I Am A User Experience Practitioner (Part 2 of a Presentation In-Progress)
Written by Russ on February 22, 2008 – 1:56 amWhen last we left our hero Russ, he was struggling to figure out his next steps for his presentation.
Fortunately, he was also wise enough to get a few hours of sleep, wake up fresh and start reviewing the work he’d already started (with the vital input of a few others).
The outline has changed again, and I suspect it is not for the final time. The new outline is:
User Experience Design: An Overview
- Title Page
- What is Information Architecture?
- What is User-Centered Design?
- What is User Experience Design? (long)
- What is User Experience Design? (short)
- UXD and the Project Life Cycle
- UXD’s Involvement in the Project Life Cycle
- UXD’s Work Product (not all-inclusive)
- Why is UXD Important?
- When should the UXD Team be engaged?
- What are the roles / resources needed?
- What are the job descriptions of the UXD Team?
- What is an appropriate career path for members of the UXD team?
This is starting to feel better. My goal is still basically the same–I want to make sure that all of the right people (which is basically ALL of the people) from the top down understand what UXD is and what the value of UXD is within the organization. It’s also self-serving in that I want a little bit more out of my role and this feels like the right, proactive way to address that. When it comes down to being part of the problem or the solution, I try to get my head on the solution side of things.
Some Updates to Existing Content
I borrowed Peter Morville’s “UX Honeycomb” (which I think is probably one of the most borrowed images in existance for UXD) and found that it worked really well. The more I looked at it, the more I felt that I could add to it based upon what I know about where I’m at today.
I surrounded the honeycomb with a circle of Longevity:
I gave Longevity a definition of:
Longevity. Our [websites] must be able to stand the test of time without rebuilding from scratch. Users should expect to see the same styled website for about 1-2 years, with incremental modifications throughout its life.
I updated the slide for UXD & the Project Life Cycle to also include (Sales) Pitch and Post-Launch Evaluation:
Subsequently, I updated what used to be the “Skills Assessment” slide to try and be a better representation of where UXD should be, and how much UXD should be involved(from my perspective in my environment–this could be different for you):
What’s New?
I added a title page–I feel that if I’m going to sit down and work on something, I should at least make some progress, and this was guaranteed to be an easy task to complete (it’s still not 100% solid, but it exists).
Then, I created the “What is UXD? (short)” definition. That, too, is a work in-progress. I’m struggling a little bit right now with this, but inspiration struck in another area, so I shifted gears and added…
“Why UXD is Important” (to my organization). As of now, I’ve got some headings and copy that look a little like this:
UXD is Agnostic
User Experience Design should be involved in any project—not just websites!
UXD has been applied to Mobile Phones, Biometric Devices (fingerprint readers), Telephone Voice User Interface (VUI), Desktop Applications, Websites, Business Processes and more!UXD Maximizes Usability
Wireframes and Prototypes can be used to for User Testing prior to beginning Visual Design and/or Development.UXD Minimizes Design Failures
Task Flows and Wireframes are the “design before the design” that provide a well-defined canvas for visual design.UXD Provides Project, Operational Efficiencies
Proper User Experience Design provides clear, thorough guidelines / direction for Visual Design, Development and Quality Assurance.UXD Brings It All Together
[explanation copy missing]
This slide feels pretty good. I fell out of my groove a bit, but I do think that these explanations drive home why UXD is extremely important.
I’m trying to get the “Brings It All Together” to explain how we bring together the business goals and marketing goals and wrap them in a tidy UXD package. Maybe that’s almost it right there and I just need to apply my copyrighter hat.
Progress is good. I’ve been dutifully, quietly seeking feedback and making improvements based upon what I’ve been hearing. In essence, I’m treating this like nearly any project I’ve ever worked on: I create an outline / plan, I start a section of the work, I do a gut-check review, I revise and then I iterate through it all until I reach a stopping point. With a little luck, I’m a handful of hours away from completion, at which point I’ll make sure this is up on SlideShare in the event that anyone else finds this useful / helpful.
I’ve a feeling I’m not the only person who is in a situation where a presentation like this could be useful!
Posted in Information Architecture, Presentations, User Experience Design | 3 Comments »
Nice pair of posts Russ! I’ve responded with a suggestion about longevity on my blog:
http://www.findability.org/archives/000197.php
Cheers!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and slides, Russ. I am in a similar situation have been asking myself the same question for months. I am trying to get a design agency to understand what I do and how I can fit in. I wrote an article on my web site that has many of your same ideas! Please read it when you have a moment. I built my ideas around the current UX Elements diagram.
I think your T diagram is and excellent visual tool. I’m so glad you added Business Requirements to the circle. I often wonder why “tasks” is not a 4th circle. I’m not sure how something is done without the task, even if the task it reasing static text.
Again, great articles! See you in Miami!
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