Why are we so afraid of failure? Have we mistakenly placed UX decisions outside of a normal, human decision-making process? Let's talk about how to view our assumptions for the users as well-structured experiments instead of final decisions. We'll discuss the components of an intelligent, personal decision-making process and see how we can apply those to UX—all while making sure we're not limiting our options with our own subconscious tendencies. Note: the authors I give major credit to verbally during my presentation aren't represented well in the slides. Major concepts from this presentation come from "Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work" by Chip & Dan Heath and "Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error" by Kathryn Schulz. Get those books!

1. FEARLESS
Adopting Brave
Experimentation

2. DEFINE YOUR
SUCCESS

3. WIDEN YOUR
OPTIONS

4. FEARLESS
Adopting Brave
In any moment of decision, the best
Experimentation
thing you can do is the right thing,
the next best thing is the wrong thing,
and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
[THEODORE ROOSEVELT]

5. WIDEN YOUR OPTIONS
Reframe Possibilities
Find incremental options
Instead of this or that, try this and that
Talk to people who solved your problem

6. REALITY
TEST YOUR
ASSUMPTIONS

7. To live a creative life,
we must lose our
fear of being wrong.
[JOSEPH CHILTON PEARCE]

8. REALITY TEST YOUR ASSUMPTIONS
Avoid Confirmation Bias
Seek out contradictory data
Try to disprove your own theories
Allow ideas to prove themselves
Conduct small, less invasive tests

9. ATTAIN
DISTANCE

10. It does feel like something to be wrong;
it feels like being right.
[KATHRYN SCHULZ]

11. ATTAIN DISTANCE
Neuter Your Emotions
“Sleep on it”
What would I say if...?
Pursue your core objectives
Argue

12. PREPARE
TO BE WRONG

13. [WordPress 3.8] will
either be amazing or
a huge mistake.
[MATT MULLENWEG]

14. PREPARE TO BE WRONG
We are Overconfident
Statistically, our instincts are usually wrong
Decisions should be commas, not periods
Know what to do
when things go wrong or well

15. KNOW WHEN
YOU’RE WRONG

16. KNOW WHEN YOU’RE WRONG
Run True Experiments
Have a hypothesis, a control, and variables
Tripwires (true deadlines)
Correlation != Causation
Use tools properly

17. GREAT SUCCESS

18. #FAIL

19. BEING WRONG
IS AWESOME

20. HASTEN
THE WRONG

21. The neurotic who learns to laugh at himself
may be on the way to self-management,
perhaps to cure.
[GORDON ALLPORT]

22. HASTEN THE WRONG
Ask People Who Are Not You
User testing is fun and embarrassing
Actually talk to users
Test for show stoppers or tiny interactions,
but do those separately
You don’t need many users

23. DATA
INFORMS
DESIGN

24. The crucial variable in
the process of turning
knowledge into value is
creativity.
[JOHN KAO]

25. DATA INFORMS DESIGN
Illusion of Explanatory Depth
People will find ways to give negative
feedback if you frame it that way
Data and feedback should inform design,
not dictate it
Get users to their goal with minimal
cognitive load

26. I could be wrong
about this.
[CLIFF SEAL]