Subscribe for Free |   View PDF  |  Send to a Friend |   Library Connect News  |   | 

search this site search web

Tom Noonan with Elsevier's User Centered Design Group answers usability questions

Q: Does serving Millennials affect the design and usability of products or services?

A: When considering concepts that might turn into Elsevier products, our UCD staff tries to understand the workflow and needs of the potential user population. Who are the users? What is their environment (physical and technological)? What are they trying to do and what sorts of products are they using now? To remain viable, librarians and educators need to discover the same types of information about their new or upcoming patrons, including Millennials. Will new technologies and services provide a fit for Millennials’ user behaviors and needs, and, if so, how should they be provided?

There’s a lot of similarity between age groups.

Some surveys and studies of Millennials (the Google generation?) have recently been conducted to understand how they might differ from other users. Among the findings is that there’s a lot of similarity between age groups. All age groups are impatient in search and navigation. No one wants to struggle to find what they want.

While some claim that Millennials differ in other ways (they prefer to learn by doing, insist on personalization, are results-oriented and more), I’m skeptical. It seems to me that many people in my generation share these “Millennial” characteristics. I wonder if these supposed generational differences reflect different goals when accessing the Internet. For example, on a recent project, we discovered that many users (particularly older users) use free YouTube videos and informal online communities to learn new skills and start new careers.

As technology and styles change, users’ experiences and expectations change. Kids now grow up chatting online with their friends, using free video clips to learn new skills and tagging photographs. Does this mean you need to design your products or services to support these activities? Or, will spending time and money on supporting these tasks distract you from the real needs of your users?