Experiencing the Misconceptions of User Experience Design
Written by Russ on January 10, 2009 – 4:50 pmInformation Architecture Institute’s Advisor and UX “it girl” extraordinaire, Whitney Hess authored an article on Mashable yesterday that’s gotten a lot of buzz. My description of Whitney isn’t facetious; she does a lot for our community to expand awareness and help make splashes where they aren’t being made.
We could all take a page from her book, frankly.
Sometime around Thanksgiving, I got a twitter Direct Message from Whit asking me what I thought was “the biggest misconception in UXD”.
I chuckled because I’d been working through this for a very long time, and I’d been having a number of conversations with Matthew Milan about this very same topic and how I really believe that we sell ourselves short by locking ourselves into “just” the user.
Whitney’s quote from me in the article as follows:
…just about the user
Russ Unger, experience design strategist, likes to say that the biggest misconception of UX design is the “U.” “There are a set of business objectives that are needing to be met—and we’re designing to that, as well,” he explains. “We just can’t always do what is best for the users. We have to try to make sure that we are presenting an overall experience that can meet as many goals and needs as possible for the business and the users.”As user experience designers we have to find the sweet spot between the user’s needs and the business goals, and furthermore ensure that the design is on brand.
Whit did a great job of distilling it down; I didn’t expect that what I had sent her would be carved in stone, but I definitely feel that the lengthier version gives a bit more insight and further explains my perspective (and as I mentioned to her, gives me something to blog about, too!).
I sent Whitney the following response:
Biggest misconception?
One of the biggest misconceptions I see is that people are getting too deep into “User” Experience Design. That is, most times, we are solving a business problem and wrapping something useful and usable around it. There are a set of business objectives that are needing to be met—and we’re designing to that, as well. In many cases, this forces “User” Experience Designers to choose between the lesser of evils and not really put forth what might be considered (by them) as the best possible solution. I believe any of us in the field could nitpick on any site or application and make a snap judgment—but we would not know what business objective forced that design decision.
As an example: I once worked for a large media company that identified banner ads as a revenue stream. This required a large “island” ad to be placed on the page, and forgive me for even saying this, above the fold (not my requirement). Some designers rebelled against this, but the way I saw this was that there is an ad on a page that had the potential to bring in enough revenue to pay multiple salaries each year—that’s ultimately a good thing, right?
I see us as Experience Designers, who truly try to provide what is best for a user—while making sure business objectives are met. Unfortunately, we just can’t always do what is best for the users, so we have to try to make sure that we are presenting an overall experience that can meet as many goals and needs as possible for the business and the users.
Whitney edited this down to fit into her pretty lengthy article–which, by the way, had my name listed amongst people that I’m fortunate enough to be able to say that I’ve met, I’ve had conversations with, I’ve become friends with and who are my heroes in the industry. Author, of course, included, and ranking right up there near the top.
I’m more than a little honored to be amongst those people listed, and I’m flattered to have given a response that was considered insightful enough to be listed.
But, I have to say, I very specifically meant that the U–the USER part–of User Experience Design is one of the misconceptions that I see.
We don’t always have the fortune of working for the Users. We sometimes work for the Business requirements and the business objectives. We are creating experiences for their users that are compelling the users to buy something.
Look, we’re a cost to companies, and they see it as a needed cost because we have the potential to save them money downstream by working toward the best interests of their users–to meet goals and objectives of the company.
We’re working with all that stuff. We’re working to simplify processes. We sometimes have to pick the lesser of many evils–and we do that, to a degree, for the user.
And the user isn’t always a customer, either.
cus·tom·er
- One that buys goods or services.
- Informal An individual with whom one must deal: a tough customer.
That’s far too narrow of a focus–for me.
Sometimes, the user is just a visitor. Sometimes, we identify business processes and/or communication processes (think to yourself how the editorial process might work for a large-scale CMS). Sometimes it’s a consumer–and that doesn’t have to be a customer. Sometimes the user is someone looking for information, and you can rationalize that however you’d like, but it’s not a customer.
