Disciplinarity & Rigour DRS2008 July 16, 2008

Disciplinarity & Rigour? DRS2008 July 16, 2008

I’ll be your mirror How have your experiences, values and environments informed your approach to design, culture, users?

My Life Story [email_address] 415-385-4171

My Life Story [email_address] 415-385-4171 (this one is me)

Early Research [email_address] 415-385-4171

Early Research [email_address] 415-385-4171

Early Research [email_address] 415-385-4171

Early Research [email_address] 415-385-4171

Data [email_address] 415-385-4171

Data [email_address] 415-385-4171

Conclusion

Then Came The Personal Computer

Science vs. Humanities

Undergrad: Physics?

Undergrad: Computer Science!

The clouds parted…

HCI

Photo of Steve in 1990 Working For A Living

Photo of Steve in 1990

Photo of customer application center Photo Credit: Flickr user experttorontogirl

CHI ’91: New Orleans

“Design?”

Human-Computer Interaction?

Anthropologists and others help the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (New Mexico) design Passive Institutional Controls: markers and methods designed to warn and inform future generations and civilizations

Isn’t this an interface? Isn’t this what we’re doing?

Silicon Valley Summer

But what could I do ? No design portfolio No real usability tests No interfaces I had created No design (or other) process No sense of how software was produced in industry Some papers; a thesis A point of view, not yet fleshed out

But what could I do ?

No design portfolio

No real usability tests

No interfaces I had created

No design (or other) process

No sense of how software was produced in industry

Some papers; a thesis

A point of view, not yet fleshed out

+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Steve Portigal ** User-Interface Dude ** looking for work, too!!! | | View my M.Sc. thesis online at: http://130.43.3.18/ (World Wide Web) | | He's big, he's purple, he's your best friend................. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ User-Interface Dude

| steve portigal G V O | user interface dude | culturally aware interface design Back to Silicon Valley

They wouldn’t see the forest for the trees

Apprentice to Journeyman to Master

Launched My Own Practice (2001)

Portigal Consulting (2008) New name Updated website Office space Team of 2 Blogging, teaching, training, lecturing Column in interactions magazine Clients include Logitech, Plantronics, Belkin, Sony, Nestle, eBay, Nortel, HP, SAP Keynote address at DRS2008!

New name

Updated website

Office space

Team of 2

Blogging, teaching, training, lecturing

Column in interactions magazine

Clients include Logitech, Plantronics, Belkin, Sony, Nestle, eBay, Nortel, HP, SAP

Keynote address at DRS2008!

About Portigal Consulting We help companies discover and act on new insights about their customers and themselves

We help companies discover and act on new

insights about their customers and themselves

Typical Development Lifecycle What to make or do? Refine ideas and prototype Launch Iterate and improve

Where We Engage with Clients We take a fresh look at people’s behaviors, beliefs, and needs What to make or do? Launch Refine ideas and prototype Iterate and improve

Where We Engage with Clients What to make or do? Launch Refine ideas and prototype Iterate and improve Ideas are hypotheses that we use as a lens to clarify direction

Where We Engage with Clients What to make or do? Launch Refine ideas and prototype Iterate and improve History provides context for us to further explore opportunities

Current concerns?

I don’t use a CV http://www.portigal.com/about-us/ lists speaking engagements, articles by me, articles quoting me, and beyond Goal is to establish thought leadership and attract clients Recently begun interviewing potential PR consultants to help me do better Publish or Perish

I don’t use a CV

http://www.portigal.com/about-us/ lists speaking engagements, articles by me, articles quoting me, and beyond

Goal is to establish thought leadership and attract clients

Recently begun interviewing potential PR consultants to help me do better

I don’t use a CV http://www.portigal.com/about-us/ lists speaking engagements, articles by me, articles quoting me, and beyond Goal is to establish thought leadership and attract clients Recently begun interviewing potential PR consultants to help me do better Publish or Perish

I don’t use a CV

http://www.portigal.com/about-us/ lists speaking engagements, articles by me, articles quoting me, and beyond

Goal is to establish thought leadership and attract clients

Recently begun interviewing potential PR consultants to help me do better

Experienced but unschooled in the marketing of a professional services firm Keeping my eyes open: an observation or experience can be a blog entry that can become a keynote speech for a conference that can become an article that can be used as a way to get an introduction to a decision maker at a client organization Attend local talks and presentations Give presentations at conferences Leverage all my travel for insights, stories, introductions, connections Marketing: Making it up as I go along 5000 images and climbing at http://www.flickr.com/photos/steveportigal

Experienced but unschooled in the marketing of a professional services firm

Keeping my eyes open: an observation or experience can be a blog entry that can become a keynote speech for a conference that can become an article that can be used as a way to get an introduction to a decision maker at a client organization

Attend local talks and presentations

Give presentations at conferences

Leverage all my travel for insights, stories, introductions, connections

Develop and maintain detailed internal database Email articles to stay in touch and remain top of mind Groundhog Day card Marketing: Making it up as I go along

Develop and maintain detailed internal database

Email articles to stay in touch and remain top of mind

Groundhog Day card

What is theory? It’s hard to get an answer to that question Hegelian, Malinowskian, beyond? Minimal success of online Theory Study Group Two examples: Theory

What is theory? It’s hard to get an answer to that question

Hegelian, Malinowskian, beyond?

