Chapter 1: Introducing a Data Mindset
In this chapter, we hope to motivate you to understand our perspective on how we see working
with data — that it is both an exciting time to be working at the intersection of data and design, but
also that working with data is truly a creative process. We talk about the kind of data that you have
access to as a designer and how different roles in a company interact with data, in addition to
covering some of our basic terminology.
Chapter 2: The ABCs of Using Data
In this chapter, we’ll give you the necessary foundation around data. We talk in more depth about
data types and how you collect them. We introduce the experimental methodology that is necessary
to make sure you are using your data to its fullest and define the basic components of A/B testing
that you will need for the rest of the book.
Chapter 3: A Framework for Experimentation
Here we’ll take the concepts and put them into action. We’re going to tell you how we’ve crafted a
framework for experimentation, which you can apply. This is our own take on how to do this, but
many folks are doing something similar.
Chapter 4: The Definition Phase (How to Frame Your Experiments)
Starting in Chapter 4, we’ll get even more concrete about how to apply the framework we’ve
outlined in Chapter 3 by starting with the importance of grounded question asking. We discuss what
a hypothesis is and show how you build just one, and then scale to considering many divergent
hypotheses. We also show you how to generate multiple statements and then whittle them down to
the ones you should focus on.
Chapter 5: The Execution Phase (How to Put Your Experiments Into Action)
In this chapter, we focus on how to create the experiences that you will ultimately be testing. We
again talk about how important it is to go broad and show that the design you craft will ultimately
have an impact on the data you collect.
Chapter 6: The Analysis Phase (Getting Answers From Your Experiments)
Here we’ll take you through some of the considerations when you launch your A/B test. We’ll also
discuss how to interpret your results, and make decisions about what to do next after running an
A/B test.
Chapter 7: Creating the Right Environment for Data-Aware Design
In this chapter, we focus on building and driving a culture focused on learning at your company, and
making data a core part of that learning. We also talk about some of the softer side of culture,
including the kinds of people that work well in that environment, making data more accessible to
everyone at your company, and the longer-term benefits of using data in the design process.
Chapter 8: Conclusion
In this short chapter, we offer a brief summary of the concepts we introduced in this book, and
highlight the need for an ethical stance toward data collection and toward experimentation.
About the Author
Rochelle King is Global VP of Design and User Experience at Spotify where she is responsible for the teams that oversee user research and craft the product experience at Spotify. Prior to Spotify, Rochelle was VP of User Experience and Product Services at Netflix. where she managed the Design, Enhanced Content, Content Marketing, and Localization teams at Netflix. Collectively, these groups were responsible for the UI, layout, meta-data (editorial and visual assets), and presentation of the Netflix service internationally across all platforms. Rochelle has over 14 years of experience working on consumer-facing products. You can find her on Twitter @rochelleking.
Dr. Elizabeth Churchill is a Director of User Experience at Google. Her work focuses on the connected ecosystems of the Social Web and Internet of Things. For two decades, Elizabeth has been a research leader at well-known corporate R&D organizations including Fuji Xerox's research lab in Silicon Valley (FXPAL), the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), eBay Research Labs in San Jose, and Yahoo! in Santa Clara, California.
Elizabeth has contributed groundbreaking research in a number of areas, publishing over 100 peer reviewed articles, coediting 5 books in HCI-related fields, contributing as a regular columnist for the Association of Computing Machinery's (ACM) Interactions magazine since 2008, and publishing an academic textbook, Foundations for Designing User-Centered Systems. She has also launched successful products, and has more than 50 patents granted or pending.
Caitlin Tan is a User Researcher at Spotify, and a recent graduate from MIT.