Wrapping up the Master's, and learning about the Importance of Storytelling

John Nolan-Moso

Self-driven UX researcher, strategist, and designer who knows how to use data and analytics with human-centered design thinking to deliver actionable insights meeting client goals and exceeding customer expectations.

Published Sep 2, 2023

Going into the Human-Computer Interaction and Design master program at the University of California - Irvine has not only expanded my understanding and knowledge of the User Experience industry but also expanded my knowledge base. Probably the most consistent lesson through the different courses was that we need more storytellers who look at telling a more universal story that encompasses multiple different types of stakeholders. This means that we aren’t only trying to be the champion for the intended end user of the product or service, but we are also trying to champion the goals of the C-level executives. Casting a wider net in our storytelling only benefits more stakeholders in the long run. While this might seem like a daunting task, we have many different models we can use from user personas to journey maps, and conceptual models to low-fidelity wireframes.

Before we talk about how to use storytelling, let’s acknowledge the rich history of storytelling. Caveman used paintings and art to convey stories and share knowledge before the oral tradition of storytelling took off. From the Choctaw in North America to the Native Hawaiians and West Africans - different cultures used oral traditions to pass down knowledge, legends, tradition, and history. The act of telling a story has many different names, like Mo’olelo; and even the role of a storyteller has varied names like the Griots, who were also counselors to kings in West Africa. By 3400 BCE written traditions for storytelling started in several different cultures from Mesopotamia to Egypt and China. By the turn of the last century, we used motion pictures and other mediums to convey our stories, and today we have digital means like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. The point is, that storytelling is part of human nature and how we pass down knowledge, traditions, and beliefs.

As UX professionals, it’s important we do our research before telling a story. That’s because stories don’t happen in isolation. Like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one story (or in their case movie or Disney + show) can have a large impact on another story, but it could take years before seeing how the stories interconnect and impact each other. This provides an opportunity to challenge our understanding through different perspectives and allows us to use our greatest weapon - empathy. While conducting research it’s important to radically accept what we learn from different sources, and if we struggle with accepting the information as truth we need to do the work and ask why. When we learn why a perspective challenges our beliefs we create an opportunity to tell a deeper story. In the business model, this would allow us to champion design decisions to C-level executives who might be trying to maximize their profit by cutting a component of the design that is actually far more crucial to the intended population of end users than the executive realizes.

So how do we apply the research we have conducted into the business goals? We go back to the project goals and scope to identify what type of model would be the most effective at conveying the story. Sometimes we will need to use multiple models to tell a complete story, like using graphs to show how profit margins are greater when we design for diverse populations initially, while also using a storyboard to convey how the product lifecycle could look for the intended end users. This is actually the fun part of the process because we get the opportunity to be creative with how we share stories and can highlight the diverse needs and perspectives of the target audience to executives. In practice, I often defend larger buttons in designs by talking about how my parents use their mobile phones and their need for larger buttons. The need for flexible pathways and user workflows comes down to everyone being on their own adventure, and relaying that experience to the chose-your-own adventure books many people had as kids. High-fidelity prototypes seem to be the most effective at visually showing the benefits of some design decisions, but when that is not an option we should be going back to the basics. One assignment we did was to create a pop-up book to tell the story of a user-persona, however, a pop-up book might be the perfect tool to justify a design decision through visual means. It costs a lot less in time and resources than developing a live product. Plus, it’s not common to see pop-up books in meetings with executives and will likely get their attention.

As Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman have defined User Experience as “encompassing all aspects of the end-user interaction with the company, its services, and products” (Norman & Nielson), we have the opportunity to also tell the stories of a wider range of end-users. How we tell the story is only limited by our creativity, and it can be oral, visual, or some combination of different methodologies. By telling more detailed stories we can use empathy to answer why certain design decisions should be made, and champion a wider range of stakeholders. This is achieved through research, and elevating diverse voices by radically accepting what they say and being a champion for their why. From the perspective of end users who might influence designing for diverse populations, to executives who might influence the design on a cost analysis - we have the power to use storytelling to encourage better decision-making for a greater range of stakeholders.