Experience Strategy

Web Design Predictions for 2012

Published on December 20, 2011

This winter, I was asked by the awesome folks at Web Designer Depot for some predictions about what will happen in the world of web design in 2012. After I told myself to stop be baffled that they asked me, and after I got over the fear of putting my thoughts out there to their wide audience, I was able to come up with a few ideas. You can read them below.

Now that HTML5 and CSS3 have been unpackaged and utilized, and given the emergence and popularity of responsive and adaptive web design, 2012 will bring us back to the future of the web. After years of driving the two apart, 2012 is the year that we will begin to bring mobile and desktop technologies back together by using the web to bridge the gap between the contexts. From that, we will be focused on designing for a holistic product experience.

Expect to see an explosion of mobile/desktop web solutions that can work on many different devices and platforms. Mobile First as a methodology will grow in popularity, and people will also be thinking more about how their product extends across these many different contexts.

Look for an outbreak in designers and product developers wanting to better understand users in order to create appropriate solutions for coherent experiences. We’ll be looking more and more towards psychology and user research to better understand our user base as well as better translate our product into an interface.

From this we’ll see the appearance of new ways to navigate through site content (in order to stay responsive), as well as new patterns for creating delightful and engaging user experiences online.

There are many more predictions to review! Be sure to check out the full article: Web design predictions for 2012

The Problem with “It depends”

Published on December 14, 2011

Today, was just another day for this UX Consultant. I had another amazing opportunity to meet with a NYC based startup in order to sell my User Experience wares. Walking away from this particular meeting (and feeling slightly discouraged… *sigh*) I was thinking about how to improve the outcome of similar meetings, and how to move UX forward in the fast paced world of startups. There was one realization that stuck out in my mind… using the term “it depends” just doesn’t work in this world.

We, as UXers, are some how secretly trained to use the term it depends to answer questions about our work. This is not necessarily a bad thing and we usually do this for very good reasons. Those reasons being 1. we don’t want to over promise to our clients and/or partners in other parts of our organizations, and 2. we want to be sure that they understand the breadth of UX’s ability to solve problems so we can promote UX to others and make sure people know its value. Thus, when we are asked how long it will take to design a page, do user interviews and testing, figure out the solution, etc we respond with it depends. We then go into our long winded explanation of how there are so many different techniques that could be appropriate to this situation, that it really depends on nailing down the situation at hand, and defining the problem appropriately. This, of course, is still a valid way for us to sell our capabilities in larger organizations or to well established clients, but is probably a bad idea to do so in world of startups.

In startup world things move fast. Very fast. The business could be void of revenue one day, and the next have 1 – 2 million dollars in funding to spend. Thus, things in startup land really do happen overnight. Therefore, the problems with using “it depends” in this world are two fold. First, startups have no time to listen to our long winded explanations about our process and how great UX is. And, to be honest, they really don’t care. They, instead, care about their product being awesome and serving their users as best it can. Knowing the UX technique to use to get them there is your skill and is the main part of the service you are offering them. Therefore, save your explanation with these guys and gals because they don’t want the “it depends” answer. What do they want instead? The answer. The second issue with using it depends in the world of startups, is that by not tailoring the answer right away to the startup you are talking with, you are showing that you have not taken the time to listen to what they have been saying, and are not expert enough to tailor your UX process, on the spot, to their needs. Why would they spend their precious funding or revenue on you as a resource if you cannot pull this rabbit out of your hat?

Lucky for us, it’s not about magic or pulling anything out or your hat (except maybe a flushed out proposal). It’s very easy to solve the problems that it depends brings you in the world of startups. First, stop using “it depends”. At least, stop using it in the way that you have been. Instead of using it depends to preface a long explanation about how amazing UX is, use it depends to serve up options that are relevant to the specific problem the startup is looking to solve. For example, when a startup asks you how they motivate users from a competitors product to instead use their product, don’t answer like this “Well, it depends. We could do user interviews or focus groups or contextual inquiry. There are so many different methods in our tool belt to choose from!” Instead answer like this “Well, it depends on what we want to learn. If we want to get a throughout understanding of this, we could interview our target users to understand their mental models and behaviors. If we wanted to get a throughout understanding of this as well as know how our product stacks up we could do user interviews as well as some targeted usability testing with tasks that can be done on both websites. These are really the two options that are relevant to this product. In your case, given you needs, I would recommend the second option.”. See the difference? With or without it depends you need to tailor your response to your potential client. Of course, you are not going to have the exact answer, however, you should know the technique that applies to the outline of the situation that has been provided to you. If you don’t have a clear idea of the situation, use your knowledge gathering skills to get it.

