This is a presentation that starts to touch on the risks and issues circling the UX echochamber right now, and what we can do to battle them.
...
This is a presentation that starts to touch on the risks and issues circling the UX echochamber right now, and what we can do to battle them.
It's a presentation I gave at EuroIA on September 23rd 2011. It has been designed to be readable without presentation and also to aid comprehension by non-english speaking audiences. Hence the amount of wordy slides.
It is so true that breaking down silos is difficult. But as a designer working in big corporations, this is one of the most important things that needs to be done before designers can start working with other parties such as product managers and developers. Not every designer can work in small teams. It also echo your other point to reach out and work with other disciplines, to talk, to collaborate.1 year ago
* Positive * you frame the hype well, and dig into some causes with well argued analysis the dares are a great call to action
* Negative * You’re on the edge of doing the thing you’re criticising: appropriating the rhetoric, language and tone of the UX bullshit centipede. Slippery slope, that. To be fair: I’m not sure that there’s a clear way to avoid this, it is the nature of conferences* (in your framework, a social fact)
* Interesting * taking us inside *your* interviewing experience. Thanks for that. I think this helps soften the rockstar rhetoric that I mentioned above :-) mapping people’s UX disciplinary biases imho these are the gold in your presentation. (personal opinion here: learning how to ’be’ a practitioner is always more useful than learning how to ’do’ things those practitioners do)
* Missing * some context in this presentation. I heard about this on twitter, I see that you uploaded it a few days ago, but I have no idea where, when or why you presented it. In what discourse were these ideas presented? Maybe a few slides at the front to *set the scene*? Acknowledge that this set of slides aren’t doing the same job as they did when you were standing in front of them, in front of a group of conference delegates.
------- Thanks again!
(added later) sorry this is so fubared wrt formatting - slideshare: wtf? linebreaks don' carry?1 year ago
Are you sure you want to
Jason Mesut, Head of User Experience at RMA Consulting@Irith. I too have heard comments about the slides not working well on iPad. Presume it's a general safari problem, but I uploaded a pdf and to me on Firefox, it all seems fine except the Don Norman slide where there should be a transluscent box behind the type.
Love your points as well, and wish there was more defence and critique form what i said rather than the vehement agreement that people have mostly been sharing.1 year ago
Are you sure you want to
Irith Williams, student - Masters in Interaction Design at The Alfred Centre/Monash UniversityHi Jason, in the spirit of the requested critique I'd like to point out that about 25% of your slides were illegible to me. I'm reading them in Safari on my iMac...At first glance they looked black, but looking at them closely I could see dark bits of text or image, depending on the slide. It reminded me of what jpgs sometimes look like in PDFs when some wrong setting is used...Anyway, I'm afraid the impact of your presentation was a little lost because of it. At the risk of sounding condescending it strikes me that a lot of what you you take issue with is just a natural part of the life span of an evolving field. It reminded me of when dtp arrived and suddenly everyone was a printer and every designer was a typesetter and the world was flooded with substandard print work, eventually sound design principles regained the upper hand, and typesetters managed to stay in business, because the value of their skills was suddenly apparent, and I think all the 'charlatanism' that bothers you will eventually be seen for what it is. As someone new to UX it strikes me that UX seems to attract personality types (myself included) who LOVE to talk about UX and have boundless energy when it comes to the whole dialogue. I guess I just accept that there are a few folk who love the sound of their own voice. When I read some really opinionated blog, or discover some new 'guru' (and because I'm very new to UX I'm doing a lot of discovering) I often go to their websites, and I have to say, that I'm now not shocked when the site design/structure is less than impressive. In fact I find it kind of comforting that these 'Rock Stars' are actually quite fallible. I hear what you're saying, but frankly I wouldn't let it worry you too much, I think it's just the way of the world, and if you just keep talking sense then people will get it. Anyway, you asked for 'Opinion' so I hope I've obliged!1 year ago
Nice presentation Jason. Guess you've come across people with 'designer' on their business cards.. who talk a mean game.. but when the rubber hits the road they say things like 'hmm... it would be really good to research what the user needs when it comes to viewing their inbox'.1 year ago
Truth and Dare - Out of the echochamber into the firePresentation Transcript
TRUTH AND DAREOUT OF THE ECHO-CHAMBER - INTO THE FIREJason Mesut - Head of User Experience, RMAtwitter: @jasonmesutpresentations: slideshare.net/jasonmesut
A little story...
