IXD301 Portfolio Website Job Stories

Cover of Content Design by Sarah Richards

Writing a User/ Job Stories

Again I have referred to Content Design by Sarah Richards to learn more about User and Job stories. User and Job stories are a way of pinning down what you need to do via asking questions and getting answers.

 

User stories follow the below structure:

As a [person in a particular role]

I want [to perform an action or find something out]

So that [I can achieve my goal of…]

 

While job stories follow this structure:

When [I am trying to complete a specific task]

I want [to perform an action or find something out]

So that [I can achieve my goal of…]

 

Richards talks about her preference for Job stories describing user stories as a little broad as humans change their behaviours as an issue that is better dealt with by taking a job story approach. An easy way of identifying when to swap from user stories to job stories is when your user stories continue to begin with the same “as a” statement. e.g. “as a shopper”. It is at this point you should switch your focus to the task/ job the user is trying to perform. However, when there are multiple audiences with different needs a user story may be more effective.

It is interesting to note that the use/ job stories are often written on cards/ post-it notes and stuck on the wall to help the whole team to understand the users perspective.

 

Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria can be very useful particularly when working in teams on complicated or projects or when there are stakeholders monitoring the progress. Acceptance criteria consist of a shortlist of points that indicate that indicated when a user/ job story is finished.

An example of thisĀ  could be:

This story is done when I can easily find case studies on the website.

Note that this does not include the solution e.g.

This story is done when a search function takes me to see the case studies.

The problem with putting a solution/ tool in the acceptance criteria is that it does not allow the audience or the content you are working with to tell you what the solution is e.g. adding a search function is not necessary if the main function of the portfolio website is to house a small number of case studies. It may actually be easier to list case studies on the home page than forcing the user to search for them in different areas on the site.

 

Project User and Job Stories

User and Job persona's

I created the above user and job stories by researching what UX Design managers are looking for in UX placement designers. I also considered the accessibility needs of different users on my website. This was a really helpful exercise. It helped me to prioritise the importance of portions of content included on my website. It was helpful to create user stories as this allowed me to consider users beyond hiring managers. I also considered students that might be interested in completing an Interaction Design course and family members that want to know what I’m up to. I was then able to consider their needs when visiting my site. I also wanted to use this as an opportunity to consider accessibility particularly relating to people with visual impairments. I know this would not be a necessary inclusion in most projects as accessibility should always be considered. However, to help me to consider accessibility more in my own work I felt this would be a helpful exercise. It raised the importance of making everything understandable including images by providing relevant alternative text that will be picked up by screen readers. It also highlighted the importance of colour contrast, this is something I intend to check while building my website to make sure the contrast is always high enough for people to see the content being presented.

I also have a list of important content that needs to be clearly included on my website this includes:

  • easy to find contact information
  • a link to my blogs and background work
  • a clear demonstration of my process in my case studies
  • an overview of projects I have completed to date

I can now take this information and ensure that my website meets the above acceptance criteria.

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