MSN 9

Abstract

The MSN User Experience Team developed new user-centered methods to provide structured user input on the visual design of the newly-released MSN Explorer, an integrated software package. In the final product, users rated "appearance" above all of the product's features. This case describes how the MSN User Experience Team derived a design direction to set the most appropriate pace of visual change for millions of users with widely variant preferences. It discloses how these new methods maximized the product's visual appeal to the widest segment of the potential user base. The methods included design mark-up, a semantic design-description task, a statement rating task, a semantic desirability group card sort task, and a modified focus group discussion. This case documents the value of these new methods in predicting user reaction to visual design. Lessons learned from this collaboration are discussed from three perspectives: user experience management, design and usability.