20056 years ago
First Euro IA 6 years ago
First Euro IA 6 years ago
“We are european, notNorth American, we seethe world a littledifferently”
I’d just joined OysterPartners
Spent agesresearching, anddesigning the poster
Was going through ahouse purchase at thetime - very stressful
Then... as I wastweaking the file ofthe final print
Girlfriendfracturedher hip
I rushed to the hospital(after printing my poster).
The consultant told her:- might need regular surgery- may have birth complications- could get arthritis quicker
I flew toBrusselsanyway
The most selfish thing Ithought I had ever done
Gave memy voice
Gave meconfidence
20065 years ago
I wrote 5 winningsubmissions that year
1 2 34 out of the 410 posters,including oneI worked on
And onesession:‘WickedWorkshops’
Sorry!There were quite afew of us from LBi.It was my fault.
“What does LBi stand for?”Me in 5 minute madness“Leave Berlin Immediately” Response from attendee
Ego can be adangerous thing
I stepped away and letothers have the limelight
Senior Associate Leader Director Practitioner Leading others Managing others Mentoring others.Euro IA helpedmy career at LBi
Worked with around 200 UX 10 - Present 08 - 10 49 05 - 08 9 04 - 05 85 01 - 04 3098 - 0015 11 Oyster/ The Team RMA Flow Yell PA Framfab/ LBI Applications Comms Digital agenc y consultancy User-Centred agency Management Design Online consultancy consultancy business directory
I’ve done a lot of recruiting Past 12 months700+ 100+ 40 CVs and Interviews Hires portfolios
past 12 months Whole day / multi- day conferences Evening events 6 MEX, UX People, UX London, 15+ London IA (3), UPA (4) WritingInteractions, UX Lisbon, dConstruct workshops, UX Bookclub, IxDA London, + moreI’ve been to a lot of UXconferences and events
I’m reallyworried
I need to worryyou too with somebitter truths
Different truths- Personal- Social- Human- Universal
But we’re going toget through this
I’ve got somethings we can doto make it better
Some dares
Truth No. 1Personal truthThere is noUniversal truth in UX
Truth No. 2Personal truthI am here to:- help because I care- learn from practitioners- recruit real talent
Dare no. 1I dare you...Don’t tweet soundbitesfrom my talk
Truth No. 3Social + human truthSometimes thequietest people havethe best things to say
No Q&A, just OsOpinions at the end,and nothing else - justtry not to make itpersonal
Dare no. 2aI dare you to...Critique my talk, andshare your opinions atthe end
Positive NegativeWhat you liked What you didn’t likeWhat you agree with What you disagreed withIdeas, different What should have saidperspectives What you would sayInteresting Missing
Dare no. 2bI dare you to...Critique other talks youhave heard today, and willhear tomorrow - share withpeople you meet
Celebrity UX rockstars aresetting us up for failure
2005 - 1st Euro IA
No gurus orsuperstars tolook up to
2011 Today
Now we have loads ofCelebrity UX Rockstars
“The majority of UX work isbeing done (and done well) bypeople you and I have neverheard of.”Louise HewittCommenting on Andy Budd’s“The X-factorisation of the web”http://www.andybudd.com/
Celebrity UX RockstarsUsually...Written a bookSpeak at conferencesTweet/blog a lot
Why do we listen to them?Have you seen their work?Do they give unique insight?Do they help you do your job?