How then do you get to a point where you can surface up tailored information and feedback on the spot? Easy, learn the whys behind each and every part of your process (for more on this see: The Ultimate Key to UX Success). It is only then that you can eliminate the inappropriate use of it depends with startups. By knowing the whys, you can match the information that the startup is giving you about their problem with the appropriate tool in your tool belt. You don’t have to take the time to sell UX to them, instead you are taking their time to sell a tailored service to them and calling it UX.

By changing or eliminating your use of it depends when working with startups you are getting to the point and saving them time, as well as coming off as much more of a service professional. The only way for one to get to a point where they can tailor their wares on the spot, is to really understand the whys behind the different parts of their process. By learning these whys, you set yourself up for success. It stops being about educating others (who have little time or interest anyway) on what UX can do, and instead becomes about what you, as a UX designer, can do for others. You can know immediately what would work for this particular client and why, and this not only makes you much more of an expert in your field, but it also does one thing that the startup will be ever thankful for, saves them from having to think (pounds to Steven Krug).

How being a jock makes me a better UX Designer

Published on October 12, 2011

As many of your know, I love sports. I love playing sports, I love watching sports, and I am a huge college basketball fan (Go Tarheels! Sorry Dukies, but well you know). I have participated in some form of organized team sports since I was in elementary school, and continue to do so to this day. In fact, it’s probably what keeps me sane. Because of this, I can’t help but associate lessons learned from the field with how to become a better UX professional (I also can’t ignore this because the idea came to me from a desk neighbor at one of my favorite clients). Thus, I wanted to share with you some of those lessons from the field, and how they have made me a better UX Designer. So, our first lesson from the field: success is all about strategy.

In your current project, what is your strategy for success? Has your team sat down and agreed on what success will look like and how it’s defined? From that has your team talked about the strategy for getting the project over the finish line… and I mean talked about it as a team. Sure maybe your design team has a strategy, and the development team has their strategy, but what about the team as a whole…. what is that strategy?

Team strategy and consensus is extremely important for project and product success. Without having a shared end goal, and then a road map for getting to that goal, everyone will begin to chase their own ambitions and goals. This, in turn pulls the product apart at the seam, and real progress and success never sees the light of day. Do you think that an NFL team goes out there every week without talking about how they are going to win? How could a team of more than 22 active players win unless they all have the same idea of success, it just wouldn’t make sense.

So, in order to avoid the problems of team distrust, discontent, and lack of success, you gotta have a game plan. Sit down with your team and make it happen. Talk about what success is, how the team will get there, and what part you can play in that strategy.

By doing this, you get everyone on the same page. Tech, marketing, business, project and account management, are all heading in the same direction. Sure everyone has their own individual talents and value adds, the same as a quarterback has a different set of skills than a linebacker, but being able to combine those talents in a productive and successful way is what being a team is all about.

UX… Are we getting ripped off?!

Published on September 14, 2011

As User Experience professionals we add a ton of value to the products and services that we design. Our insights can catapult a product or service into an entirely new revenue stream. In fact, have you ever sat back and really thought about how much revenue your new design idea is bringing to your client or organization? Some of our ideas can double or triple business!

Now that you have thought about how much money your ideas have made, stop and think about the percentage of that revenue that you are rewarded? Does your compensation in any way reflect the value that you bring? Furthermore, how much should our compensation reflect this value? I don’t think I have the “correct answer”, nor do I think there really is one. However, I would venture to guess that the majority of us are grossly underpaid considering the money we make for others.

I realize that this is a slippery slope to go down, but I’m going to do it anyway. There will be some of us out there that will say “Lis, it’s not about the money. It’s about the opportunity to come up with and express my creative ideas, as well as helping users.” I agree with this to a point, however if it wasn’t about money, then you wouldn’t be taking a salary at all but would be living off the “social” salary that your good deeds provide. But this argument is a different discussion all together (For more on this see: UX… It’s Time to Start Keeping It Real). What I’m talking about is getting justly compensated for making someone thousands and millions of dollars.

Now I’m not calling for an uproar or revolution. What I am proposing is thinking about how this might play into any discontent in your career, even subconsciously. Meaning… the feeling of being undervalued, under-appreciated, etc can actually come from knowing how much you bring and not getting enough in return. How do we solve this then? First thing first, know your value. I mean really know your value. Know what you bring to the table. Follow your designs down to the dollar sign as much as you can. Know the analytics behind your changes and understand how they have helped the company from a numbers perspective. For example, if you know that you are making design decisions that will increase the revenue of a product 2 times, based on analytics, accounting, etc, then question how you will be rewarded for such ideas. This is the business behind our business, and we have to tighten it up!

