Thoughts About “Best Practices” In User Experience Design

I recently started co-teaching 12 week class on User Experience Design in partnership with General Assembly. One of the most common questions the students ask is for concrete Best Practices about UXD. It’s been really challenging to try and identify Best Practices, simply because of the breadth of content we’re covering. So, this got me thinking, do Best Practices exist and does the idea of them distract us from more valuable learnings?

The idea of Best Practices implies that if you do a set thing, a set result will occur. It makes us believe that there is a rulebook for how to successfully design an experience. In reality, I’ve never been one to follow the rules, maybe it’s why I love designing experiences so much.

I think we need to do everything we can to try and shift the impression that there are “rules” for how to do what we do. Because the truth is, and we all know it, there is no one way to do what we do. So much of what we do is about problem and solve, about try and try again, about incrementally moving forward. We ultimately design for people, and people are different. Continue reading

9 Ideas For Designers & Everyone To Live By

Years ago while living in Portland, I wrote this as a reminder of why I do what I do.

Having recently found it and being inspired, I thought I’d share it with my designer friends … a source of inspiration for people who are just starting their careers, a kick in the ass for people who maybe need to make a change, and a reminder for everyone else, that there is no ‘there’ and that what matters most is not what you achieve, but who you become along the way.

 

1. Look beyond the immediate

Don’t let yourself become paralyzed by the situation you’re currently in. Whether you’ve hit rock bottom or feel like you are at the top of your career, always remember to look to the future – to examine your potential – to look beyond the immediate.

 

2. There’s always room at the top

If you are great at what you do, people will notice – whether they are looking for it or not. When people find someone who is great, someone who has authentic passion, talent, and persistence that is so rare, they will take notice. People will carve a place out at the top for those who choose to be great.

 

3. We’ve all done our time

Along the journey, each person will likely find themselves in a place where they don’t fully enjoy where they are at. Realize that these times are only temporary – and if we choose, lessons can be learned along the way – that will help you get to where you want to be.

 

4. Seek wonder in the detail

Train yourselves to be an observer. Learn how to filter through the noise and see the beauty and inspiration that we often let pass us by each day. Slow down. Don’t think so much. Learn to imagine again and think like a child – with curiosity, inquisitiveness, and fearlessness of the unknown.

 

5. Discover your strengths

Each person is born with inherent gifts – unique talents that when discovered, should not be ignored. Realize that you’re greatest potential will be realized when you focus on your strengths, instead of trying to fix your weaknesses.

 

6. Work from the inside out

In creative projects, in life, in everything – learn that you need to work form the inside out. You can’t know your purpose until you know who you are. Likewise, you can’t know a design, until you have an intimate understanding of the product or service, you can’t build a great building until you know each intricate detail about how it needs to function. Work from the inside out and the design will come naturally as a result of the intimate understanding of purpose.

 

7. Make your own rules

Change is inevitable. You must be flexible and agile to adapt to the

change that you face each day. Don’t allow yourself to be caught up in doing things the right way. Do what works – in the context of the situation – in the context of change.

 

8. Ask stupid questions

People love to be listened to. It is validating, empowering, and flattering. Take time to focus on listening more than speaking and you will be amazed at what type of information and ideas people will naturally volunteer.

 

9. Love the process

Forget the destination. The destination is dead. Half of the time you have no idea what the destination is. Learn to appreciate the process. Understand that what you learn during the journey is far more precious than the destination.

High School, Start Ups, And The Power Of Perspective

In high school, I was on the volleyball team. We were pretty good, but we had one big problem. In volleyball, you play until you get to 21 points. Every time we’d get to 10 or more points, we’d just simply freeze up. We missed plays, we messed up serves, we just couldn’t play anymore. One day in the middle of a game, when we reached 10 points, our coach called a time out, gathered us on the court and said “You’re down. The score is now 0, 10 … for them”. We went on to win the game.

Every game for the rest of our team’s career, when we’d reach 10 points, we would all yell “0,10”!!! I’m sure the other teams thought we were completely crazy. But this reverse psychology worked for us.

Sometimes when you think you’re winning the game, it’s easy to fall into the trap of guaranteed success, entitlement, or feeling more secure than you should. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter where you are right now. Because in an instant, the other team could catch up. And for my little volleyball team, we needed to think different. We needed to focus not on where we were, but where we were headed.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and it’s especially relevant in start ups. A small victory can give you a boost of confidence and make you feel like you’re on top of the world, that there’s no way your idea could actually fail. But it’s at those very times that we tend to ease up a bit, get a little too comfortable, and leave just enough room for the other people to catch up.

