Growth mindset

Object-Oriented UX

After completing the growth framework, I was eager to delve deeper into Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) to understand how to navigate complex systems effectively. I had the privilege of learning alongside a global, multi-disciplinary team of participants. Together, we explored strategies for untangling complexity and fostering cross-functional collaboration. After ten weeks of intensive learning, I earned my masterclass certification as part of cohort 6.

Certification details

10 weeks
19 modules with lectures
15 assignments across an OOUX project
11 weekly office hours with the cohort
8 Weekly mentorship sessions
1 final exam

Tools

Google Suite
Figma
Notion

What is OOUX?

Object-Oriented UX is a philosophy and a set of principles that helps UX teams break down complexity, understand complicated business requirements, synthesize research, and facilitate collaboration with stakeholders and developers. OOUX offers a better way to break up complexity, allowing teams to work iteratively and holistically. Leveraging the processes of OOUX, UX teams can collaborate more seamlessly with development teams.

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Why is important to users?

Users as humans think about their environment as a system of objects, and so the theory here is that if we consider the content/data within our product/project as objects, we can connect with our users better by providing a user experience that aligns with their mental model. By applying the OOUX approach, we consider data/content as objects before we begin to think of actions.

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Why is important to internal teams?

Defining objects that mimic the mental model of your users provides a scaffolding for team communication. It gives you a shared language. On top of team cohesion, designing object-orientedly can also help you:

• Ensure simplicity, reducing any accidental complexity due to extraneous design elements
• Grow and maintain your product: objects can be iterated on without affecting the rest of the system and new objects can be gracefully folded in (as opposed to tacking on features)

For a deeper dive into the OOUX process, please refer to my presentation:

OOUX in Practice: A Real-World Example

OOUX is a versatile framework that can be applied in various stages of the design process. For new product development or redesigns, the comprehensive 15-step ORCA process can be employed. In other cases, specific components of OOUX can be utilized to quickly gain insights into UX problems.

Here's an example of how I applied OOUX to address a specific challenge:

Problem: While the initial set of default settings within Presets is functional for Admins, adoption rates are low due to the lack of customizable tokens in email signatures, particularly job titles. Although user objects are planned, the timeline for completion is uncertain.

Solution: How can we implement a temporary token system to allow Admins to further customize email signatures within Presets?

Identify Core Objects: Determine the key objects involved in the process, such as users, teams, and email signatures.
Define Relationships: Establish the relationships between these objects and how they interact within the system.
Analyze Data Flow: Understand how data flows between objects and identify potential bottlenecks or inefficiencies.
Identify Opportunities: Discover opportunities for improvement, such as introducing a temporary token system for email signature customization.

By using OOUX, I was able to:

This OOUX-driven approach provided a structured framework for analyzing the problem and identifying potential solutions, ultimately leading to a more effective and user-centered design.