Minimal success of online Theory Study Group

Two examples:

Front and Back Stage (Goffman) People implicitly divide their homes into “front stage” and “back stage” Front stage is the more public area (i.e., kitchen, living room, front yard) where families display their aspirations to the rest of the world Back stage is the private areas (i.e., bedrooms, office, computer room) where people will act as their private selves

People implicitly divide their homes into “front stage” and “back stage”

Front stage is the more public area (i.e., kitchen, living room, front yard) where families display their aspirations to the rest of the world

Back stage is the private areas (i.e., bedrooms, office, computer room) where people will act as their private selves

Social Norms and Normalization New technologies (especially those that enable new, visible behaviors) are often met with distrust Society “sanctions” people who violate these norms People assert their own normalcy by verbally distancing themselves from the end-points of the normal curve We heard these stories over and over Thinking someone is weird or a jerk is a manifestation of the norms of one’s society. What is weird in one age may eventually become normal over time. People who are reckless with their valuable iPod (slobs) People who are too fastidious or precious about their iPod (snobs) Me

New technologies (especially those that enable new, visible behaviors) are often met with distrust

Society “sanctions” people who violate these norms

People assert their own normalcy by verbally distancing themselves from the end-points of the normal curve

We heard these stories over and over

I’m interested in the skills of storytelling and asking questions Developing my own skills and teaching others how to do better Although I grew up in a design firm, where we recommend solutions for our client to take action with, I find that is giving way to facilitation – being a consultant who brings value by helping others design their own solutions I am designing an entire experience that best targets the needs of my clients That includes a “voice” – i.e., making ongoing choices between photojournals and have people take pictures of their lives Practice

I’m interested in the skills of storytelling and asking questions

Developing my own skills and teaching others how to do better

Although I grew up in a design firm, where we recommend solutions for our client to take action with, I find that is giving way to facilitation – being a consultant who brings value by helping others design their own solutions

I am designing an entire experience that best targets the needs of my clients

That includes a “voice” – i.e., making ongoing choices between photojournals and have people take pictures of their lives

Choose, mash-up, or create methodology based on the problem Integrate with other methods already in process (triangulation) If the client calls this approach ethnography (or other), then so be it It’s often unhelpful to “re-educate” them Methods

Choose, mash-up, or create methodology based on the problem

Integrate with other methods already in process (triangulation)

If the client calls this approach ethnography (or other), then so be it

It’s often unhelpful to “re-educate” them

Sales process Qualifying Meet with different “buyers” Understand hidden needs, biases, existing vendors and relationships and history Write a proposal to get results within their timeframe and budget There is obviously a business model that would let one explore possible approaches and methods and still stay within a structured budget But I don’t know what it is Hence our work is planned during the sales process and we have do our best with that approach How do you package a “pilot” to show that it brings value to the client who is paying for it? Planning a project

Sales process

Qualifying

Meet with different “buyers”

Understand hidden needs, biases, existing vendors and relationships and history

Write a proposal to get results within their timeframe and budget

There is obviously a business model that would let one explore possible approaches and methods and still stay within a structured budget

But I don’t know what it is

Hence our work is planned during the sales process and we have do our best with that approach

How do you package a “pilot” to show that it brings value to the client who is paying for it?

If I even know what that word means, I’m not sure I care! Ethnographic Praxis (?) in Industry Conference, 2005 Q: Are you an anthropologist or a designer? I thought this was a community that knew about open-ended questions! Who here is a designer? Who here is a social scientist? Who here is…a cognitive linguist? No one asked “who here is a consultant?” “who here helps clients solve problems?” – it came down to what you got your degree in I’m not a Computer Scientist Disciplinarity

If I even know what that word means, I’m not sure I care!

Ethnographic Praxis (?) in Industry Conference, 2005

Q: Are you an anthropologist or a designer?

I thought this was a community that knew about open-ended questions!

Who here is a designer? Who here is a social scientist? Who here is…a cognitive linguist?

No one asked “who here is a consultant?” “who here helps clients solve problems?” – it came down to what you got your degree in

I’m not a Computer Scientist

I’ve met marketers, anthropologists, designers, engineers etc. who were good or bad at listening; doing fieldwork; finding themes or patterns in data; understanding the implications to their business; changing their framework; understanding how to use design research to help drive decisions I’ve got a ferociously snobby attitude about the purveyors of crap fieldwork, insights, designs, consulting It hurts the field; it hurts my ability to sell what I do But I’m totally disinterested in rigour for its own sake; as a way to keep others out I would demand a philosophy – that companies acknowledge and respect the people they do research with and design for See interactions columns or our blog for more of this Rigour

I’ve met marketers, anthropologists, designers, engineers etc. who were good or bad at listening; doing fieldwork; finding themes or patterns in data; understanding the implications to their business; changing their framework; understanding how to use design research to help drive decisions

I’ve got a ferociously snobby attitude about the purveyors of crap fieldwork, insights, designs, consulting

It hurts the field; it hurts my ability to sell what I do

But I’m totally disinterested in rigour for its own sake; as a way to keep others out

I would demand a philosophy – that companies acknowledge and respect the people they do research with and design for

See interactions columns or our blog for more of this

Thank you! Portigal Consulting www.portigal.com [email_address] +1-415-385-4171 www.portigal.com/blog flickr.com/photos/steveportigal