By knowing your value, and demanding to be compensated for it, you are doing several things. First, you are inserting yourself as not only a UX expert but a business expert who is a team player that demands respect. Think of the example of being a consultant who doubles their rates and sees their income triple (yes this has happened… unfortunately not to me, but maybe one day). Because they cost more and are confident in their value, their clients assume they are the better candidate and they get hired more often. This is the same for someone within an agency or in house. By demanding the respect (in this case financial) you’ve earned, you are moved up to the “serious business” category. Next, you will feel more appreciated and that will be reflected both in your work and your relationships with your co-workers. By removing the bitter feeling, you are enabling yourself to exploit your creativity as well as your communication skills. Thus, you will both feel better, and work better, and that can only be positive for our users, the people we are in this for after all… right?

UX it’s time we re-brand

Published on July 28, 2011

Starbucks did it… the Gap tried to, and created a ton of buzz around their almost new logo, and of course we can’t forget about HTML5 coming in and stealing the show. Maybe it’s time for UX to follow suit. No, I’m not talking about creating a UX logo (although that might be fun) I’m talking about rebranding and repackaging our product both internally and externally so that we can have a greater reach in our market.

Whew… that was a whole lotta marketing lingo (probably used incorrectly) but I think my point holds true. I got the idea earlier this Spring at the Healthcare Experience Design Conference while listening to one of the many phenomenal lectures. The speaker was making a great point about how interaction design/experience design is new to the healthcare industry as a whole, and how we need to earn trust in this industry in order to seem qualified to work there. I’m sure that healthcare is not the only industry where this is true… in fact I know it. But the most important point that the speaker made was that we, as designers, are only seen as relevant at the point of interface. We make the interfaces of the things we design easy to use and that builds a direct correlation between us and the interface. Therefore, all of the work that we do outside of just wireframing and sketching is lost to the other people in our industries.

Direct Correlation — A direct coorelation

Because of this, we are usually not seen as important enough to contribute to “real business value” conversations and ideas (a problem that plagues us all and fuels the majority of our debates). Because we are not important enough or relevant enough to these conversations and meetings, we are not given the opportunity to show the extent of the value that we can bring to our businesses… whether those businesses are run by doctors in the operating room or executives in the boardroom.

So, in order to start to solve this problem I think that there are a couple of steps that we need to take. And, I think that the concept behind all of these steps is rebranding what UX and IxD mean both internally to our profession and externally to our partners. Meaning, we first need to start promoting the non-tactical side of our profession. When someone asks us what we do, we need to say more than “I design and make things easier to use” (guilty of this one myself). We need to say “I study how people use things and use that knowledge to solve problems around those things”. We need to fold the non-wireframe/interface centric activities into the mix. We need to not only argue about which software is best for wireframing, but which software is best for note taking during user research and testing, as well as which methodologies work best for observing user behavior. In short, we need to talk about our profession as being more than the interface to each other… not just to everyone else.

Next, we need to start to hold our own as professionals and experts. When selling and actually doing our work we need to pick the right kind of businesses to work for and teams to work with (see UX… it’s time we STRIKE). We need to hold ourselves accountable for being wireframe monkeys, and we then need to change the cycle so that UX is seen as more than just the interface. It is our own fault that people hire us solely to change where things are on the screen if we are taking those jobs without question, and not educating our teams and bosses that there is more to what we do. As a consultant, I’m careful about which jobs to take especially if I know that the client just wants me to push things around on the screen for the visual designer to mock up. We all need to take a step back and think about how we can change this pattern with our actions and decisions, and how we can sell UX more professionally instead of just taking what is thrown at us job-wise.

Once we begin the process of rebranding both internally (to each other) and externally (to our teams and businesses) the relevance of our skillsets to other parts of the product, besides just the interface, begins to increase. As we become more relevant our external partners will see we are more than just the interface, and will hire us to do the things that we love to do and not just move boxes around the screen (not that we don’t love that as well). We can really do User Experience Design, feel proud and fulfilled in our work, as well as be present in the conversations where UX matters most… those that affect our users. So let’s do it, let’s rebrand UX from just wireframes and interfaces to what we know it really is, putting the user first and ensuring their experience with a product is service is the best it can be.

