sofiagenestal

[sofiagenestal]

Week 8 & now we can chat about cybersecurity 😏💻

A week ago, @orkasandchocolate​  @itsmegabbymello and me, started our final project about creating a management and protection platform to check the vulnerability of systems from different companies. 

It really became such a BIG CHALLENGE trying to understand the job and tasks of cybersecurity analysts and their work environment (to be honest… by then we only wanted to understand SOMETHING from “cybersecurity”, no matter what).  

After a week researching, reading, watching and interviewing cybersecurity analysts and software developers, we finally could understand how they work and EVEN! We can now use that tech slang with strange words propers from a Silicon Valley film. 

So.. with our minds full of data, 60% of tiredness and 110% of motivation, we plan to start today testing some of our low-fidelity prototypes! Wait.. how did we get into here so fast¿?! I’m sure it’s gonna be an another and even more intense (and fun!) week so.. let’s fill our fridges with plenty of food for all week and our cup with enough coffee to work hard on this last project until next Thursday - Friday morning! 

Live long and prosper, UXers! 🖖

[sofiagenestal]

Week 7 at Ironhack 🎢

I felt these last 7 days like a month. So many things in so short time! We were working in the solo project which in terms of emotions, I can say it was like being in a roller coaster.

Working hard doesn’t imply work wisely, and maybe that’s what happened to me. Along with the project, I had to go back a couple of times to focus better on what I was doing. I’d say it was a hard week in terms of difficulty of the project and quantity of work to do, but I’m happy and proud of myself because even if I didn’t come with the expected results, I know I did everything I could do :) 

Presenting this project to a professional in UX/UI it was also an amazing experience. It was a good opportunity to learn about what’s expecting from us in a “real life” (working life), to have a small chat with them and also it’s always good to do some networking!

This week I felt we did and learn a lot, but also I’m so happy to be surrounded (or well, better said “e-surrounded”) by such lovely humans I have as classmates and teachers. On Friday I had the chance of meeting them in person and it gave me a lot of energy to confront these next 2 weeks left! Wooow! 2 weeks left means another project.. the final project! Chan chan chaaaan! I’m so happy to be working on a project about cybersecurity because you know what? I don’t have A CLUE how cybersecurity works, and THAT makes it even more challenging and interesting to me! Also, I’m so excited to work in this project with these powerful women: @orkasandchocolate​ and @itsmegabbymello and see how we all become Neo’s from Matrix! 👩🏻‍💻👩‍💻👩🏻‍💻

[sofiagenestal]

Reached week 6 in Ironhack!

So I guess we reached week 6, and I say I guess because since I came back to study (again) in Ironhack, sometimes I don’t know what day is. This week we started a new solo project where we have to design the onboarding process for a new employee. Once with all the class read the briefing it became more challenging and attractive at the same time. So.. let’s do it! 

I am going to call this 6th week “the research week with no safety net” (so brave, Sofi!) as I spent 5 from the 12 days we have to develop the project, conducting the research part. Aaaand I am going to tell you a secret (it was SO SCARY) as I couldn’t control and knew when I would have enough data to start to converge and making choices. But it’s Sunday, and looking backwards I can say to myself “Sofia, I’m proud of what you have done so far!” According to what I’ve learnt… [sound] chinchinchiiiin! [sound] tip of the week: Even if you don’t achieve what is expected, may you proud of the work you do as you did everything you could. And that’s THE BIG SUCCESS! Happy first Sunday of August, UXers!

[sofiagenestal]

5th week in Ironhack, 1st being online!

On my 5th week in Ironhack (1st week online because COVID-19), @orkasandchocolate​ , @mohimonster​ and I, had to redesign a site for a small business providing a responsive web and a mobile version (in prototype & HTML + CSS).

Our local business chosen was a flower online shop who delivers luxury flowers in Barcelona. After studying their website, we ended up with some insights that might be redesigned: - Brand redesign (as its logotype and colors weren’t correlated with the company’s aim) - Sitemap was confusing - Confusing menuCreation of new categories according to user’s needs - Lack of details communication from the company - No customer’s area - No reviews or feedback

The first thing we did was to work on rebranding the logotype and style to Gloriosa. Based on desirability testings, we ended up with concepts like luxury, sophistication and excellence that the brand should show up.

We have also explored different styles and applied them to different information architecture. Using techniques like card sorting we ended up with a user flow that was understanding and easy-to-use site.

This is a preview from our final web redesign:

[sofiagenestal]

It’s all about observation 👁️  - Remote Contextual Inquiry

What if your software isn’t performed as expected? What does it make you think like that? How can you measure how bad it is and what can of measurement are you going to apply to know it?

There is a way to know the answer to all of this: Remote contextual inquiry is a research technique that allows remotely view how software users interact with the system you have developed/designed in their environment.

It also enables to researchers how to focus on finding design opportunities (after the user shows up some insights) by learning about the tasks that end users attempt to accomplish.

Observing gives understanding!

When do we have to conduct this technique? In early stages for a new feature or product, because we will know more about the requirement, personas, user flows, architecture and content strategies.

Who should be tested? Business analyst and the end-user.

Usability Testing VS Contextual Inquiry With Usability Testing, we give to users the same tasks to derive systematic performance data on which to iterate our designs.

In Contextual Inquiry we are more curious about what the participants do without directing their behaviour or providing them detailed instructions. You get to see things that you wouldn’t anticipate, and this allows us to minimise the guesswork in our designs and providing insights for our new features.

What results can we obtain after an RCI? 1. Recognize fields that have been hidden or disabled. 2. Identify particular words and labels that are ambiguous or misleading. 3. Identify customized functionality and features. 4. Evaluate possible layout changes. 5. Obtain real-life baseline metrics. 6. Identify non-intuitive learnability issues.

Steps I am going to follow for my next UX/UI project according to this technique: 1. After finishing the research process and interviews, I will define the target market for my product and who my end user will be. 2. Define the tasks I would like my end user will perform and ask them to talk aloud as they are going through them. 3. Analysing the data.

Sources: - Contextual Inquiry: Leave Your Office to Find Design Ideas  - Remote Contextual Inquiry: A Technique to Improve Enterprise Software - Contextual Inquiry

[sofiagenestal]

Let’s continue! Hi! Hola! I’m a UX/UI designer student with background in Product Design Engineering and Graphic Design. I’m passionate about making people’s life easier through digital products, creating pleasant user & memorables experiences. Now it’s time to work on digital products.. ready, steady, go!