At first glance, riding a bike doesn't have much to do with user experience design. Since they are two things I love doing, I thought I would have a closer look and try and reveal some parallels between the two. Here's my take on the lessons I learnt from cycling that have given me inspiration to become a better user experience designer (UXD).
What do you know about cycling?
For some people, cycling is simply an efficient way to get from A to B, or it might be a hobby, something they do in their spare time with no particular purpose other than to have fun or keep fit.
For others, cycling plays a larger role in their lives.
Jure Robic, for example, was an extremely gifted endurance athlete who's won the Race Across America (RAAM)
five times. The RAAM is a 3,000 mile non-stop race across the width of the USA and is the only race of its kind. Robic won the solo men's race in just over 9 days last year. He was a pretty special kind of guy.
Danny MacAskill is into a different kind of riding, mostly up and down things that others wouldn't think rideable. This video shows his unique, jaw-dropping skill:
Danny MacAskill skills
Are they crazy?
So where am I going with these crazy examples? The point is, if you asked Robic or MacAskill, they wouldn't think it's crazy at all.
Their normal is different to your or my normal. To Robic, nipping out for a 300 mile training ride is a weekly event as opposed to the average cyclist, who would be doing well to clock up that kind of mileage in a month.
The difference is Robic's frame of reference, something which applies equally to UXD.
In user experience design it's important to know your audience's frame of reference. What kind and level of previous experience do they have? This will inform how you talk to your users.
But frame of reference is not just about experience, it's also about context. Somebody who won last week's national BMX championships knows a thing or two about bike handling, but that doesn't mean she would be any good riding in traffic; a BMX course is a different beast to a road with different rules governing how to behave.
It's the same using a website or an application. Just because somebody can book a flight doesn't mean that they'll also be able to buy the right annuity for their pension online. Yes, they have some experience making an online purchase, but the context is very different: finance instead of travel. As importantly, the stakes are much higher: a larger amount of money at stake and the consequences of getting it wrong could mean bad news and lead to higher stress levels. Always make sure you keep usage context in mind when designing.
Yes, but why do you want to do this?
Robic would probably want to get there as quickly as possible—mostly because he could finally get some sleep when he'd finished (decisions on when and how long to sleep are how these races are won and lost). MacAskill, on the other hand, probably wants to make it up and down bigger objects, preferably while somebody is filming him, so he can get more people watching his videos on YouTube. This keeps his sponsors happy, which in turn allows him to keep doing what he loves doing.
So, why is this important for user experience designers? Imagine both of them shopping for a new wheel—they are likely to have very different requirements. Robic would want to know the weight and aerodynamic qualities of the wheel and how it might, or might not, get him to the end quicker. MacAskill won't give two hoots about speed, he'll be more interested in the likelihood of the wheel surviving the next jump he's planning.
The information on the product pages for these wheels will need to be quite different to appeal, and ultimately clinch a purchase decision.
Will it work for you?
There is only one way MacAskill is going to find out if the wheel will indeed survive that jump: trying. He will want to make sure as best he can beforehand that it is likely to stay together, but only by making the jump will he know for sure.
Usability is an experienced quality. Sure, you use your experience as a UXD to make it as likely as possible that a design, user journey or flow is going to work for your audience, but you won't know for sure unless you've seen it being tried.
It's important to embrace this, to let real users loose on your ideas early and often. Jared Spool sees a direct correlation between the number of hours designers are exposed to real users and the quality of the designs they produce.
How can I get better at this?
There is no secret to becoming a better cyclist: you've got to ride. Lots. The more miles you do, the more efficient you become. Your bike handling skills improve, your muscles adapt, your metabolism learns to burn fat at a higher heart rate which means you can keep going for longer; there are all sorts of changes your body undergoes.
It's the same with design. If you want to become better, you've got to do more. You'll learn to sketch faster, wireframe faster and evaluate faster.
Team work
In bike racing, better means faster. And there is no doubt that a team of riders can go faster than an individual. Anyone who's watched a sprint stage in the Tour de France can tell you that the lone guy ahead of the peloton hasn't got much chance of finishing first. Because the riders in the peloton can take turns, they can maintain a higher speed than the individual can. In the RAAM 8-person team category, the winning team took just under 5 days and 11 hours. That's 3.5 fewer days, and a whole lot less sleep deprivation, than Jure Robic.
Working as a team is a good way to create a better user experience for your users, and usually in less time too. By bringing different people's experiences together, more ideas will spark and problems can be approached from more angles. If you have access to developers and visual and interaction designers as well, even better; the earlier they get involved, the better and faster the outcome.
Be prepared
Abraham Lincoln famously said "Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first hour sharpening the axe". Mark Cavendish, arguably the best sprinter in the world, is well-known for his meticulous planning and his in-depth knowledge of the course he will be racing. He knows how fast he can take each corner that counts.
Make sure you know as much as possible about the project and its stakeholders, the audience, the context and the business you are designing for before you draw the first line. Get your hands on any data and research, including competitor research, you can. Run a baseline usability test. Interview your users. The more information you have, the better the solution you can design.
Know your tools
Knowing how to repair and take care of your bike will make you a better cyclist. It's amazing how much difference a well-oiled chain and the right pressure in your tyre will make to your average speed.
Fixing a tyre when you have a puncture, straightening your wheel when it's buckled, tweaking your gears when they don't work as crisply as they should—all these are examples where knowing how to fix things yourself will keep you cycling for longer.
The same goes for user experience design. The more you know about design, branding, HTML, CSS, JavaScript and programming, and their limitations, the better you can design an experience that is going to work.
Communication is so important, you have to be able to accurately explain your ideas to the person who's going to implement them, otherwise disappointment awaits. If you can speak the language of the person you are explaining your ideas to, they will understand them better and more quickly.
Conclusion
There are quite a few parallels that can be drawn between cycling and user experience design, but cycling is not unique in this; to become better designers it's good to have a healthy interest in everything around us. This will help us stay sharp and current with what is happening in the world and provide us with inspiration for our next project.
What parallels would you draw between UXD and cycling, or anything else in life? I'd love to hear from you in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.