A Systems Approach to Rich User Experience Design by Sara Fortier A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design in Industrial Design Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2012, Sara Fortier Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1 Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93651-1 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93651-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada ABSTRACT Today’s saturated market of goods and services has created a new competitive battleground where companies are shifting to compete on the basis of providing compelling and memorable experiences for their users and customers. However, as the world grows in complexity, the designers responsible for delivering these rich experiences must address the sizeable networks of interconnected people, things, and environments surrounding the products and services they create. As such, design and research processes must evolve to embrace experience design through a system's lens. Using data collected from seven case studies of experience-centric design firms, including IDEO and Adaptive Path, this study explores the methodologies and organizational behaviours leading to the creation of rich user and customer experience from a system’s perspective. From the findings five patterns particularly critical to designing for experience were uncovered: They include a holistic perspective, building an emotional connection, interdisciplinary collaboration, harmonizing touchpoints and client empowerment. A synthesis of these patterns led to the development of a Rich Experience Design Diffusion Approach (REDDA). ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor Prof. WonJoon Chung at the School of Industrial Design and my co-advisor Prof. Nicolas Papadopoulos from the Sprott School of Business for their continued support and guidance throughout this process, as well as the countless hours spent discussing and reviewing ideas. Furthermore, I would like to thank Jennifer and Arjun for their invaluable and unrelenting efforts in connecting me with all the right people. I am also grateful to the designers, researchers, strategists, and leaders in experience design who participated in the interviews and made this study possible. To all my friends, family, and classmates, thank you for helping me brainstorm when work seemed at a standstill and thank you for all of your encouragement. Lastly, I would like to say a special thank you to my parents for their undying love and support; they are and always will be my best cheerleaders. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.....................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................vii LIST OF VIGNETTES...................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES..............................................................................................................ix LIST OF APPENDICES..................................................................................................... x GLOSSARY OF TERMS....................................................................................................xi INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................1 1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM........................................................................2 1.2 BACKGROUND AND NEED................................................................................. 4 1.3 PURPOSE OF STUDY AND METHOD................................................................ 8 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS......................................................................................9 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE TO THE FIELD .......................................................................... 10 LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................... 11 2.1 EXPERIENCE DESIGN........................................................................................ 12 2.1.1 Background ....................................................................................................... 12 2.2 BASIC EXPERIENCE........................................................................................... 15 2.3 RICH EXPERIENCE..............................................................................................18 2.3.1 Context .............................................................................................................. 21 2.3.2 Emotion .............................................................................................................23 2.3.3 Meaning Making ............................................................................................... 25 2.4 SYSTEMS..............................................................................................................27 2.4.1 Systems Thinking ..............................................................................................27 2.4.2 Product Ecosystem ........................................................................................... 30 2.4.3 Product Ecosystem as a Design Strategy ........................................................31 METHODS.........................................................................................................................34 3.1 CASE STUDIES.................................................................................................... 36 3.1.1 Sample .............................................................................................................. 36 3.2 PRIMARY (INTERVIEWS)....................................................................................39 3.2.1 Setting ............................................................................................................... 39 3.2.2 Sample/Participants.......................................................................................... 39 3.2.3 Measurement Instruments ................................................................................40 3.2.4 Data Collection ..................................................................................................40 3.2.5 Data Analysis .....................................................................................................41 3.3 SECONDARY (DOCUMENTS)...........................................................................44 3.3.1 Sample .............................................................................................................. 44 3.3.2 Measurement Instruments ................................................................................45 3.3.3 Data Collection ................................................................................................. 45 3.3.4 Data Analysis.....................................................................................................46 3.4 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY.............................................................................. 47 RESULTS..........................................................................................................................49 4.1 HOLISTIC PERSPECTIVE...................................................................................49 4.2 BUILDING EMOTIONAL CONNECTION............................................................53 4.2.1 Human Centered Activities ...............................................................................54