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October 25, 2004

An Interview with Paulien Strijland of Yahoo! User Experience Design

Paulien Strijland is Yahoo!�s director of User Experience Design (UED) for Search and Marketplace and when you first meet her, you can tell that she�s creative. She is a striking figure at 6�1� and wears expressive, flowing outfits and chunky, eclectic jewelry. She speaks enthusiastically about UED and she always seems to be in the middle of something interesting.

But what Paulien brings to Yahoo! is a lot more than creative energy. She is a business-savvy pragmatist who values collaboration tempered with practicality. But it may be her penchant for diplomacy, more than her pragmatism, that helps her provide unique direction for Yahoo! UED.

Here�s what I know about UED: you can build the best engineered product around but if no one understands how to use it, then who cares? It�s like the new cell phone Paulien was fiddling with when we spoke, �this phone�s got at least 100 features,� she said. �But all I care about is getting to the two or three that I want. They�re randomly buried in with all the others so it�s hard to find them and get to them fast. That�s not good user design.�

I sat down with Paulien over coffee last week as she shared her thoughts on user design and the world beyond Yahoo!.

Q: You�ve been involved in user interface design for over ten years now. What changes have you seen in the direction of UED and how it�s perceived?

A: Years ago there was no formal training for UI (User Interface) design and it was a discipline that wasn�t really recognized or viewed as important. Most companies didn�t even have UI designers. These days, even the smallest organizations have an appreciation for the field. So you spend less time trying to explain how UED affects the bottom line and more time getting to the design.

On top of that, the numbers of people using computers has significantly increased. This means we�re now designing for new types of users with different perspectives and different levels of computer savvy. Our designs have to be easy enough for the novice to use but compelling enough for the power user.

Q: What�s the toughest aspect of your job?

A: Everyone has an opinion! Yahoo! is very collaborative and everyone is a user on some level or another. The toughest thing is understanding the value of hearing everyone�s feedback but knowing that everyone�s opinion can�t go into the product. If it did, we�d have a hodge-podge design that really served no ones purpose. You have to be very diplomatic.

You also have to remember that we�re not the typical user. Our teams do a lot more searches in more ways and with more comparing than regular users. So we may not see things the same way they do. When you understand that distinction, you�re able to really hear what users are telling you about the product and about the design. It comes down to striking a balance between what your original product design goals might have been and what you�ve learned from the people who are going to use it.

For example, before Yahoo! Local was in beta, we'd received lots of very positive user response about the "view results on map" feature. The problem was that once we'd made the beta public, users weren't even aware that a "view results on map" feature existed. We had designed a button for it and we thought it as very visible and very intuitive. In our minds, it was "right there." But users still weren't using it. They just weren't registering it visually.

We ended up sitting back down and seriously rethinking how we'd treat that feature and it was very different from our original design concepts. When Yahoo! Local came out of beta, we'd found a much more effective way to call it out.

Q: But how do you really know that it's effective? Maybe users still aren't using it.

A: Well, we can tell that it's a very used feature now. Our reports show that people are clicking on the button so they must be finding it. On top that, they're telling us themselves that they really like the feature in the feedback they send to us. So we know they're using it. I'd say the redesign worked.

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Comments

UI and Yahoo???

Gimme a break. If i were a Y! shareholder, i would demand the entire Y! UI team to be fired. After all, all they do is just copy Google UI.

Too bad they had to design their own frontpage. And it reeks !!

Posted by: z | October 25, 2004 10:53 AM

Copy Google?? Where are you from ??

I like the new Yahoo Front page but the main challenege UI has to face in my opinion will always be the presence of adverts... You can design the most beautiful page, ads will always render it ugly. Yahoo is really well known for leting the cutomer customize their websites, I think the user should be able to apply certain templates for all pages of theYahoo network and not just My Yahoo!

Posted by: Guilaume | October 25, 2004 11:35 AM

As a former employee and diehard user of Yahoo, I'm really saddened to see Yahoo basically become a "me too" product. Similar to "Z"'s comments, it's hard to believe there's even a UI team anymore at Yahoo as all they do is copy Google. It's as if Jeff Weiner told the overqualified GUI team to just make sure they keep up with Google's design and run the html through Jeffrey's checker.

What happened to the innovation and talent at Yahoo? Are Terry and Jeff so focused on Google that they can't see the great talent in their own offices?

Boo hoo Yahoo....

Posted by: Chobe | October 25, 2004 08:10 PM

Why have a button to take the users to the map, why not show it on the results page itself.
The click through rate currently will not be 100% .. and you are needlessly hiding away one of the best features that Yahoo has come out with in a long time - the Smart view for maps.

And if you need a stronger reason - Google does show the map on the results page.

Posted by: chaos | October 25, 2004 09:17 PM

I have to agree that that I've never considered Yahoo particular user friendly. I've been using it so long because was my first email account (userid:natashatr) and now my first rss reader. Did I mention how much I love Launchcast?

I do like the new (beta)interface better including the new My Yahoo. But do most people even know that most of the things Yahoo offers are even there? I just realized this week that the notepad (using the Beta view)could be used from the main screen.

