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People, not process

Ian Fenn
June 02, 2012

People, not process

Another day, another UX conference, and yet another designer telling you that you're doing things wrong and how you should adopt their methodology and nothing else.

Ian Fenn has had enough.

In this forthright but entertaining talk, he reveals the real truth about UX design - what works for you may not work for somebody else. It may not even work for you if you subsequently change employer or even project.

Ian will argue that the secret of successful UX design can be encompassed in a few simple rules - the foremost being that people, not process, are paramount.

(As presented at Midwest UX on 2 June 2012.)

Ian Fenn

June 02, 2012
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  1. ๏ producer ๏ assistant producer ๏ production assistant ๏ graphic

    designer ๏ web developer ๏ perl developer A SMALL TEAM
  2. ๏ collaboratively ๏ iteratively ๏ job titles didn’t matter ๏

    documentation was light ๏ we were user-centred WE WORKED...
  3. THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN BUT THERE ARE

    LOTS OF OLD THINGS WE DON'T KNOW. Satirist Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
  4. A DESIGNER SOLVES PROBLEMS THEY OFTEN HAVE TO HELP IDENTIFY

    WITHIN A SET OF EVER- CHANGING CONSTRAINTS. Ian Fenn
  5. A DESIGNER SOLVES PROBLEMS THEY OFTEN HAVE TO HELP IDENTIFY

    WITHIN A SET OF EVER- CHANGING CONSTRAINTS. WITH NO AUTHORITY. Ian Fenn
  6. ๏ enthusiasm ๏ total confusion ๏ disillusionment ๏ search for

    the guilty ๏ punishment of the innocent ๏ reward and promotion of the non-participants
  7. 1. ARRIVE ARMED WITH KNOWLEDGE ๏ Read the usual suspects

    - Jared Spool, Jakob Nielsen, Johnny Holland, Boxes and arrows, UX magazine... ๏ Familiarise yourself with the high traffic websites that people visit - how are they shaping user behaviour? ๏ Question everything around you. Why are things the way they are? ๏ Is there a formal project brief? If so, ask for a copy in advance. Print it off. Scribble questions on it.
  8. I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I

    knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. - Rudyard Kipling in his "Just So Stories" (1902)
  9. ๏ Why are we doing this? (Business needs) ๏ What

    do the users need? (User needs) ๏ Where do they want it? (Environment/Device) ๏ Who is doing it? (Team) ๏ When do we have to get it done by? (Time available) ๏ How will we measure success?
  10. ๏ Why? - The battery is dead. (first why) ๏

    Why? - The alternator is not functioning. (second why) ๏ Why? - The alternator belt has broken. (third why) ๏ Why? - The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and not replaced. (fourth why) ๏ Why? - The vehicle was not maintained according to the recommended service schedule. (fifth why, a root cause) THE VEHICLE WILL NOT START (THE PROBLEM) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_whys
  11. ๏ What do they expect? ๏ What’s in it for

    them? ๏ What challenges do they face? ๏ How will they know the project has been successful? ๏ Who else should you meet?
  12. MEET TEAM MEMBERS ๏ What’s their history? ๏ How do

    they work? ๏ What has been useful in the past? ๏ What has annoyed them? ๏ What are their expectations? ๏ How do they like to communicate?
  13. PRODUCT MANAGERS ๏ Some are ux-focused, others are business or

    technical ๏ None of them will be short of an opinion ๏ Support all of your work with evidence ๏ Share it often
  14. PROJECT MANAGERS ๏ Treat as you would a project sponsor

    ๏ Be honest about timings and try to stick with them ๏ Keep them informed ๏ Ask them to coordinate feedback
  15. DEVELOPERS AND DESIGNERS ๏ Involved them early on ๏ Share

    your work or collaborate often ๏ Understand their constraints
  16. DEALING WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE Dr. Rick Brinkman and Dr. Rick