Otherwise, it would be often called Customer Experience Design.
From where I sit, and from where I’ll be sitting soon, it’s Experience Design, Experience Strategy and/or Experience Planning. Who we do it for… That may vary.
We’re always going to try to connect the dots with as much efficiency and clarity as possible, and that’s what is important.
Posted in User Experience, User Experience Design | 7 Comments »
Your “Only Once” Is My 3-6 Times
Written by Russ on January 5, 2009 – 11:46 amToday, David Armano posted a link to the newly updated ESPN.com website on Twitter for people to share some opinions and feedback.
I went to the site and saw that, still, ESPN thinks it’s an okay idea to play–with the volume ON–video on their home page. Like most people in the same time zone as David, I’m at work, so I left the site rather quickly.
I let David know my experience and that I felt ESPN clearly is not speaking to their users, while people around me are chuckling at me for the burst of non-work-related audio coming from my workstation.
David’s response was, “It only happens once–refresh.”
(For the record, I’ve now seen it twice on the same computer and I’m not about to try and find out again, thanks, ESPN.)
It only happens once.
Is that the truth anymore?
I think it’s a lie. A lie we tell ourselves and we instantly believe without letting it really surface.
And we’re forgetting about the fact that many people (still awaiting on a number about the average numbers of computers per household in 2008 from ChaCha, but…) have more than one computer in their experience–particularly those who, you know, actually go to websites.
I have a laptop for work (PC). I have a personal laptop (MacBook). I have a desktop (iMac). I have a home server (PC). I have a laptop for my wife (NetBook). And, finally, I have a laptop for my 5yo daughter (PC).
At any point in time, I could be using ANY ONE of those computers. And each “first time” I’ll have to go through whatever interstitial garbage you put up to thrill and wow me with.
For me, that’s 3-6 different times, and that’s if you “Only Once” actually works.
Look, I’m a realist. I’m pretty certain that my numbers are a bit larger than the average household, but many households certainly DO have more than one computer within the realm of their “experience”, and it is something to consider.
Especially when your “Only Once” is not working.
Posted in Rant, Uncategorized, User Experience | 4 Comments »
Remembering to Think About It, Giving Back to It
Written by Russ on January 2, 2009 – 1:17 amI’ve been very fortunate of late–I was chosen by SXSW (South by Southwest) to present a Core Conversation on the topic of “Friendship is Dead” with David Armano (It was originally submitted as a panel with Bill DeRouchey, Matthew Milan and David Armano).
I’ve been very lucky in that I was also voted by the membership of the Information Architecture Institute to serve on their Board of Directors, of which I am the Director of Events and Marketing. Why I bring this up will make more sense in the next paragraph, I promise.
When I was chosen to speak at SXSW, one of the first things that came to mind was if there was a way that I could help support the IAI membership, so I asked Hugh Forrest if there was anything that could be worked out between the two organizations. It turns out that there was something that could be worked out, and SXSW has provided the IAI with 2 free passes to the Interactive portion of the conference in the form of a scholarship that you can win by answering some questions.
You can enter to win one of these scholarships by answering a few easy questions in essay format online at:
http://iainstitute.org/en/learn/education/sxsw_scholarship.php
This is a pretty serious opportunity! SXSW is pretty commonly known as one of “the” conferences to attend–and this will be my first one to attend, and I’m pretty excited about it! You don’t have to go to see me to win (although if you win, I’d enjoy meeting you while we’re in the same place!), but it would be great if you sought out some of the folks from the IAI that will be there:
- Journey to the Center of Design – Jared Spool
- From Freelance to Agency: Start Small, Stay Small – Whitney Hess, Jeffrey Zeldman
- Social Patterns and Antipatterns For the Win – Christian Crumlish
- Wireframes for the Wicked – Nick Finck & Donna Spencer
- Friendship is Dead – Russ Unger
(And if I’ve missed anyone, please let me know so I can add them!)