Natasha Robinson
Real Estate Logic
“…putting Logic in Real Estate.”
http://www.realestatelogic.net

Posted by: Natasha Robinson | October 26, 2004 05:28 AM

Well, I have always find yahoo extremy modest in their approach...maybe is it just a modest feature promotion....
Compare for example Yahoo mail Plus offer to Hotmail Plus...any smart user would rush to Yahoo Mail Plus...and it's the same price...
There are tons of features Yahoo provides and that people a not aware of...why does MSN make you pay for intellisync when Yahoo give it for free? Why would you wait MSN Hotmail to stabilize their buggy webmail upgrade that is being undertook since last August when it only took one week for yahoo to upgrade their software ? WHy would MSN premium subscribers get a messenger cluttered with ads when free Yahoo users get a launchcast radio integration and a built in address book? Why do you wanna pay some photo storage service when Yahoo give you unlimited JPEG storage? Why would you pay MSN to get 30MB of file storage when Yahoo give them to you for free? Have you ever tried to compare yahoo toolbar to the stupid MSN Toolbar? And being a Microsoft MSN MVP and beta tester, I know what I'm talking about...Yahoo puts the user in the first place or at least does not show you the marketings revenue for such or such feature
As for Yahoo been user friendly I have to say I have never seen a service so much user friendly than Yahoo. The My Yahoo page customization, the webmail customization, the toolbar customization, the messenger customization...NO other services give you a smuch , even paid services. Try to browse MSN Network and compare it with Yahoo! it's astonishing.
There is one thing thought I owul like Yahoo to think of : being FULLY compatible with firefox especially their launchcast website that I use a lot...Also Yahoo Plus hompage does not display under Opera browser, at least last time I tried...

Posted by: Guillaume | October 26, 2004 09:18 AM

If anyone is wondering about the comments on Yahoo! stole some UED from Google, just look at the http://search.yahoo.com. it is google, with a Yahoo! logo and customizable tabs.

-Wertrose
http://www.wertrose.com/
A modern Day Ben Franklin

Posted by: werty | October 26, 2004 09:31 AM

So what ? Yahoo acknowledges that Google's homepage is good? Is it a crime to make something similar ??? Don't you see it's even done on purpose, like a tribute to the competitor.
Why do you think they listed a link to the Google blog on this website...I mean, they were partners for a long time, it's not like we can compare their relation to Microsoft VS Google. Yahoo is far from having any pretensions, they're just ambitious...Unlike Microsoft it's not like they are doing so many press releases about their Search engine or promise for future technologies...the only place is this site, not CNET, not EWeek, not Neowin...
And I believe it is by acknowledging competitors' work that you actually open your mind and better technologies...Just my opinion

Posted by: Guillaume | October 26, 2004 10:47 AM

I don’t know if Chobe has ever met Jeff but, as a current employee, I can tell you he’s one of the most visionary and inspiring individuals I’ve ever worked for—and I’ve worked with some impressive folks.

When it comes to interface design and user experience, Google has influenced the way a lot of people view search on the web and we can’t ignore that. But the fact is, I think we do it better and it’s my personal charter to move Yahoo! toward even more strategic and innovative design that’s fresh and user friendly.

If you’re skeptical about Yahoo!’s ability to innovate and evolve to reflect the needs of our users, take a look at the Wayback Machine at http://web.archive.org/web/*/yahoo.com and you’ll see that we’ve never stopped.

Posted by: Paulien | October 27, 2004 05:30 PM

As a former UED team member at Yahoo!, I will also attest to the unparalleled might of Yahoo!'s interaction designers. I can personally assure you that each and every product they crank out the door would look and behave much different if UED hadn't touched it. And I'm certain that those products would be significantly less "user friendly" without UED involvement. Each piece of functionality, each screen, each form is carefully planned to be easy to learn, ease to use repeatedly, and consistent in presentation across a single (large) application, and across one of the biggest networks of interactive products on the planet.

And yes, search.yahoo.com sure looks like Google. I would agree that I would have liked to see something new and in some way better than Google's approach. If this decision was driven by user feedback if they'd be more likely to use Yahoo! "if it just looked more like Google," well then, that's not a very strong argument.

Posted by: Blake Engel | October 27, 2004 09:09 PM

Hi Paulien,

I have met Jeff, though long ago and briefly. But from that small encounter and from watching him at conferences and reading about him in the press, I think he is one of the smartest persons in this space and a great asset to Yahoo. And I also believe that Yahoo has enormous talent, such as you, in the interface design and user experience team. But I am still disappointed to see Yahoo just copy Google on recent products, specifically search and local.

Looking forward to your team proving me wrong and keeping the space strong with good competition.

Posted by: Chobe | October 27, 2004 09:13 PM

1. Why have you put those big buttons on Yahoo mail? Do you think people have problems to recognize buttons.
Best

Posted by: rafa | October 28, 2004 01:15 AM

I might have been seen a bit harsh on my earlier comment. But rest assured, i am YET to see one innovative unique UI on Yahoo Search properties across the web.

If only Yahoo! weild it's tremendous power to look forward rather than looking (and ashamed copying of Google).

Add something NEW to the table than just making yet-another google!!

Posted by: z | October 28, 2004 06:20 AM

Hey

I agree with what you're saying. Thanks for sharing the info with us.

Posted by: webcam | March 2, 2005 10:15 PM