    Kirschner (Hat tip to Giles Colborne 
 for directing me to this book.)
  17. USEFUL PHRASES ๏ ...... (Silence: Beg for forgiveness, not for

    permission.) ๏ “Do you mind me asking - are you looking for solutions or do you just want to get things off your chest?” ๏ “Which of the solutions you mentioned would you choose?” ๏ “If we were going to meet the delivery date, how could we make that happen?” ๏ “How could we find out...”
  18. ๏ know what you know ๏ find out what you

    don’t know ๏ ask what you need to know now ๏ tell others what you now know
  19. 9.05 – YOU'RE GREETED IN THE LOBBY BY A UNICORN

    - YES, A UNICORN - TROTTING AROUND FOR A PROMOTIONAL PHOTO SHOOT. IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE.
  20. 9.10 – GRAB AN ESPRESSO IN THE CAFE; IN THE

    QUEUE HAVE A CHAT WITH A FELLOW LEAD ABOUT LINE MANAGEMENT. YOU'VE RECENTLY CHANGED THE FORMAT OF YOUR BI-WEEKLY MEETINGS TO A MORE CASUAL LUNCH AND IT'S WORKING BRILLIANTLY.
  21. 9.20 – YOUR MAIN CLIENT IS RUNNING AN AGILE PROCESS;

    IN YOUR SCRUM YOU GIVE A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM OF 4 ARE UP TO.
  22. 9.30 – RUN A WORKSHOP WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS, THE CREATIVE

    AND TECH TEAMS (WE LIKE TO BLEND) TO SCAMP 2 ROUTES FOR AN IMPROVED PURCHASE PROCESS. OUR LEAD STRATEGIST KICKS THE WORKSHOP OFF WITH RESEARCH INSIGHTS.
  23. 11.00 – HOST A `BIG MAMA' (OUR BI-WEEKLY TEAM KNOWLEDGE

    SHARE). TODAY'S TOPIC: INSIGHTS FROM YOUR RECENT TRIP TO ADAPTIVE PATH'S UX INTENSIVE.
  24. 12.00 – ATTEND ANOTHER WORKSHOP, THIS TIME FOR YOUR OTHER

    CLIENT, HOSTED BY THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR ON THE ACCOUNT. THE OBJECTIVE: SKETCH A FEW USER JOURNEYS TO SHOW HOW CONTENT CAN BE SHARED ACROSS A CAMPAIGN SITE, MOBILE AND TABLET DEVICES.
  25. 1.30 – PICK UP A FEW LUNCH BUDDIES FOR A

    WALK THROUGH THE LOCAL AREA AND A SANDWICH FROM A NEARBY CAFE.
  26. 3.45 – MEET WITH YOUR TEAM TO GO THROUGH THE

    DETAIL OF NEW WIREFRAMES IN AXURE. RUN THE WIREFRAMES THROUGH THE PERSONAS AND STRESS-TEST THEM WITH EXPERIENCE PRINCIPLES.
  27. 5.15 – GET DEBRIEFED ON A PITCH YOU'LL BE HELPING

    OUT WITH NEXT WEEK. THE PROSPECT: A HIGH FASHION BRAND WHO WANT TO RE-ENERGISE THEIR ONLINE PRESENCE.
  28. 6.15 – WIND DOWN WITH A GAME OF TABLE TENNIS

    AND A BEER IN THE COMPANY BAR.
  29. A TECHNIQUE FOR PRODUCING IDEAS ๏ An idea is nothing

    more nor less than a new combination of old elements ๏ The capacity to bring old elements into new combinations depends largely on the ability to see relationships
  30. A TECHNIQUE FOR PRODUCING IDEAS ๏ First, gather raw materials

    - both the materials of your immediate problem and the materials from your rich store of general knowledge. ๏ Second, work over those materials in your mind and try to identify patterns.
  31. A TECHNIQUE FOR PRODUCING IDEAS ๏ Third, go for a

    walk in the park. This is the incubating stage, where you let something beside the conscious mind do the work of synthesis. ๏ Fourth, an idea will be born, often when you least expect it. ๏ Fifth, shape and develop an idea to practical usefulness.
  32. SELF-OBSERVATION ๏ What am I feeling now? ๏ What am

    I thinking now? ๏ What am I doing at this moment? ๏ How am I breathing?
  33. FIRST RULE OF CONSULTING:  NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU

    TRY, YOU CAN’T STOP PEOPLE FROM STICKING BEANS UP THEIR NOSE. Jared Spool - http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2011/07/08/