Why do we listen to them?Great performersSometimes relevant topicsAspirational topicsConvincing argumentsBecause others do
3 concerns:Too many silver bulletsLand grabbingMotives are not clear
I think they are setting us upfor failurePreach more than practiceNot enough techniquesWe are not them
Worst of allPeople are just regurgitatingthe same old crap
The human centipedeof UX dogma
“A dogma is something thatshould not to be disputed ordoubted. Most often, this meansthe basic beliefs and doctrinesof a religion. What a majority offollowers of an ideology or anykind of organization believe incan also be a dogma.”Wikipedia
Here’s a few thingsthat are worrying me
I need some music tohelp make my point
Mobile first
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Open web
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Service Design
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Gamification
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Content strategy
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
We should be like Apple
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Responsive design
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Gestures are the future of interfaces
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Touch screensare the future
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Break down silos
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
DON’TBELIEVETHE HYPE
Let’s go deeper on afew of these
Mobile First is confused asan always use strategy
Mobile First is confused asan always use strategyQuotes without investigationWeb messageSometimes may be useful
Most Service Designand Design Thinking is alot of talk and corporateentertainment
“All fart and no shit”
“Design thinking? Do you meancommon sense? I don’t needsomeone to teach me how tobrainstorm - every process isdesigned - it’s just pretentious”Luke JohnsonFrom recent Design Business Association event Author of ‘Start ItUp’, and business brains behind Pizza Express, Strada, Giraffe
Breaking downsilos is naive
Breaking down silos is naiveOrganisations are complexPeople better in small groupsChange takes too long
Open source and Open webis not the only way
Open source and Open web isnot the only wayDev friends influencing usProprietary wins most of timeBusiness doesn’t careWe shouldn’t care that much
There is more to Agile UXthan Sprint 0s and Sprintsahead
There is more to Agile UXthan Sprint 0s and SprintsaheadThis is only one aspectDoesn’t always workNeed to work in dev sprint
Responsive design is an oldargument in new clothes
Responsive design is an oldargument in new clothesFixed vs. fluid/liquidSeparate accessible sitesTechnology changes rapidlySometimes appropriate
Silver bullets aredangerousWe need multipleweapons, and to knowwhen and how to use them
Truth No. 4SocialThere are no silverbullets in UX. Repeatingthem can weakens us.
Dare no. 3I dare you to...Call bullshit on CelebrityUX Rockstars who arepreaching their dogma orshallow messaging
UX is eating itself
The UX Bubble is growingand growing
UX developer UX designer UX architect UX consultantMore and more people aresaying they are doing UX
UX designer is thenew ‘web designer’
But most are confusedabout what UX actually is
User interface?Wireframes? Visual design? ?!*&%!? Usability?The people we work withare even more confused
I ask a tricky question ininterviewsAre you more UX or UI?
I also get people to mapthemselvesWhat shape are you?
ExS IxD Experience Interaction Strategy Design UR IA User Information Research Architecture4 key disciplines of User Experience
Industrial design Design Device strategy interface design ExS IxD Business SoftwareMarketing, strategy design HCIconsulting Market Web research design UR IA Design Library research science Psychology
ExS IxDExperience Interaction Strategy Design UR IA User InformationResearch Architecture Insight and big picture
ExS IxDExperience Interaction Strategy Design UR IA User InformationResearch Architecture User Interface Craft
ExS IxDExperience Interaction Strategy Design UR IA User InformationResearch Architecture Conceptual, design, feel
ExS IxDExperience Interaction Strategy Design UR IA User InformationResearch Architecture Analysis, rigour, logic
Truth No. 5SocialMost UX people don’tarticulate what they doand how they aredifferent from others
Dare no. 4I dare you to...Map your shape usingthe framework, andshow where YOU wantto grow and develop
Industrial design Design Device strategy interface design ExS IxD Business SoftwareMarketing, strategy design HCIconsulting Market Web research design UR IA Design Library research science Psychology
Industrial design Design Device strategy interface design ExS IxD Business Business Software strategy designconsulting, HCI Market WebMarketing research design UR IA Design Library research science Psychology
We need to focus,because the termUX dilutes us
Or other disciplines andindustries will claim it too
They can use Axure!They list personas andwireframes in their cvs
They use the designpatterns that are easy inAxure, rather than thinkingthrough what is best
Design patterns arean echo-chamberin themselves
Accordions, carouselsand multipledropdowns are theclip-art, and Axure isour PowerPoint
Rates are getting higher,quality getting lower
Too many people aregoing freelance
They choose projectsthat they think soundexciting or are goodfor their portfolios
As a freelancerthey can’t bondwith a team
They can’t bementored, andbe developedby others
But they can have longholidays and a lot ofmoney in their pocket
Truth No. 6SocialOur bubble will burstunless we stamp outthe greedy pretenders
Dare no. 6I dare you to...Call bullshit on pretenders.Not pay unfair rates.Give the best work topermanent staff.
