Whether you are an indie practitioner, agency design lead or internal designer at a large company, you have no doubt experienced difficulites selling UX activities or Experience Design as a whole to clients, partners or bosses. Beyond touting the wonderful and magical ROI UX brings to the table, there are concrete strategies you can use to get your point accross and they aren't what you think. Learn how to identify and overcome common barriers to achieving a unified approach to user centered design.
Text of Evangelizing User Experience Design
Evangelizing User Experience Design UX Dustin DiTommaso [email protected]
Good Design is Good Business. - Thomas Watson, IBM 1950 (around)
The Customer Experience is the Next Competitive Battleground. - erry Gregoire, Dell J
The Customer Experience is the Next Competitive Battleground. - erry Gregoire, Dell J 1999
What the F UX?
Why are we still defending Experience Design?
What is User Experience Design?
A DEFINITION: User Experience is the Perceived Sum of All interactions, both positive and negative, that a customer / user has with a product or service (brand).
UX Happens with or without User Experience Design.
UX Happens with or without User Experience Design. To ensure a (mostly) positive outcome, the experience must be crafted strategically and with intent.
Who is Responsible for the User Experience?
EVERYONE User Experience Architect / Interaction Designer / Developer / Visual Designer / Program Manager / CEO / Usability Analyst / Information Architect / Technical Support / Copywriter / Animator / Web Producer / Human Factors Engineer / User Experience Specialist / Customer Support Personnel / Design Research / Cognitive Psychologist / User Centered Designer / Executive Management / Help Desk / Marketing / Chief Internet Ofcer / UX Designer / Director of Technology / Regional Manager / Interface Usability Specialist / Chief Creative Ofcer / User Experience Planner / Digital Art Director / Interaction Specialist / Web Designer / UI Designer / Interactive Services / Human Factors Analyst / Interactive Developer / HCI Engineer / Marketing Manager / UCD Engineer / HR Manager / Usability Researcher / VP Marketing / Accessibility Professional / Marketing Director / Web UI Designer / Digital Producer / HCI Analyst / Director of Account Services / Usability Engineer / Interactive Producer / User Experience Researcher / Project Manager / GUI Designer / Director of Account Services / User Experience Strategist / Product Innovation Specialist / Interactive Marketer / CXO / Information Designer / Creative Director / Software Engineer / Business Analyst / Testing Coordinator / UX Practitioner/
Titles Dont Matter
Titles Dont Matter The UX Vision must be shared across the Entire Organization.
What if were not there?
Strategies to Elevate and Integrate User Experience Design within your Organization
Strategies to Elevate and Integrate User Experience Design within your Organization (& your clients)
01 Know Your Culture Culture Matters
Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organizations makeup and success, along with vision, strategy, nancials, I came to see that culture isnt just one aspect of the game it is the game. - ou Gerstner in Who says Elephants Cant Dance? L (2oo2, p. 182)
ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE DEFINED: + System of shared meaning held by members + The way they do things - ow they make decisions & who makes them H - ow and with whom they interact H - hat they measure, reward and punish W - here they allocate resources W - ow they work; their pace, standards, etc. H
LEVELS OF CULTURE Observables - hat is seen, heard, done, etc W Values, Assumptions, Beliefs - hat we believe is important and true W - hat we take for granted W
VALUES / ASSUMPTIONS / BELIEFS Espoused Values / Beliefs - alues / Beliefs that the organization claims to follow V - ontained in Annual Reports, Landing Pages, etc. C Enacted Values / Beliefs (Values in Use) - he Values/Beliefs that can be inferred from behavior T i.e., the values that explain the organizations actions + ESPOUSED VALUES ARE EXPLICIT (STATED) + ENACTED VALUES ARE IMPLICIT (INTERPRETED)
CULTURES VARY At GM, if you see a snake, the rst thing you do is hire a consultant on snakes. Then you get a committee on snakes, and discuss it for a couple years At EDS, the rst guy who sees the snake kills it. R - oss Perot on how the culture of General Motors differed from EDS, which he founded.
SOME DIFFERENCES IN VALUES / BELIEFS - ur success depends on the customer OR customers are to be tolerated. O - mployees deserve respect OR employees are disposable. E - ll employees can make major contributions OR ideas come from the top. A - esults matter most OR the process matters most. R - est work comes from individuals OR from teams. B -t is better to take risks and have some fail OR always play it safe. I - o stay alive, we need to keep changing OR maintain the status quo. T - nly excellence is OK OR OK is OK O - ets do today what could be done tomorrow OR lets do tomorrow what L could be done today.
CULTURE: SUMMARY + It Matters + It Controls + It Varies + Its Stable + Its the Enacted Beliefs and Values
02 Create a Unied UX Vision & Take Over the World
There are many methodologies for User Experience Design yet they all have one thing in common Users interests are at the center of all Activities.
PIANO, PIANO + Change is Slow - rganizations are slow to change and O methodologies are slow to get adopted / implemented. + Start Slow - ry to t your methodology in and around T existing methods. - ont be afraid to scale down your approach at D rst. UCD is not One size ts All.
ENLIGHTEN WITHOUT LOSING YOUR FRIENDS 01 Know your sh!t craft and be credible. Continually improve. Read books / blogs. Join professional groups, Go to conferences, etc. 02 Make your (already) read books available for colleagues to skim or borrow. Print out valuable articles & white papers as well. 03 Make your work visible (pen / pencil sketches, whiteboards) 04 Make allies at any level in any department. Champion UX together. 05 Educate and Explain. Dont dictate. 06 When giving feedback complement things done well, in addition to making suggestions for improvement.
ENLIGHTEN WITHOUT LOSING YOUR FRIENDS 07 Set-up monthly multidisciplinary workshops (UX, proj. mgmt., communication) Invite all departments to host. 08 Get everyone involved in testing, brainstorming, evaluating (IDEO) 09 Strive to get involved in projects as soon as possible. 10 Pick projects you can have the most impact on (if possible). 11 Just do it! Fix UX problems (at least on paper). Offer up the the discovery as a looking for feedback request. 12 Seize Every Opportunity AND Know when to Quit.
Focus on the User and All Else Will Follow.
Focus on the User and All Else Will Follow. If this is true, then whats the Problem?
03 Barriers to a Unied UX Vision & How to Break them Down
COMMON BARRIERS & RESISTANCE 01 No Support with Top Level Management 02 Developers See UX as an obstacle that eats into development time 03 Visual Designers see it as a creative restraint (& eat into design time) 04 Marketing feels threatened by research overlap 05 No understanding of what User Experience Design is & why it matters
