IA Survival Guide @ Euro IA Summit 2009

IN THE FIELD
IA SURVIVAL GUIDE IN A HOSTILE CONTEXT

WHAT IS A HOSTILE CONTEXT?
01
HOW TO IMPROVE THE CONTEXT?
02
ADAPT YOUR PRACTICE
03
A EUROPEAN PRACTICE?
04

“ The first mission of a revolutionist is to survive ”
Lenin

IA and, more generally, UCD are not widespread in every European country. In France IA and UX are relatively uncommon.

If you want to change this in the long term, you need time … which means that you have to survive.

WHAT IS A HOSTILE CONTEXT?
01

NO ROOM

Some tasks are already performed by people, while other tasks are neither identified nor planned.

For instance , project managers are in charge of creating site maps, wireframes, and detailed specifications…

but not according to a user centred approach. So, there is no user research…

NO TIME

IA working time is limited, because the job is somehow perceived as a kind of luxury , something you can easily live without.

And obviously , it is something that web agencies have successfully lived without for years before you arrived.

For instance, you can eventually be asked to validate a graphic design having not worked on the project before.

NO SHARED KNOWLEDGE

Very few people, if any, know what you’re doing , what value you can add, and when to get you involved. You cannot count on a common culture.

There is no common methodology . For instance, you can be asked to work on a project once the site map and the story board have already been done.

NO PARTNER

How to work with professionals who have never previously collaborated with UX? There is no established working structure you can fall back on.

Usually, nobody is expecting anything from you. You can achieve a deliverable for the client, but the team does not necessarily feel they should use it too.

HOW TO IMPROVE THE CONTEXT?
02

There are many ways you can improve the context to work in more comfortable conditions.

MANAGE TIME

MANAGE ROOM AND TIME
Focus on user experience : collect everything you can about users’ needs and expectations... You will be the only one doing this.

Focus also on the specific problems that only IA can address, i.e. those related to users, journeys...
Spend most of your time – if possible all your time – on fixing them.

Rely on networks for the rest : books, discussion lists, social networks, best practices and case studies are all of great help.

SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Explain user centered approach. Help people to understand what you are doing.

Organise formal presentations .

Teach your discipline informally whenever it’s relevant.

Change the company’s methodology to take IA into account.

FIND PARTNERS

The client can be your best friend.
Meet them as much as possible.

The user is one of your most valuable allies.

The team that you are working with: cooperation is the key to the success.

The network helps by giving you expertise and credibility.

ADAPT YOUR PRACTICE
03

Once you improved the context, change the way you work… to be perfectly adapted .

ADAPT DELIVERABLES

Deliverables are supposed to communicate findings .
If they are not doing this well enough, depending on the context, change them.

For instance, if a deliverable is difficult to handle, it can be replaced by another one .

KEEP QUALITY

Staying professional with limited means is probably the main challenge to face.

Limited budget and time are manageable, zero budget is not.

COLLABORATE

Re-think team cooperation : a hegemony of UX would be as bad as a hegemony of any other profession.

Make space for all professions to create better interfaces and experiences together .

Collaborate with strategic planners: combine consumers’ insights with users’ insights.

Collaborate with art designers: draw wireframes together.

Collaborate with account managers : use the strategy they have already defined for the project.

A EUROPEAN PRACTICE?
04

ADAPTATING METHODOLOGY
UX was born in the United States . A place with one language, one culture, where pragmatism is king.

ADAPTATING METHODOLOGY
What can it become in a place like Europe which has more…

CULTURES

LANGUAGES

THANK YOU
Sylvie Daumal Information Architect Duke Razorfish , Paris, France

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IA Survival Guide @ Euro IA Summit 2009

by Sylvie Daumal

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