Small victories are great, but the key is to not lose sight of the rest of the game that’s in front of you. Because chances are, in order to win you’ll have to overcome about a million times more setbacks than you faced to get to that one small victory.

Only you know what it took to get to where you are. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter where you are right now. What matters is what you are doing to get to the next level. And to get to the next level, sometimes you need to turn your focus away from any victories you’ve had, and keep your vision on what’s yet to be achieved.

What User Experience Designers Can Learn From Filmmakers

Lately I’ve been thinking about the lessons that user experience designers can learn from filmmakers.

When I first started researching this concept, I thought that the key discovery would be related to storytelling. I thought that there would be an undiscovered process or method that we could take from film and apply to products. But, turns out, that’s not it. I think the greatest lesson we can take from filmmaking is not the art of story – but the art of decision making and the role of the director.

One of the greatest challenges in any project is to maintain that precious momentum forward (and hopefully, upward). Without continuous progress, you aren’t learning anything, and a huge amount of our time is spent Continue reading

On Creating A Culture Of Design: The Founding Team

Products are not only judged on what they do, they’re judged on how they do it. The experience that someone has when using your product is largely what they remember. These experiences are not forgotten quickly and are shared stories that spread through networks of people as their either praise or throw punches at your product.

Today, consumers expect great experiences, and they really are learning to spot the difference between a good and bad experience. It’s not enough to just fulfill a need or solve a problem. You have to do it in a way that creates an experience. In the past, we’ve had a strong focus on creating great technology. But, unless the great technology is woven into a thoughtful user experience, chances are that it will never be accessible to a consumer.

How do we ensure that experience is part of the fabric of our products and process? Continue reading

Why Everyone Can’t Be A User Experience Designer

As the Internet and technology because more tightly woven into the fabric of people’s everyday lives, a false sense of knowledge rises. This is a rising challenge for the user experience designer – trying to balance input from vaguely informed stakeholders who passionately believe they know what’s right, just because they use the medium.

Seasoned user experience designers know that education is a large portion of your job and deliverables. You continually find yourself explaining “why” things are the way they are. But today, the element of education as a part of the user experience design’s job is more present than ever. The reason is that we have a breed of people who use the Internet who feel as though they know best. Therefore, they are armed with feedback and input – we’ve all heard it …. “but that’s how they do it on Facebook”, “it can’t be that hard”, “what do you mean it will take a week”. Continue reading

Why We Need Product Storytellers At The Heart Of Product & Technology



Update: This post received a lot of great feedback and was re-written in more detail as an article for UX Magazine.

I am not a designer.

The word ‘design’ is far too limiting. What I really do is tell stories. I ask questions, find answers, and figure out how to distill a vision and idea into a product story.

There’s a lot of talk right now in the start up world about creating a founding team and whether a founder should hire technical or product first. The answer is more than obvious.

Technology is a means by which the product is brought to life.

But, without a story for the product, the rest of the team doesn’t don’t know what to build, sell, and evangelize. I’ve seen this happen over and over.

A founder has an idea and hires a team, but often doesn’t have strong product perspective on that team. Then, someone like me comes in, talks to the founder, and synthesizes the vision into a story and prototype, leading to the realization that what the founder envisioned is not what’s being created.

Product development is really about being a storyteller who translates the ideas that a founder has incubated, and forms them into a product story.

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A founder has the vision. A founder provides the starting point. A founder has the initial idea … but a product is more than an idea. A product is more than a website. A product is more than a transaction. A product creates a relationship that produces an experience that brings added value to someone’s life.

In the article The Science of Relationships, I asked the question:

“How can we transform advertising from a series of static touchpoints with a brand to a dynamic network of thoughtfully designed interactions that are tailored to and seamlessly blend with people’s lifestyles – creating a strong brand connection – a lifelong marriage with the brand.”

We need to start thinking about products as relationships. Every company needs a product story that clearly outlines how a relationship will be created and sustained with every person that engages in the product. Part matchmaker, part marketer, part technologist, part artist, part strategist … the product storyteller liaises between all areas of an organization to ensure to that everything being created is helping to strengthen the relationship that the product has with the consumer.

Today we are feeling the effects of not having enough product storytellers. This hinges on the fact that too many people who call themselves designers lack the fundamental skill of storytelling. Before you can communicate anything visually, you have to establish the story that your visualization or experience is going to tell.

To every designer, you need to become a better product storyteller. You need to stop focusing on the pixels and think about the plot, the people, and the product. Write more. Ask questions. Become an expert in relationships.