UCD and UX is notthe only way
UX is like a set ofreligions
UX is like a set of religions- Evangelise beliefs + dogma- Criticise non-believers- Promote godly practice- Conferences, our churches- Sell on faith, not proof
UCD is our hammer, andevery project is a thumb
Don Norman
“In 1965 when we werestarting Pizza Express,customers wanted chips withpizza. We had the vision andwe guided the customer”Luke JohnsonFrom recent Design Business Association event Author of ‘Start ItUp’, and business brains behind Pizza Express, Strada, Giraffe
“Best source of innovationare ideas from staff and frombranch managers, notcustomers”Luke JohnsonFrom recent Design Business Association event Author of ‘Start ItUp’, and business brains behind Pizza Express, Strada, Giraffe
UCD is a way ofmitigating risk andincreasing chance ofsuccess
We try to invest somuch time in research,that we don’t spendenough time designing
And we don’t alwaysrespect the leaps thatcan be made fromcreative thought
Or genius designers
Not enough Lots in selling Too much investment in it and glossing investment crafting the over the here solution cracks Launch Research Design & Marketing & & strategy development advertisingHow my IndustrialDesigner friend sees it
Heavy Less devotion investment in to the solution research and crafting strategy Little to no marketing / advertising Launch Research Design Marketing & & strategy & dev advertisingHow purist UX peoplemight want it
Little to no Rapid Lots ofresearch & design & marketing and strategy development advertisingResearch& strategy Design Marketing & Launch & dev advertisingHow marketing andbusiness people want it
Rapid, low Lots of design by making Slightly less friction marketing research because the and product is so strategy good Launch Research Design Mkting & & strategy & dev advertisingHow I prefer it
Maybe why we use somuch UI clipart
Truth No. 7SocialThere are more non-UCD success storiesthan UCD successstories
Dare no. 7I dare you to...Spend more timedesigning and lesstime researching
We’re not builtfor strategy
Back at the first Euro IA,there was a lot of talkabout strategy
Getting further upstream.Getting a seat at the table.
More and more peopleare talking about it,but are we reallymaking progress?
I don’t think so
“Strategy. It’s not big andit’s not clever.”Jon HughesVP at Cognizant Technology Solutions. Inspiration for me when I worked at PAConsulting, a management consultancy. He was a partner there at the time.
“But, it’s fucking hard todo well”Jon HughesVP at Cognizant Technology Solutions. Inspiration for me when I worked at PAConsulting, a management consultancy. He was a partner there at the time.
Most organisationsdon’t have good orclear strategies.
