Parallel Collaborative Design Overview and examples of method for designers and other stakeholders to quickly generate and refine design ideas.

1
Parallel Collaborative DesignOverview and
examples of method for designers and other
stakeholders to quickly generate and refine
design ideas.

• Mike Myles UX Designer

2
GOALS By the end of this session attendees will

• Understand how to conduct a Parallel
  Collaborative Design (PCD) session.
• Know when and how to best utilize the PCD
  process in a design cycle.
• Learn about variations on the process.
• Hear about examples of PCD in use.
• Have questions answered about the PCD process.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
3
GOALS By the end of this session attendees will

• Understand how to conduct a Parallel
  Collaborative Design (PCD) session.
• Know when and how to best utilize the PCD
  process in a design cycle.
• Learn about variations on the process.
• Hear about examples of PCD in use.
• Have questions answered about the PCD process.

FORMAT

• Personal introduction.
• What is Parallel Collaborative Design?
• How to conduct a Parallel Collaborative Design
  session.
• QA

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
4
About Myself

• Mike Myles
• Design Usability practitioner since 1997
• My website www.mylesdesignstudios.com

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
5
What is Parallel Collaborative Design?
The Parallel Collaborative Design (PCD) process
is intended to allow a small team to quickly
generate and refine design ideas targeted at
solving a specific problem. It is also intended
to evangelize design and democratizing the design
process by actively soliciting the participation
of non-designers.
Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
6
What is Parallel Collaborative Design?
The Parallel Collaborative Design (PCD) process
is intended to allow a small team to quickly
generate and refine design ideas targeted at
solving a specific problem. It is also intended
to evangelize design and democratizing the design
process by actively soliciting the participation
of non-designers.
Inspirational Source Article Shortening the
Human-Computer Interface Design Cycle A
Parallel Design Process Based on the Genetic
Algorithm by John McGrew, Decision Process
Consulting - http//www.baychi.org/calendar/200207
09/1
Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
7
What is Parallel Collaborative Design?
The Parallel Collaborative Design (PCD) process
is intended to allow a small team to quickly
generate and refine design ideas targeted at
solving a specific problem. It is also intended
to evangelize design and democratizing the design
process by actively soliciting the participation
of non-designers.
Inspirational Source Article Shortening the
Human-Computer Interface Design Cycle A
Parallel Design Process Based on the Genetic
Algorithm by John McGrew, Decision Process
Consulting - http//www.baychi.org/calendar/200207
09/1

• Key Modifications
• Reduced scale to six participants for four hours.
• Involve participants outside the Design
  organization.
• Eliminated usability fitness function
  evaluation.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
8
Conducting a Parallel Collaborative Design
session

• After identifying a design problem, and a group
  of participants has been gathered
• Introduce the group to one another.
• Review requirements for the design problem.
• Design independently for 10 minutes.
• Everyone in turn present design ideas to the
  group (5 minutes each).
• Repeat the design/present cycle building on at
  least one idea presented by someone else. Run
  through at least 3 design/present cycles.
• Have a group discussion of the outcome.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
9
Analyzing Results

•  Design Ideas for Requirements Checklist
• Chart each idea to requirements it satisfied
• Use Other column to track previously unidentified
  requirements.
• Total up the columns.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
10
Parallel Collaborative Design

• Best suited to early stage idea generation.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
11
Parallel Collaborative Design

• Best suited to early stage idea generation.
• Start with clear, concise, and prioritized
  requirements.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
12
Parallel Collaborative Design

• Best suited to early stage idea generation.
• Start with clear, concise, and prioritized
  requirements.
• Include internal and external stakeholders from
  outside design team.
• Helps get alternate perspectives.
• Evangelizes and democratizes design.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
13
Parallel Collaborative Design

• Best suited to early stage idea generation.
• Start with clear, concise, and prioritized
  requirements.
• Include internal and external stakeholders from
  outside design team.
• Helps get alternate perspectives.
• Evangelizes and democratizes design.
• Keep the group small and the time manageable (6
  people for 4 hours).
• Facilitator is also a participant.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
14
Parallel Collaborative Design

• Best suited to early stage idea generation.
• Start with clear, concise, and prioritized
  requirements.
• Include internal and external stakeholders from
  outside design team.
• Helps get alternate perspectives.
• Evangelizes and democratizes design.
• Keep the group small and the time manageable (6
  people for 4 hours).
• Facilitator is also a participant.
• All design should be paper based.
• Simple anything goes sketch, flowchart, story,
  bullet points
• Easy to review later mark each page with
  initials and cycle number.
• Throw nothing away!

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
15
Presenting Designs

• Plan how designs will be shared.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
16
Presenting Designs

• Plan how designs will be shared.
• Stand around the presentation area.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
17
Presenting Designs

• Plan how designs will be shared.
• Stand around the presentation area.
• Absolutely no multitasking.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
18
Presenting Designs

• Plan how designs will be shared.
• Stand around the presentation area.
• Absolutely no multitasking.
• Mix up the presentation order.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
19
Presenting Designs

• Plan how designs will be shared.
• Stand around the presentation area.
• Absolutely no multitasking.
• Mix up the presentation order.
• Take photos periodically throughout the process.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
20
Presenting Designs

• Plan how designs will be shared.
• Stand around the presentation area.
• Absolutely no multitasking.
• Mix up the presentation order.
• Take photos periodically throughout the process.
• Defer non-clarifying questions.
• Helps focus attention to understanding the
  presentation.
• Ideas must be understood to be used evolve
  rather than evaluate.
• Write down ideas if needed, but listening is most
  important.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
21
Important to Remember

• Good ideas can come from bad designs.
• Part of an idea is also good.
• Listen, learn, and be inspired.
• Feel free to fail.
• Have fun!

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
22
Variations on the Process

• One group for multiple sessions.
• Multiple groups on the same problem.
• Multiple groups build on prior results.
• Parallel PCD Sessions.
• Remote Synchronous/Asynchronous PCD.

Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
23
Parallel Collaborative Design
QA My questions to you Was this presentation
informative? Do you feel you learned enough to
run your own PCD session? Will you try Parallel
Collaborative Design?
Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer
24
Resources
Parallel Collaborative Design These slides
online (updated over time as needed) http//www.my
lesdesignstudios.com/ParallelCollaborativeDesign.p
pt Using a Collaborative Parallel Design Process
(article on UXMatters.com) http//www.uxmatters.co
m/mt/archives/2010/04/using-a-collaborative-parall
el-design-process.php PCD Explained (6 page
document discussing all aspects of PCD in
detail) http//www.mylesdesignstudios.com/Parallel
CollaborativeDesignProcess.docx One page PCD
Overview (a simple recipe for running a PCD
session) http//www.mylesdesignstudios.com/PCD_1Pa
geOverview.docx Parallel Design General
Information Shortening the Human-Computer
Interface Design Cycle A Parallel Design Process
Based on the Genetic Algorithm by John McGrew,
Decision Process Consulting http//www.baychi.org/
calendar/20020709/1 Parallel Design page on
UsabilityBoK.org http//www.usabilitybok.org/metho
ds/parallel-design Improving System Usability
Through Parallel Design by Jakob Nielsen and Jan
Maurits Faber http//www.useit.com/papers/parallel
_design/
Parallel Collaborative Design by Mike Myles
UX Designer