The users experience of the services and products we build is harder to quantify than it once was. Just a few years ago, the best we could expect was some printed marketing materials and a desktop-focused website. Now that experience is made up of a collaboration of responsive websites, apps, emails, push messaging, and interactive experiences across a multitude of interfaces and devices. Design is no longer just the remit of designers. Everything from server infrastructure to the colours in the branding can effect the user experience. So what does this new world look like for those of us who make design decisions every day? How can we ensure that dedication to a quality experience is shared by our coworkers, our organisations, and our clients? Talk performed at SyncDevelop(HER) Norwich 22/15

1. Designers are leaders
Service design & user experience @lily_dart lilydart.com
Applying design skills to leadership, and
leadership skills to design.

2. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
User Experience Designer

3. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience

4. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
A series of interactions

5. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
A series of interactions
A coherent journey

6. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
A series of interactions
Invoking an emotion
A coherent journey

7. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
A series of interactions
Invoking an emotion
A relationship
A coherent journey
Experience

8. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience

9. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
front-end developers

10. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developers
front-end developers

11. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developers
front-end developers
clients

12. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developers
brand designers
front-end developers
clients

13. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developers
brand designers
strategists
clients
front-end developers

14. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developers
brand designers
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters

15. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developerscustomer services
brand designers
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters

16. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developerscustomer services
brand designers
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters
researchers

17. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developerscustomer services
brand designers
systems administrators
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters
researchers

18. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developerscustomer services
brand designers
systems administrators
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters
researchers
dev-ops

19. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developerscustomer services
brand designers
systems administrators
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters
researchers
QA’s
dev-ops

20. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developerscustomer services
brand designers
systems administrators
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters
researchers
QA’smarketing designers
dev-ops

21. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Experience
back-end developerscustomer services
brand designers
systems administrators
strategists
front-end developers
clients
copywriters
researchers
QA’smarketing designers
dev-ops

22. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
User experience is a team sport

23. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Design is a team sport

24. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
My career

25. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
My career
Developer/designer

26. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
My career
Developer/designer
User experience designer

27. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
My career
Developer/designer
User experience designer
User experience manager

28. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
My career
Developer/designer
User experience designer
User experience manager
Head of service design

29. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
My career
Developer/designer
User experience designer
User experience manager
Head of service design

30. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
The qualities of a good designer

31. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
The qualities of a good designer
Are the qualities of a good leader

32. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Too many people view management as leadership.
It's not. Leadership comes from influence, and
influence can come from anyone at any level and in
any role. [It’s about] being open and authentic,
helping to lift others up and working toward a
common mission.”
Kurt Uhlir, CEO and co-founder, Sideqik
“

33. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Empathy
A formal definition of empathy is the ability to identify
and understand another's situation, feelings and
motives. It's our capacity to recognise the concerns
other people have.”
Bruna Martinuzzi,
“

34. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
A good leader is empathetic

35. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They understand our individual needs>
A good leader is empathetic

36. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They understand our individual needs
They listen to our expertise
>
>
A good leader is empathetic

37. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They understand our individual needs
They listen to our expertise
They listen to, and prioritise, our concerns
>
>
>
A good leader is empathetic

38. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
A good designer is empathetic

39. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They can put themselves in a users shoes>
A good designer is empathetic

40. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They can put themselves in a users shoes
They are good at understanding human behaviour
>
>
A good designer is empathetic

41. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They can put themselves in a users shoes
They are good at understanding human behaviour
They can prioritise the needs of others
>
>
>
A good designer is empathetic

42. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Lack of commitment
When there is no empathy, you get:
to decisions

43. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I decided not
to it that way”
Lack of commitment
to decisions
When there is no empathy, you get:

44. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I decided not
to it that way”
Lack of commitment
to decisions
“The developer didn’t
follow my design”
When there is no empathy, you get:

45. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I told the designer we
couldn’t do that”
“I decided not
to it that way”
Lack of commitment
to decisions
“The developer didn’t
follow my design”
When there is no empathy, you get:

46. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I thought someone
else was doing that?”
“I decided not
to it that way”
Lack of commitment
to decisions
“The developer didn’t
follow my design”
“I told the designer we
couldn’t do that”
When there is no empathy, you get:

47. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Use empathy to connect with colleagues

48. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Understand what motivates them>
Use empathy to connect with colleagues

49. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Understand what motivates them
Take time to understand their concerns
>
>
Use empathy to connect with colleagues

50. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Understand what motivates them
Take time to understand their concerns
Consider colleagues needs as you would users need
>
>
>
Use empathy to connect with colleagues

51. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Direction and focus
Leadership is having a vision, sharing that vision and
inspiring others to support your vision while creating
their own.”
Mindy Gibbins-Klein, founder, REAL Thought Leaders
“

52. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
A good leader sets direction and focus

53. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They communicate goals, not details>
A good leader sets direction and focus

54. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They communicate goals, not details
They explain why those goals are important
>
>
A good leader sets direction and focus

55. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They communicate goals, not details
They explain why those goals are important
Open to change when change is necessary
>
>
>
A good leader sets direction and focus

56. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
A good designer promotes direction and focus

57. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They keep designs goal focused>
A good designer promotes direction and focus

58. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They keep designs goal focused
They make design decisions with intent
>
>
A good designer promotes direction and focus

59. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They keep designs goal focused
They make design decisions with intent
They are keen to measure and improve
>
>
>
A good designer promotes direction and focus

60. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
When it there is no direction and focus, you get:
Conflict

61. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I know what my own
customers want”
When it there is no direction and focus, you get:
Conflict

62. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I know what my own
customers want”
“This is best practice”
When it there is no direction and focus, you get:
Conflict

63. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I know what my own
customers want”
“This is best practice”
When it there is no direction and focus, you get:
“Because I’ve been doing
this for 10 years”
Conflict

64. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“I know what my own
customers want”
“Won’t work because
of the flux capacitor”
“This is best practice”
When it there is no direction and focus, you get:
Conflict
“Because I’ve been doing
this for 10 years”

65. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Measure and adapt your work

66. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
>
Measure and adapt your work
Don’t wait for senior staff to suggest measures

67. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
>
>
Measure and adapt your work
Your designs have goals, measure them
Don’t wait for senior staff to suggest measures

68. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Your designs have goals, measure them
If something isn’t working, change it
>
>
>
Measure and adapt your work
Don’t wait for senior staff to suggest measures

69. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Collaboration
A true leader is secure in creating a framework that
encourages others to tap into their own skills and
ideas and freely contribute to the whole of the
project or company."
Judy Crockett, owner, Interactive Marketing & Communication
“

70. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
A good leader facilitates collaboration

71. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They make space for new ideas to be considered>
A good leader facilitates collaboration

72. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They make space for new ideas to be considered
They empower teams to make their own decisions
>
>
A good leader facilitates collaboration

73. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They make space for new ideas to be considered
They empower teams to make their own decisions
They don’t claim personal credit for successes
>
>
>
A good leader facilitates collaboration

74. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
A good designer facilitates collaboration

75. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They are open to feedback and new ideas>
A good designer facilitates collaboration

76. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They are open to feedback and new ideas
They create assets that are easy to reuse
>
>
A good designer facilitates collaboration

77. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
They are open to feedback and new ideas
They create assets that are easy to reuse
They present information in a way everyone can understand
>
>
>
A good designer facilitates collaboration

78. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Blame
When there is no collaboration, you get:

79. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“The feature
description was unclear”
Blame
When there is no collaboration, you get:

80. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“The feature
description was unclear”
“That bug is her fault”
Blame
When there is no collaboration, you get:

81. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“The servers are slow,
not the javascript”“The feature
description was unclear”
“That bug is her fault”
Blame
When there is no collaboration, you get:

82. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
“The servers are slow,
not the javascript”“The feature
description was unclear”
“That bug is her fault”
“The QA should
have checked that”
Blame
When there is no collaboration, you get:

83. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Design for internal collaboration

84. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Design for internal collaboration
> Consider your team your users when presenting ideas

85. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
>
>
Design for internal collaboration
Consider your team your users when presenting ideas
Avoid using jargon others may not fully understand

86. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
>
>
>
Design for internal collaboration
Consider your team your users when presenting ideas
Avoid using jargon others may not fully understand
Focus your communication on what is relevant to them

87. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Empower your colleagues to be design-led

88. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
> Help colleagues to problem solve, don’t solve for them
Empower your colleagues to be design-led

89. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
>
>
Help colleagues to problem solve, don’t solve for them
Focus advice on value and impact, not “best practice”
Empower your colleagues to be design-led

90. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
>
>
>
Help colleagues to problem solve, don’t solve for them
Focus advice on value and impact, not “best practice”
Don’t be “the expert”, be the coach
Empower your colleagues to be design-led

91. Service design & user experience @lily_dart
Designers are leaders
Leadership comes from influence, and
influence can come from anyone at any level
and in any role. [It’s about] being open and
authentic, helping to lift others up and
working toward a common mission.”
Kurt Uhlir, CEO and co-founder, Sideqik
“

92. Any questions?
Thank you
Service design & user experience @lily_dart lilydart.com