IGNITE@UxPA2012- The Y-Factor: How a 20-something can be a UX leader

In the next five minutes, I’m going to talk aboutthe importance of inspiration and its role in sparking your passion… and as a result making you a better leader… I have a passion for helping people, but wasn’t sure how to work it into my role in ux. I think I might be on to something…

- With the constant immersion of new design blogs, technologies, and motivational speakers, pretty easy to get inspired. Pick that one inspiring element or maybe a few elements from various sources that compliment your passion… and then work really REALLY hard to accomplish your end goal. I’m just starting to realize what inspires me and sparks the fight in me… this, I believe, is my niche.

When I first started out in UX, I had no clue what I was good at. Sure, I liked research and the analysis was cool too. I also enjoyed product development, so our staffing venture, UX Hires, was a great gig as well. But I needed the two to relate to what I really care about… which is helping people. I needed inspiration to piece them together.

- SO what I did was… reconnected with peers in the industry/ took a top dog who runs an IxDA group in NY out to lunch and picked his brain for an hour. The lunch ended with a new friend and new contacts. From that hour, I gained new insight, knowledge, and really felt revived. He encouraged and motivated me.

meetups. Are. Amazing. Lean UX, Tech nerds, Product Design, all of it. I tried, failed, but am on the way again to assure I attend at least one meetup every week to 2 weeks. Behance! Behance inspires me visually. As do so many other blogs out there… 99% percent is another amazing one. With sites like Behance, I can contact the artists directly and ask really anything I want to. Maybe a tip on design or just a quick convo- what were you thinking when you did this?

Simon Sinek rocks. He spoke at this thing called Creative Mornings- its a worldwide event. And its free! He stresses the impact a happy job can play on the elements in your life. And how if you Inspire people to do the things that inspire them,together we can change the world.

- Create your own road map. You know, one thing I love about interviews is just being able to sit there and play the game 20 questions with your participants. It’s a great way to learn about people and how they work. From research and the analysis thereafter, I learned about peoples’ tendencies, myself, my company… all of it is so valuable.

- Seth Godin. Huge marketing dude. Yea… we’re not related, I wish. I volunteered for a conference of his the other month. He thinks that everyone should create an environment for themselves that makes them indispensible. One of the coolest things he said was “Dance on the edge of danger.” Where's the edge of danger that you can be on because there are no excuses anymore (the resources are there). You need to be proactive and utilize them.

- Everything I talked about earlier… gaining advice and insights… but You don't make change with advice. You make change with creating a road map for it to create change. You have to have a plan for implementation. Collect the advice, think, think again, draw a map, draw a new one, and work towards a final roadmap. This, in turn with solidify a vision and allow for it to happen.

- Ogilvy threw a big event the other month… they actually throw many. AOL has many many events all target for UX folks. GO TO THEM. If you cant, see who attended and ask for their notes of a synopsis of the event. Again, its all about putting yourself out there. Julia and I went to Ogilvy and the talk was all about Lean UX. We didn’t have much knowledge of it, so we learned a lot.. Good advice and knowledge to discuss with the rest of the team.

Such as the fact that:"Research is so much more than usability testing... ”Have fun with it, collaborate, create an..Evolution wall: with sketches Research wall: with an idea or hypothesis; a tracking pivot

YOU! CONFERENCES! I was at IA Summit the other day talking to a gentleman about UX Hire, our staffing gig. He said if he’s looking to hire someone, he’ll pull out a picture of the brutal packaging system in his apartment building and ask the person to share their thoughts. If he likes the answer prospective job offer!

All of these create a support structure.No- build one. Really. I know theres the issue of pride… I get it, but I think its vital to have one.Yes- Question how you’ve built and maintained it; Does it mainly consist with people inside your realm of work? If so, I encourage and challenge you to go outside your circle.

Now, lets get personal.Every day, I think you should force yourself to do something you wouldn’t normally do. It builds character and confidence. It creates a sense of accomplishment. I created this thing called “I challenge” and every day I set a new challenge for myself. Whether it be go to a museum alone, talk to a complete stranger, try to turn any negative thought or frustration for the day into a positive, come up with a new business idea and test it.

- These challenges played on me personally and gave me a sense of accomplishment and and confidence. As a result of feeling good internally, they helped me grow professionally. I challenge all of you to start these. To go after what you want and to consistently build yourself into a leader.

Nothing in life comes easy, you have to go after it. Yet again, I thrive off and have a passion for helping people. I assumed maybe I’d meet someone through the nonprofit I volunteer with who would help me find clarity and direction for creating an environment at my workplace that supported my passion. CREATE THE OPPORTUNITY. Don’t waste time.

