Rosenverse

This video is only accessible to Gold members. Log in or register for a free Gold Trial Account to watch.

Log in Register

Most conference talks are accessible to Gold members, while community videos are generally available to all logged-in members.

Why Isn't Your UX Approach Going Viral?: A Mathematical Model

Gold
Tuesday, March 28, 2023 • Advancing Research 2023
Share the love for this talk
Why Isn't Your UX Approach Going Viral?: A Mathematical Model
Speakers: Scott Plewes
Link:

Summary

We'll take a look at how UX propagates within organizations using a viral model ( a modified SIR model to be more precise ). We'll look at such questions as: Does it simply need more time? Is the transmission rate/function the problem? Is part of the organization effectively "inoculated" against UX? and how, when and where to track progress While getting UX into an organization isn't as simple as solving a set of differential equations, we hope to show you that doing just that might be a useful step in getting insights into what might work and what might not.

Key Insights

  • Mathematics, including complex models, is becoming increasingly relevant in UX research and design.

  • Viral exponential growth can serve as a useful analogy for UX adoption spread within organizations.

  • The SIR epidemiological model maps well conceptually to UX adoption stages: susceptible, infected (adopted), and recovered (rejected).

  • Conceptual models are essential precursors and complements to mathematical models for meaningful insights.

  • Competing variants of UX approaches within organizations act like competing virus strains affecting adoption rates.

  • Certain groups within organizations may act as resistant or 'vaccinated' against new UX methods.

  • Some UX practices become endemic—persisting at stable levels rather than disappearing over time.

  • Defining explicit operational metrics is crucial to connect conceptual UX models with quantifiable mathematical models.

  • Mathematical models can inspire new research questions and ways of measuring UX adoption beyond traditional methods.

  • Models always have limitations, but even imperfect math models can yield valuable new perspectives.

Notable Quotes

"More math is coming our way into research into UX."

"Math by itself can be misleading and full of biases, but combined with humanities research, it can be very powerful."

"The story of the Indian king and grains of rice perfectly illustrates exponential growth."

"A model is a simplified representation of a system, whether in math or UX."

"Personas and journeys are all models we use in UX to manage complexity."

"The SIR model is simple but can be applied beyond viruses—to information spread, finance, and UX adoption."

"All models are wrong, but some are useful."

"There are competing variants in UX adoption like competing virus strains that can slow down change."

"You don’t need to be an expert in math to start making connections between math and UX."

"Math models don’t just provide numerical precision, they can be inspirational for thinking about UX spread."

Ask the Rosenbot
Michal Anne Rogondino
Saving Outer Space: The First UX Design System for Our Nation’s Satellites
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Ilana Lipsett
Anticipating Risk, Regulating Tech: A Playbook for Ethical Technology Governance
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Bob Baxley
Theme 4: Discussion
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Sarah Williams
Verizon_A Framework for CX Transformation
2024 • Design at Scale 2021
Gold
Kristin Skinner
8 Types of Measures in Design Operations
2020 • DesignOps Community
Joshua Noble
Casual Inference
2023 • QuantQual Interest Group
Rachel Radway
The Many Paths Of Design Operations
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold
Laura Weiss
There is No Playbook: Leader as Coach During Challenging Times
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
Liam Thurston
Why Your Design Team Is Quitting, And How To Fix It
2022 • Design at Scale 2022
Gold
Tutti Taygerly
Videconference: How to Work with Difficult People with Tutti Taygerly
2020 • Enterprise Community
Sheryl Cababa
Day 2 Panel
2024 • Designing with AI 2024
Gold
Kristin Skinner
Opening Keynote: Org Design for Design Orgs
2017 • DesignOps Summit 2017
Gold
Sam Proulx
Accessibility: An Opportunity to Innovate
2022 • Civic Design 2022
Gold
James Rampton
The Basics of Automotive UX & Why Phones Are a Part of That Future
2024 • Rosenfeld Community
James Lang
If you can design an app, you can design a community
2025 • Rosenfeld Community
Alnie Figueroa
Teamwork: Strategies for Effective Collaboration with Other Program Management Teams
2022 • DesignOps Summit 2022
Gold

More Videos

Jeff Gothelf

"Proactive transparency about UX work draws attention and eventually makes people come to you proactively."

Jeff Gothelf

The Intersection of Lean and Design

January 10, 2019

Dane DeSutter

"The rise of Arcane legitimized something very important to players, showing how storytelling impacts emotional connection."

Dane DeSutter Natalie Gedeon Deborah Hendersen Cheryl Platz

Beyond the Console: The rise of the Gamer Experience and how gaming will impact UX Research across industries

May 17, 2024

Sarah Barrett

"Evaluation might be the most important part of your entire development effort and is often the hardest to do well."

Sarah Barrett

AI in Real Life: Using LLMs to Turbocharge Microsoft Learn

February 13, 2025

Kit Unger

"Sometimes it might be seen as something that is not necessary because our end users are practically colleagues, not actually paying customers."

Kit Unger Jackie Ho Veevi Rosenstein Vasileios Xanthopoulos

Theme 2: Discussion

January 8, 2024

Marieke McCloskey

"We are really good at finding problems, but the opportunity solution tree helps pick the best ones to focus on."

Marieke McCloskey

User Science: Product Analytics & User Research

March 11, 2021

Rob Mitzel

"My job was to insulate my team from the pressures and not let anyone else do UX work. That was wrong."

Rob Mitzel Sébastien Malo

The Tale of Two Companies: Building a Successful UX Practice in a Century-Old Enterprise

January 8, 2024

Carol Smith

"Data is a function of our history; it reflects priorities, preferences, and prejudices."

Carol Smith

Operationalizing Responsible, Human-Centered AI

June 7, 2023

Mark Interrante

"Nobody’s gonna listen to you people until you start speaking in the language of business."

Mark Interrante Harry Max

AI for Prioritization (3rd of 3 seminars)

July 11, 2024

Dr. Karl Jeffries

"Tech workers in the UK are five times more depressed than the UK average, with stress killing creativity."

Dr. Karl Jeffries

The Science of Creativity for DesignOps

January 8, 2024