The Secret Step of Agile

Published on February 2, 2011

Agile / Lean development is all the rage these days… and for good reason. It is a great way to come up with and release solutions much more quickly than how we’ve been working for years. And the best part for UX designers is that no solution is ever “final”… iteration and change is a key component to the methodology which allows us to receive feedback on our designs and continually update them to be better. Seems like a perfect world right? The problem with Agile, for most UX people, and for companies, in general, is that they are not aware that there is a step, a very important one, that comes before they can even jump into the Agile mix of things. That step being creating and agreeing on a product / UX strategy for what needs to be designed and developed in the first place… or as I like to call it, discovery and scoping.

Not being aware of the need for a agreed upon strategy can cause several issues. The most common one that I have seen is that people jump into Agile expecting it to solve all of their problems. We’ll just take some ideas, write them up as user stories, throw them into the “hopper” and Whammo!… Agile will get them out the door quicker than before. Often though, this method fails. Either the UX team is unable to design “quick enough” because they are not given concrete, research based ideas to design to and iterate on, thus “slowing down” the entire development process. Or the development team is unable to release due to bugs and/or incomplete use cases, thereby not having even a beta product to release “quick enough”. There are tons of ways that this method can fail, but the problem occurs when people blame agile for the failure, and not their lack of planning and decision making.

Taking the time to come up with a strategy for what will be build is a very important, if not the most important, step for successful development of any kind especially in Agile. By interviewing and observing user behavior as well as analyzing the feedback on a current product or new product idea, and taking that information to infer future user needs and behaviors, we can create product road maps that map to our users’ goals and tasks. UX should be a part of this step, and should help lead people through the discovery phase, as it is our job to keep our eyes on the prize, which is, of course, the experience of the user has with our product or service.

Creating a product road map (or experience road map if that terminology is more comfortable for you) allows us, as a team (UX, business and tech alike), to sit back and prioritize based on business need, user need, and technological complexity, thereby bubbling to the top the most important features, and exposing the rankings of the remaining features. After prioritizing, we now have a list of what should be designed and developed, and when those features should be developed, which we then use in our agile development iterations to keep things moving as smoothly as possible (this is software development, we know it’ll never truly be smooth :-)). Also, by keeping in mind that your strategy will iterate and change based on changes in the competitive market, user feedback, technical updates and innovations, one should anticipate constantly updating the strategy, in order to amend to these changes.

Thus, strategy (and prioritizing and scoping that strategy) has a big place in the agile world. Creating and adhering to it, as well as updating and changing it allows us to have a successful agile design and development environment. By taking the really big, goal changing decisions out of the execution step, aka the agile environment, and putting them in a different environment (although closely related and perhaps having the same groups of people) we allow agile to do what it is intended to do, design and develop the features that the user needs in a quick, efficient way. Agile was never intended to solve all the problems of the design and development world, rather it was intended to make the execution phase of this world more efficient, and pulling the strategy & scoping decisions out of this phase and defining them prior to the start of this phase, help to clear up the confusion.

So, before you decide that agile is the way that you are going to go, take some time to think about what you are really trying to put out to your users, but also to determine what problem you are trying to solve by implementing a new design & development methodology. Discovery, as well as scoping and prioritizing based on discovery, is, in my opinion, the most important phase because that is where we will find out what problem we are trying to solve for our users. Then we have a clear vision of the goal of our design and development, and we can execute that vision with a clear mind. Agile will not solve all of the problems of the world, however by planning, and doing the proper upfront analysis, agile can help release the solutions quicker, can save money for, and can bring pleasant and enjoyable experiences to the people that matter the most… our users.

Shrinking the UX Process on UX Booth

Published on May 12, 2010

Yesterday, UX Booth published an article that Gabi Moore and I wrote entitled Mission Impossible: Shrinking the UX Process. In it, Gabi and I write about the experience we had at her workplace, AnyClip (a site where you can find and experience movie moments), this winter. While there, we worked together to create a UX Strategy for AnyClip, a company that was about to re-release at Austin’s SXSW. The caveat is that we had to create the strategy in only three weeks.

The article outlines what our process was, what worked for us, and also where we went astray. Lastly, the article provides tips for other UXers to be able to recreate the same output that we had. During this time, we found such a great deal of satisfaction and success in our work, that it only felt natural to share it with all of you. Hopefully there is some information that you can glean from our experience to add to yours.

Read the full article here.

UX Booth is a blog for and by the user experience community. It is organized and ran by three awesome, highly intelligent and talented individuals: Andrew Maier, Matthew Kammerer and David Leggett. I cannot thank them enough for giving us the opportunity to present our thoughts to the UX Community. I am proud to have been able to become an author on such an outstanding website.

Special thanks are due to Karen McGrane and Whitney Hess, for contributing feedback as well as helping to edit this piece. Most importantly I owe a huge thank you to AnyClip for letting me join their outstanding team for three completely awesome weeks.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.