Imagine we need to sell UX to an organization. Not all organizations have the same level of interest and receptiveness to UX. Some just don’t care. What should we know about an organization that will help us sell UX more effectively? What sort of questions should we ask about the organization, its people and its culture? What can we learn from organizations where UX has become part of the corporate DNA? What factors can increase our chances of promoting UX successfully to an organization now and in the future? This presentation will tap into more than 10 years of experience in selling UX into different markets and organizations. We will share the successes, pitfalls and failures. Thank you UX Australia 2009 http://www.uxaustralia.com.au/conference-2009/selling-ux

1. Selling UX

2. Stretchhhhhhhhhhh

4. Quick show of
hands …

5. Who here is
human?

6. Thank Use

7. Steve, Donna,
Andrew & Danielle

9. Its good to be
back …

10. Nice memories
…

18. Hi Dan !

19. Who uses?

24. Why?

25. UX culture
http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html

26. What just
happened?

27. Persuasion
“These aren’t the UX
specialists you’re looking for…”
•Entertaining
•Connecting
•Familiar examples
•…and then UX

28. Good News

29. http://www.usnews.com/features/business/best-careers/best-careers-2008.html
Usability/User experience
specialist

30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8017178.stm

31. Business of design

32. Lifestyle integration

33. Still not
convinced?

34. I just want to
have a shower

37. Part of
something
bigger right?

42. mobile madness

43. http://www.cw.com.hk/content/hong-kong-mobile-data-usage-hits-147-terabytes
“The total number of mobile phone users
is 11.43 million and this represents a
penetration rate of more than 163
percent”

44. Frustrations

45. Frustrations
• “They don’t listen to me”
• “We are not taking seriously”
• “I don’t have a seat at the strategy table”
• “They think usability is usability testing”
• “My team is not big enough”

46. Barriers

47. Yikes!

48. UX Language is Ugly
Thank you John Rhodes

49. UX Speed Bumps
• Our definitions of UX force us to justify
UX
– We talk ourselves into a defensive
position
– Does it matter what you call it
– Don’t let your ego get in the way
– Let them choose the language to use
Thank you John Rhodes

50. Barriers
• No Executive Champion
• Culture
• Lack of effective communications
– Results
– Deliverables
– Pitching
– Not listening

51. Know your
culture

52. Culture
Engineer-centric
• Might never have had a UX
team.
• Products created from
interesting technology.
• Territorial about UI.
Design-centric
• View building applications and
websites as a creative
endeavor.
• Primary focus may be creating
designs that other designers will
like and respect.
Sales & marketing
centric
• Represented by powerful people
who “know” their
customers...but don’t know “all”
the customers.
Challenges
• Tendency to deem a product
usable if it is possible to do the
task.
• They rely heavily on their own
experience in UI design.
• They feel they are doing the
right thing for the customer,
even if they don’t have
evidence.
Challenges
• Define the user experience in
terms of aesthetics rather than
ease of use.
• Focus on visuals rather than
workflows.
• Rely heavily on their own
instincts about users.
• Focus only on data that
confirms their viewpoints.
Challenges
• Rely heavily on customers' self-
report and customer
suggestions to assess usability.
• Disproportionately weight
their “biggest” or “loudest”
customers.
• Often overconfident in their
ability to “know” what the
customer needs.
Thank you Paul Sherman

53. Know your target
• Who is buying & budget allocation (money)
• Product vision (plan)
• Invest in R & D (money & strategy)
• Customer care or just “lip service” (empathy)

54. Ripe Organizations

55. Ripe Organizations
• “Culture Patterns” that indicate UX
growth
– Management is using the lingo
– Hired a Director or VP of UX
– Usability testing of products is a given
– Usability Lab in place or being discussed
– Product managers claim that UX is strategic
advantage
Know people have “bought” UX

56. Maturity

57. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2009/id20090429_083139.htm?campaign_id=rss_innovate

58. http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/apr2009/id20090429_083139.htm?campaign_id=rss_innovate
Design Maturity

59. What Sells?

60. What Sells
• Passion
• Choosing the right project
• Meeting like minded people
• Choosing the right tools
• Stories (Case Studies)
• Business & Domain knowledge

61. UX Sales Kit
• "Minimum standards" that all UX'ers
should meet:
– What is UX
– A story
– Share a delightful product experience
– Sell team services

62. Technology Marketing
Business
UX Change Agent

63. How people are
rewarded?

64. •Doing what the boss says
•Launching on time
•Playing politics
•Coding to specification

65. Sales Goal?

66. Product Success

67. Common
language?

68. Vision

69. http://www.uie.com/events/uiconf/2007/articles/experience_vision/

70. http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/ux.html

71. Google UX
• Every millisecond counts
• Simplicity is powerful
• Be worthy of people's trust
• Add a human touch

72. Where or what
do you want to
be in 2,5,10 years
time?

73. Be valuable!

74. Constant State of Self Improvement
http://www.apogeehk.com/articles/constant_cycle_of_self_improvement.html
•Read
•Share your knowledge
•Contribute to your community
•Lead

75. ?
• User Tester v Designer
• Closer (issues) v Opener (innovations)
• Loner v Collaborator
• Critic v Creator
• Silo v holistic
“Be more open, more creative, take risks, challenge our assumptions,
listen to each other”

76. Thank You
@dszuc