Okay, so that’s really cool stuff, and I’m really excited that the IAI is able to do this and that a couple of deserving people can go see something cool that they wouldn’t normally get to do. That’s awesome!
But…
The big point here is this: If you belong to an organization and you are fortunate enough to find yourself in the position to attend a conference, put on a conference or know someone at the conference, or any other event or occurrence, just take a moment to remember that/those organization(s) and see if there is a way that you can bring something back that could benefit other people who may not be as fortunate as you, me or anyone else lucky enough to attend.
The worst thing that can happen is that you can simply be told “No”. That’s not big deal–it’s something that was never yours to begin with.
But! If someone says yes, then there is opportunity! There is a chance you can help someone get more out of their membership–but more importantly, more out of their career. There is karma galore, and maybe that’s not your think, but goodwill has a pretty good way of finding its way back to people who are giving of it.
Some of the people I’ve come to know the best over the years and I’ve learned to count on, seek out for advice, rant and rave to or just shoot the breeze with via a late night IM or Skype session, I’ve found through the IAI and IxDA.
I don’t think that’s any small amount of coincidence.
And I’m working to find new ways to give more back–for all of us. Giving back on my own would be a bit selfish–I’d love to share that awesome feeling that I’ve gotten just from being able to put together a scholarship that people can take advantage of.
The really cool part? Just yesterday I got an email from someone else interested in this scholarship business–interested in helping us provide more scholarship opportunities. Other people are seeing the benefits for their events, as well as the communities that we’re all a part of!
That’s just a little bit more of the awesomeness that is snowballing out of risking a simple question.
So please, whenever you hear of an event, or an opportunity to help someone else out–even generally speaking, but especially for our various communities within User Experience–remember the organizations and the members who could benefit from any event–small, large, local or across the globe.
All of these organizations help provide community and opportunities to connect with other professionals, mentors, people with similar passions, people who can help you solve problems and even communities where you can find your place.
It’s easy to forget that, especially when you’re paying a membership fee and you may be inclined to think that someone else is paid to do that. In the case of the IAI, I can tell you with sincerity that we (board members, volunteers) are not paid. I’m pretty certain that the fine folks on the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) board of directors are not either. I’m not putting that out there because I feel that I deserve pay or any other sort of reward.
Far, far from it.
If anything, I feel as if I am the steward of a role for an organization that has given me so very much–from a great community of professionals that I often believe are so far out of my league in this industry to some of the same people who I’m fortunate enough to call “friend” and “mentor” or “advisor”. I have a global group of connections–there are few places that I could travel to without feeling as if there is someone nearby that I know and could meet with for coffee, dinner, or just a great conversation.
That, is fortunate. Oh–and if you’re in these organizations, you, too, are fortunate. This greater community of User Experience professionals are so very helpful, even when they’re wildly busy. They’re passionate about what they do, about the growth and maturation of the field, and they’re willing to lead by example and impart their knowledge and wisdom to anyone who is willing to ask for it.
That, is something I cherish and intend to do whatever I can to try and help foster and see that whatever stagnation may be happening comes to an end. We have so many tools available to us–any of us–that breaks down the distances between us. Tools that help us create communities that are tighter, closer-knit than ever before. I think 2009 will be a year of exploring and finding the tools that fit and bringing people closer together, helping them no longer be islands. I hope so. I’m going to do my best, which probably involves losing a bit of sleep, to see that it does happen–but it’s worth it, and it’s fun to tinker and have a group of people who are willing to do that with you.
Gosh! I think I just claimed that it’s fun to find failure with a group of like-minded folks.
Will you help find failures with me?
(Imagine how awesome the successes will be!)
Posted in Community, Conferences, IAI, Presentations, SXSW, User Experience | 3 Comments »
