There’s an eighth
dirty word...
FAIL
@dafark8
#FailBtrUX

The F-Word... Fail
Failure as a part of the design process
David Farkas
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

I Failed
10:45AM - Last Day
Philadelphia
Design and Strategy
TammanTech
@dafark8
#FailBtrUX
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

#FailBtrUX

Failure
intransitive verb
a: to fall short <failed in his duty>
b: to be or become absent or inadequate <the water supply failed>
c: to be unsuccessful; specifically :to be unsuccessful in achieving a
passing grade
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fail?show=0&t=1359568111
http://hans.gerwitz.com/2011/03/07/fail-stamp.html
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Mistake
transitive verb
a : to blunder in the choice of <mistook her way in the dark>
b : to misunderstand the meaning or intention of
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mistake?show=0&t=1360945111
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v2vlvFk9lxI/Tz1N-wTEHoI/AAAAAAAAeYI/ZrR2uzz0iSc/s1600/dewey-defeats-truman.jpg
115
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Redefined, Failure
a: a time of personal discomfort, or a time you feel you could have
done better
b: a bad day
c: an instance or event where things when differently then planned
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Many types of failure

Catastrophic Failures
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Embarrassing Failures
http://thesassyswan.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/billy-madison.jpg
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Social Failures
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Shocking Failures
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IVV_liZdDJc/UAda-j6-xCI/AAAAAAAABbY/3Q1kmp_4Mhg/s1600/22.35.png
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Intentional Failures
http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/underwire/2013/02/hackers-650x325.jpg
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Day to Day Failures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeffcutler/8297212605/sizes/o/in/photostream/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Many Ways To Fail
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cellardoorfilms/7620375382/sizes/m/in/photostream/ http://cbssanfran.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/fanscrushed.jpg?w=300
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Failure Experience
“Experience is what you
get when you didn’t get
what you want”
- Randy Pausch
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Experience (fail) has a Stigma
http://www.theleadtype.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Stooges-Nun.jpg
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Sanitized Experiences
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22750018@N05/4292418713/sizes/m/in/photostream/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Raw Experiences
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

I Have Failed Experienced
✤ Presentations gone awry
✤ Timelines missed
✤ Failed meetings
✤ Arguments with clients
✤ Arguments with teammates
✤ Not meeting my own expectations
✤ Expecting the worst, not pushing myself
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Leads to Success
“I have not failed 1,000
times. I have successfully
discovered 1,000 ways
NOT to make a
light bulb”
- Thomas Edison
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Objectified
http://idsgn.org/images/objectified_peeler.jpg
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Experience is good GREAT

Sharing is even better
http://www.flickr.com/photos/courosa/3708151311/sizes/z/in/photostream/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Share!
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Learn from Others
Failure Experience Type:
Communication
Failure Experience: Large
client with rotating project
team
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dan4th/2402329882/sizes/l/in/photostream/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Learn from Others
Lessons: Document early and often
Teach: Exercises and samples of clear/unclear documentation
http://xkcd.com/1015/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Experience Humility
Failure Experience Type:
Personal
Failure Experience: Dropped
the ball on a presentation with
a major client
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Experience Humility
Lessons: Assume nothing.
Teach: Take time to prepare and review
http://survivingtheworld.net/Lesson362.html
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Build Trust
Failure Experience Type: Social
Failure Experience: Kickstarter
got grief for not showing failed
projects
I found one!
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Build Trust
Lessons: Be honest about your motivations and intent.
Teach: Play ‘devil’s advocate’
http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/post/37933367386/g-g-the-book-g-g-on-facebook-g-g-on-twitter
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Expose Process
Failure Experience Type:
Business
Failure Experience: Project
ended prematurely due to
misalignment of expectations
of process.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suburbanadventure/8240533220/sizes/h/in/
photostream/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Expose Process
Lessons: Don’t be sneaky and address concerns up front
Teach: Environment of trust
http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2009-12-22/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Consistency
Failure Experience Type:
Process
Failure Experience: No formal
process for the team or client to
follow leading to srcabmle
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HCatlRPRyCk/TbaBN8yAGQI/AAAAAAAAALg/
gHJx8ShWBOc/s1600/chutesladders.gif
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Consistency
Lessons: Don’t skimp on process
Teach: Shadowing and learning from each other’s roles
http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=459
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Five Examples

Your Turn

Exercise 1
Gather ye’ sketchbooks
✤ Experience Type: Communication, Expectations, Business,
Professional, Personal, Social, etc
✤ Experience: 3-5 sentences describing experience
✤ Lessons: 3-5 sentences describing lesson learned
✤ Teach: 2-3 sentences how you can teach this lesson to others
(action, sample, etc)
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

All characters appearing in this work are
fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons,
living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Exercise 1
Gather ye’ sketchbooks
✤ Experience Type: Communication, Expectations, Business,
Professional, Personal, Social, etc
✤ Experience: 3-5 sentences describing experience
✤ Lessons: 3-5 sentences describing lesson learned
✤ Teach: 2-3 sentences how you can teach this lesson to others
(action, sample, etc)
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

How Was It?

Value of Experience
Value of failing experiences
Value of sharing failures experiences
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Failure can be cheap

Learn to Fail Better
“...I am convinced that unless I talk openly about what I’ve
learned so far - unless I hold myself accountable in public -
then the lessons will not last. I will lose the only consolation
of my failure, which is the promise that I will not fail like
this again. That I might, one day, find a way to fail better. ”
- Jonah Lehrer
http://www.jonahlehrer.com/2013/02/my-apology/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Take It Home!
• Share experiences with clients
• Make it part of your presentations
• Document document document!
• Text
Open workshops and brainstorming
• Share discarded ideas
• Write about it
• Talk about it
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

FailBetterUX.Tumblr.Com
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

So Remember
•Failure is a part of life
•Don’t call it failure
•We all do it
•Discuss Experiences
•Internally and with clients
•Fail often and fast
http://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Turtleback-Library-Binding-Edition/dp/0613685725
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Resources
Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds, Scott Berkun
Success Through Failure: The Paradox of Design, Henry Petroski
Better By Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong, Alina Tugend
We Learn Nothing, Time Kreider
Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class Inventors, Evan I. Schwartz
Smart Ways to Talk About Failure,
http://philanthropy.com/blogs/the-giveaway/smart-ways-to-talk-about-failure/968
Various TEDtalks http://www.ted.com/talks/tags/failure
Kickstarter Responds to “Hidden Failed Project” Claims
http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/31/kickstarter-responds-to-hidden-failed-project-claims/
Jonah Lehrer, open letter apology http://www.jonahlehrer.com/2013/02/my-apology/
http://hadonejob.com
Exploring the Al-Chet Prayer http://www.aish.com/h/hh/yom-kippur/guide/Exploring_the_Al-Chet_Prayer.html
http://hadonejob.com/
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

In Closing
“An expert is a man who
has made all the
mistakes which can be
made, in a narrow field”
- Niels Bohr
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX

Thank You
@dafark8
#FailBtrUX
dfarkas@tammantech.com
dafark8@gmail.com
The F-Word, FAIL IASummit April 2013 David Farkas @dafark8 #FailBtrUX