Kristen Kite (Speaker) Interaction Design, Google Surely you remember Squidward Tentacles, the grumpy octopus-like guy from Spongebob Squarepants? Well, like a lot of product managers, coders, and marketing folks, Squidward’s self-absorption made it impossible for him to appreciate the roles of the other people in his world. You know what we’re saying? There are a lot Squidwards out there in tech these days, and if you’re trying to collaborate with one of them, it can be exasperating. But there are definitely ways to make sure UX gets a seat at the table. It’s even possible to convince the seemingly unconvinced that the user experience process can synthesize the needs of all those other roles to help deliver a better end product. We’ll talk about it, and give you some tips you can take back to work tomorrow. Is this hard? Well, sure, a little. But, as Spongebob would say, “You don’t need a license to drive a sandwich.” Presented by School of Visual Concepts

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Kristen Kite
Dealing with Squidwards
(aka, people who don’t care about the UX process)

2. I’m Kristen Kite
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3. Working with difficult folks
(and getting UX a seat at the table)
Let’s talk about
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5. Many of my presentations
looked like this:

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7. -- Irritated stakeholder
“I’m sorry - is UX a new tool you’re
making us adopt?”
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14. Squid ward
1. A colleague who is reluctant to leave time & space for the UX process
2. An anthropomorphic, grumpy octopus featured in the American
television series SpongeBob SquarePants
”The other day, Squidward asked, ‘Can’t you just give me the
mocks? We’ve already done requirements gathering.’”
noun

15. We can draw in reluctant stakeholders
by meeting them where they are
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16. Individualize and ask foundational questions
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17. Frame user challenges as a shared opportunity
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18. Then, introduce UX concepts in a
thoughtful, individualized way
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19. Encourage & model creative confidence
(and 10x thinking, where appropriate)
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21. Let stories (and data) speak for themselves
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23. Remember and reiterate the value you bring as
a UX designer
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24. As UX progresses

25. Let’s get UX a seat at the table
one Squidward at a time
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26. S V C S E A T T L E . C O M
S A V E 2 5 % O N A N Y C L A S S O R W O R K S H O P
U S E C O D E : S V C S I C 1 9
SCHOOL OF VISUAL CONCEPTS

27. Questions
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