“ 4 types of strategy:- No strategy- Unclear strategy- Bad strategy- Good strategy”Someone in UX LisbonIn Leisa Reichelt’s UX Strategy workshop
UX people are notbuilt for strategy
We can’t handle thestench upstream
A lot of politics,power-games
Visionaries and seniorpeople can beruthless assholes
Steve Jobs
Donald Trump
Alan Sugar
It takes a long time toengage with stakeholdersand have a strategicinfluence
Some of us can’t committo more than 3 monthsfor a project, let alone 3years+ to conceive anddeliver on strategy
Truth No. 8SocialMost UX people are notbuilt for strategy
Dare no. 8I dare you to...Commit to developingstrategies, or focus onwhat you do best
We’re nearly there now
I have only skimmed thesurface of our echo-chamber and why weneed to get out more
If you want fame, beprepared to sacrifice yourpersonal life and putyourself up for criticism
We must exposeourselves to morethinking outside ofour space
“A lot of people in our industry haven’thad very diverse experiences. So theydon’t have enough dots to connect, andthey end up with very linear solutionswithout a broad perspective on theproblem. The broader one’sunderstanding of the human experience,the better design we will have.”Steve JobsIn an interview for Wired, February 1996
We need to focusourselves to save ourbubble from bursting
“It is not the strongest of thespecies that survive, nor themost intelligent, but the onemost adaptable to change”Clarence Darrow (often attributed to Darwin)Amercian Defense lawyer, defending the education of Darwin’s drawings
We need to have moreopinions and share themwith the world
“The great thing abouthaving an opinion is thatyou can change it”Simon ManchippCreative Director & co-founder at progressive brand consultancy SomeOne
Dare no. 9I dare you to...Share your opinionson UX and this talkwith the rest of theconference
DaresDon’t tweet soundbitesCritique conference talksCall bullshit on celebrity UX rockstarsMap your UX shape and focus your futureGet into the heads of othersTry more designing, less researchingCommit to strategy, or focus on UXShare opinions & be prepared to change
Thank youRMA ConsultingMaster Your Every Daytwitter: @jasonmesutpresentations: slideshare.net/jasonmesut
Guillaume Abel
Breaking down silos is naive
It is so true that breaking down silos is difficult. But as a designer working in big corporations, this is one of the most important things that needs to be done before designers can start working with other parties such as product managers and developers. Not every designer can work in small teams. It also echo your other point to reach out and work with other disciplines, to talk, to collaborate. 1 year ago
http://www.elezea.com/2011/10/breaking-down-silos-is-not-that-naive/ 1 year ago
* Positive *
you frame the hype well, and dig into some causes with well argued analysis the dares are a great call to action
* Negative * You’re on the edge of doing the thing you’re criticising: appropriating the rhetoric, language and tone of the UX bullshit centipede. Slippery slope, that. To be fair: I’m not sure that there’s a clear way to avoid this, it is the nature of conferences* (in your framework, a social fact)
* Interesting * taking us inside *your* interviewing experience. Thanks for that. I think this helps soften the rockstar rhetoric that I mentioned above :-) mapping people’s UX disciplinary biases imho these are the gold in your presentation. (personal opinion here: learning how to ’be’ a practitioner is always more useful than learning how to ’do’ things those practitioners do)
* Missing * some context in this presentation. I heard about this on twitter, I see that you uploaded it a few days ago, but I have no idea where, when or why you presented it. In what discourse were these ideas presented? Maybe a few slides at the front to *set the scene*? Acknowledge that this set of slides aren’t doing the same job as they did when you were standing in front of them, in front of a group of conference delegates.
------- Thanks again!
(added later) sorry this is so fubared wrt formatting - slideshare: wtf? linebreaks don' carry? 1 year ago
Love your points as well, and wish there was more defence and critique form what i said rather than the vehement agreement that people have mostly been sharing. 1 year ago
At the risk of sounding condescending it strikes me that a lot of what you you take issue with is just a natural part of the life span of an evolving field. It reminded me of when dtp arrived and suddenly everyone was a printer and every designer was a typesetter and the world was flooded with substandard print work, eventually sound design principles regained the upper hand, and typesetters managed to stay in business, because the value of their skills was suddenly apparent, and I think all the 'charlatanism' that bothers you will eventually be seen for what it is. As someone new to UX it strikes me that UX seems to attract personality types (myself included) who LOVE to talk about UX and have boundless energy when it comes to the whole dialogue. I guess I just accept that there are a few folk who love the sound of their own voice. When I read some really opinionated blog, or discover some new 'guru' (and because I'm very new to UX I'm doing a lot of discovering) I often go to their websites, and I have to say, that I'm now not shocked when the site design/structure is less than impressive. In fact I find it kind of comforting that these 'Rock Stars' are actually quite fallible. I hear what you're saying, but frankly I wouldn't let it worry you too much, I think it's just the way of the world, and if you just keep talking sense then people will get it. Anyway, you asked for 'Opinion' so I hope I've obliged! 1 year ago
Nice presentation Jason. Guess you've come across people with 'designer' on their business cards.. who talk a mean game.. but when the rubber hits the road they say things like 'hmm... it would be really good to research what the user needs when it comes to viewing their inbox'. 1 year ago