Mobile personas focus on the users while they are mobile rather than including many details of their work while they are stationary in the office because workers in the field have different use cases than stationary workers.

Advantages of a Mobile Persona [4]

• Makes the team focus on the user roles and puts a human face on research data. This personalization aspect makes it easier for the development team to identify with a typical end user.
• Documents all the personal details that help validate or invalidate any preconceived assumptions the team has about the end users.
• Helps the team stay focused on the aspects of the design that will satisfy the key target users.
• Enables developers to use a day-in-the-life use case to help ground them in realistic end-user activities.

Varieties of Personas

When documenting a persona for your team, you can use various forms, some examples of which are below. Your deliverables might take the form of a short one-page summary, a longer-form eBook that includes a full day in the life section, a poster, or even a video.

How to Get Started

• Talk to or interview 5 people with the role that you are targeting for the application. It can be over the phone, with questions such as:
• Demographic information
• What is your typical day like?
• What tasks do you currently perform with your mobile device?
• What tasks would you like to be able to perform with your mobile device?
• How much time do you spend on your mobile device each day?
• When do you most frequently use your mobile device?
• If you can observe the user doing one or two of the tasks you’ll be supporting – even better!
• Observe mobile usage … wherever you are!
• Look for personas online for more ideas and inspiration.

References

1. Celvenger, N. (2008). What is a mobile worker? Retrieved August 4, 2009 from SmartphoneMag.com http://www.smartphonemag.com/cms/_archives/Aug08/MobileWorker
2. Ballard, B. (2007). Designing the Mobile User Experience. The Atrium, Southern Gate Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England: John Wiley & Sons Ltd
3. White, B., & Rampoldi-Hnilo, L. (2009). Design for the mobile experience. Retrieved July 15, 2009 from Usable Apps.oracle.com Web site: http://usableapps.oracle.com/successStories/071115_mobileExperience.html
4. Pruitt, J., & Adlin, T.(2006). Persona Lifecycle: Keeping people in mind throughout product. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann.