1 September 2008
Building & Managing
User Experience
Teams
Dr. Rod Farmer, Senior Manager, User Experience and Creative Services, 3 Mobile Australia

Notre Dame
de Paris….
…not just about the architecture

Not just about the content

……Not just about navigating from A to B

….not just about successfully completing goals

Experience goes beyond service
It’s about the sensations
that people get from using
service

Knowers and
Learners

Our
journey

Better user research...

Better design methods...

13

14

…how we approach building UX teams
…fostering team leadership
...achieving greater accountability in our designs

Know where you’re going
16

Building your team: Team Direction
Competency
Management
Individual i
Individual i+1
Individual N
Ind. Avg
Distance
Action
Information
3
Architecture
User Research
3
Visual Design
5
Information
4
Design
Interaction
4
Design
Dev
4
Knowledge
Writing Skills
4
0=NR, 1=Occasional, 2=Basic, 3=Good, 4=Strong, 5=Exemplary

Building your team: Team Assessment
Competency
Management
Individual i
Individual i+1
Individual N
Ind. Avg
Distance
Action
Information
3
2
4
2
2.5
0.5
Supervise
Architecture
User Research
3
1
1
2
1.5
1.5
Train
Visual Design
5
4
5
4
4.5
0.5
Supervise
Information
4
3
3
4
3.5
0.5
Supervise
Design
Interaction
4
4
4
4
4
0
Monitor
Design
Dev
4
2
2
2
2
2
Develop
Knowledge
Writing Skills
4
1
1
1
1
3
Hire
0=NR, 1=Occasional, 2=Basic, 3=Good, 4=Strong, 5=Exemplary

Something’s missing
.....Personality

4 core personalities
Executor
(achievement)
Carer
(affiliative)
General
(self-actualisting)
Sovereign
(humanistic-encouraging)

22

... building a dream team is not the end-game

“Specialisation has its advantages, but it
also creates a situation where people just
see their own little world instead of the
entire context..”
- Getting Real, 37Signals

“Organisations, which design systems, are
constrained to produce designs that are copies of
the communication structure of these
organisations.”

=
+ fear
26

All too common occurrence...
opportunities
differentiation
size of effort

All too common occurrence...
Delighters
Innovation Space
Delighters
differentiation
Safety, Parity and Mediocrity
size of effort

90%
29

Greater UX
‘t’ is exponential
Maturity...
Influence drivers

Greater UX
Maturity...
Individualistic mindset
Skill Specialisation

Greater UX
Maturity... Collaborative mindset
Skill Diversification

Greater UX
Maturity...
Influence drivers

Concept
Workshops
from little things big
things grow

1 September 2008
taking steps towards creating advocates

Great UX leadership involves a simple story:
Who you are, what you stand for, and what others can expect from you.
Has a compelling story about UX for the company
Makes inclusivity an essential part of day-to-day activities

The UX Manager who isn’t afraid to fail, is a
leader who is driven to succeed.
Fail, fail often, fail fast and fail small.
Manager owns (new) mistakes. You own improvement.
Golden rule: “Only new mistakes are permitted”.

FOOTBALL IMAGE

“Your job is to touch everyone and get into
their soul. Every moment you are in your
office, you are useless.”
- Jack Welch (CEO, General Electric from 1981-2001)

Encouraging beautiful
transformation

Improving quality ...
kai: “change; zen: “small good”

The team-oriented approach
Qualities Our Approach: Open Design Forums
Learning focused Fortnightly
Systemic/Holistic Discuss project goals and
measures
Team sets criteria Open feedback
Management sets cut-offs Roles at the door
Non-judgemental Encourage PBL & Ownership

The management approach
Qualities Our Approach: Design Circle
Results-focused Held monthly
Evaluates performance across Non-UX management involved
projects
Sets quality goals for team Establishes baselines
Establishes future plans Evaluates performance
Performance metrics Agrees on countermeasures
Initiatives training
Re-evaluates planning

What has worked well for us...
Set clear, achievable and measurable goals for your
team
Individuals set project-level goals and measures
Individuals own their outcomes
UX Management establishes “goodness”
Management challenges, not fixes
Communication skills and coaching development

Change is possible...

Email: rfarmer@hutchison.com.au
Available on SlideShare....