Stop focusing on the pixels and think about the plot, the people, and the product. #ux #startups #product

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To every technologist, I respect you. I also know enough of you to know that you feel the frustration and often have to do things over and over due to an unfocused product vision. So please understand that in saying that product should come first, I do this so that when you embark on creating a product, the vision is established and you can focus on creating great technology, not deciphering a disconnected vision.

To every founder, never stop having ideas. It’s because of people like you that new amazing products are brought to market. But, in a society where attention spans keep getting shorter and shorter, please realize that it is the product that establishes the strongest relationships that will win. So before you do anything else, establish your product’s story.

Update # 1:
This post received a lot of great feedback and was re-written in more detail as an article for UX Magazine.

Update # 2:
I’ve been asked to speak on the idea of product storytelling a few times. Here are the slides from one of my talks:

The Perception Of Simplicity

Lately I’ve been reading and studying the idea of how people can change their lifestyles through measured behavior, or what I call Personal Metrics. At the heart of Personal Metrics is the need for persuasion, whether aligning a new idea, adopting a new attitude, or modifying their behavior.

In my research, I’ve discovered the work of BJ Fogg who coined the idea of Captology, which is the study of computers and their use as persuasive technologies. As Founder & Director of the Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab, Fogg helps create insight into how computers and technology can be designed to change what people believe and what they do.Continue reading

The New ROI: Reach Of Influence

When it comes to measuring the success of marketing communications, brands need to change they way they think. It’s no longer about Return On Investment, it’s about Reach Of Influence.

In a recent Nielson Company report, the monthly minutes the average US consumer dedicated to some type of social network activity increased by 210 percent from December 2008 to December 2009. This rapidly growing social environment is one that brands need to learn how to engage in and, more importantly, measure. It’s no longer just the voice of the brand, its the voice of community, and that voice is louder and more influential than ever before.

Social technology allows for anyone with Internet access be either a brand ambassador or an adversary. As technology continues to seamlessly blend with our lives, communities, and conversations, measuring the influence of consumer-to-consumer relationships will become a central building block to the new metrics that are needed.

Industry experts agree that current metrics are insufficient and outdated. In the AdAge article Taking Online-Ad Measurement Beyond the Click, Abbey Klaseen wrote about the scrutiny of whether it’s effective to use a click to measure online advertising. The argument is that the click does not take into account into any other influencing factors, whether prior online expose or offline marketing activity. Andrea Kerr Redniss, Senior VP-digital at Optimedia comments concerning the click measurement, “It’s the closest thing to a standard, but it doesn’t mean anything to anybody, and CMOs are just tired of hearing about it.”

A measurement such as Reach Of Influence is about understanding how individuals are able to extend the reach of a brand’s marketing communications from simply business-to-consumer to consumer-to-consumer. In effect, this would allow brands to measure how the life of a particular piece of media is extended as it is shared from person to person within an individual’s network.

New social technologies have made the creation of content more accessible to the general Internet user resulting in a drastic increase in user generated content. Further, it is expected that soon the information on the Internet will double every 72 hours – partially due to the democratization of content creation. If brands are finding it difficult to reach users today and measure the effectiveness of their messages, it would appear as their challenges are only just beginning.

Instead of focusing on being heard in a sea of user generated content (of which, security firm Websense reports that 95% of all user generated content is spam), brands should change their focus to develop a more thorough understanding of user referred content. Being able to quantify the total reach of a piece of media by way of a single individual’s influence within their social communities will be integral to the future of successful campaigns.

Traditional marketing communications measurements are no longer relevant. A click measurement doesn’t provide a full understanding of the influencing power of the community. Industry experts agree that it is time for a new standard. As the social environment continues to rapidly evolve, brands need to have new metrics that measure the impact of the conversations within this environment. A measurement such as Reach Of Influence would provide greater insight into the influence of the individuals, and not just the piece of content.

The Urge For Excess

Recently I’ve been wresting with this idea “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

In product development and design, I like to think that we’re always trying to make it simpler, without taking away from the experience … or are we?

When I look at technology today, it seems like we rampantly subscribe to the idea “if you build it, they will come.” Today I read that Facebook has over 350 million users. So I guess in this case, Mark built it, and the people came. But the real question is “do they need it”?

One thing that I find fascinating about technology is the speed of its evolution and the rapid rate at which it allows us to innovate and iterate. We can sketch an idea on a napkin over drinks after work, and then in 48 hours have a live prototype and get feedback from people. But, with this new found freedom of development, comes a certain accountability for the creators.Continue reading