Jam out at Jam Sessions. Bi-weekly we bring new ngo’s into the office and give them sound ux advice on their website for an hour. I pull in a senior ux guru to join who enlightens us with more seasoned feedback. I was inspired by creative mornings, yet wanted to focus on nonprofits. The feedback I’ve gotten thus far has been really impactful for myself and my team.

- It strengthens our team internally- we bring the interns in to hear and learn. Based off the feedback given from our team- ux designers, visual designers, business managers- my knowledge grows and my understanding of what they do and how they think grows, too. Not to mention, these are the start of a flourishing relationship and potential business.

- JAM Sessions is my first attempt at connecting the work and passion. I didn’t know if and how I’d be able to connect the two. It builds my knowledge of ux; yet also allows me an hour to help a company that really needs feedback and advice in order to gain more users, which in return brings in more money and ultimately a greater impact in the world.

When you’re doing what you love, and you’re inspired by others, specifically by that support structure I mentioned earlier, then you will become your own leader.

Hello everyone! As you saw I’m Julia – I’ve been a UX designer at Motivate for almost a year nowSo I graduated from Parsons School of Design n May of 2011 I was lost…the thought of finding a paying job actually seemed harder than cramming this presentation in to 5 minutes

But after spending hundreds of hours applying for jobs I thought I knew how to do online, I had dinner with a friend of mine, you might know her… we graduated with the same degree, design and management, and I was pleasantly surprised (and a little jealous) that she found a job actually using hersSo she told me to come in and help out.

My first point-And This is not something that I had to work for. Starting off in a field that I thought I knew…I knew all aboutHuman centered designOrganizational structures that foster innovationCollaboration toolsDesign research methodsVisualizing data with Information graphics and so on…But had no clue what the rules of “usability” were., or what a standard client deliverable entailed, how to put together a screener or how a proper finding should be worded Little did I know this is something that would benefit me greatly.

So my boss, on my first day of work, Gave me 10 spreadsheets of participant data and told me we had to WOW stakeholders; give them a presentation that would command attention (and hopefully get us a follow up project)And that was it, before I could ask a question she was out the door. So here is Coca-Cola…A multi-national enterprise…and me…a 20-something with a portfolio of student projectsSo I figured hey, what do I have to lose…and just went with itWe ended up presenting the deck 5 times.

I realized my uncertainty, fresh perspective, blank slate was actually my greatest value- not something to be insecure about Fyi – I was offered a full-time position right after  Because we don’t have a wide perspective yet – we are “unbiased users”Especially in surrounding technology- ever-changingWe have have no preconceived notions of right and wrong, acceptable and not- as you gain perspective overtime you become more conservativeWe have not yet been bogged down by corporate politics

In our careers I think its vital to try to find or maintain optimism—To approach a problem “guns-blazing,” and with the actual belief that we can change itI mean…Why notThink BIG?!But toapproach a problem “guns blazing” you must…Get the people around you to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – that it is a necessary and beneficial part of the design process

Aspiring to lofty, idealistic results is admirable; however, it is not easy not easy to get people to aspire with you.To do this you must- first show value, and then…get people to like you. Enchant them- as Guy Kawasaki put it.

The simplest way I’ve found to do this is SMILE!People like working with happy peopleNo one wants to listen to the ideas of a frowning personPeople automatically want to play on your team if you seem like you’re on theirsPeople feed off excitement and positivity

Brings me to my next point—In a young, ever-changing industry we must lose habits that are comfortable to us.If surprise ends, change ends.Technology changes faster than we can blink, experiences must keep up.Being new, fresh, and uncertain allows you to live outside a business/system/org’s entrenched habits.

And thus far, in my short career, when I have this in the back of my mind as I’m coming up with a design- they are a hit.Clients (or most clients  love to be surprised.To see that someone else has made the big change they didn’t know they wanted yet

Because breaking down those ___ causes memorable and noteworthy change

Usually change is a big deal within organizations, therefore we must make a big deal to make it happen. One of the ways to do this is to make sure everything we put out there commands attention.As UX designers we know how to design experiences, systems and processes- BUT if we do not know how to design those findings then they will fall by the wayside of someone who does.

SO important, especially when you are starting off- to make sure, even if it is not within scope or budget that what you put out there is memorable and impressiveGets attentionGains momentumProves your capability

So here’s a few examples:Which one of these seems more engaging?Which one would you feel like had more interesting insights?More up-to-date and relevant?

Enchant them- Guy Kawasaki put it. Get people to like you. Get them to understand the value of making “good mistakes” – part of the design process