Escaping the Stagnation Sandpit: Building a Continuous Learning Team [UX Lisbon 2019]

UX Lisbon 2019 | Escaping the Stagnation Sandpit | @katerutter
Escaping the
Stagnation Sandpit
Kate Rutter | @katerutter | 2019.05.23
Building a Continuous Learning Team

Hello!
@katerutter

…if you believe any of these
will impact your company
within the next 5 years:
• IoT • AI • Voice Assistants • Machine Learning •
• Crypto Currency • AR • VR • Drones • Chatbots •
• Biometrics • Gene Therapy • Blockchain •  
• CRISPr • 3D Printing • Robotics •  
• Spacial Computing •

…if you are actively
designing for (or with)
any of these technologies.
• IoT • AI • Voice Assistants • Machine Learning •  
• Crypto Currency • AR • VR • Drones • Chatbots •
• Biometrics • Gene Therapy • Blockchain •  
• CRISPr • 3D Printing • Robotics •  
• Spacial Computing •

…if you believe that
the job you are doing
today will be the
same in 5 years?

…if you have plans to
go back to school 
to a program related 
to your work.

UX work 
is tied to the
tempo of digital
invention.

The rapid pace
of tech isn’t
slowing down

It’s hard to
keep skills 
up-to-date.

Coming of Age Digitally: MIT Sloan Management Review
Deloitte Digital 2018 Global Study, June 5, 2018
https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/digital-maturity/coming-of-age-
digitally-learning-leadership-legacy.html

Coming of Age Digitally: MIT Sloan Management Review
Deloitte Digital 2018 Global Study, June 5, 2018
https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/digital-maturity/coming-of-age-
digitally-learning-leadership-legacy.html
“Individuals report needing to continually
develop their skills but say they get little to
no support from their organization to do so.”
“Many employees are also willing to do it
themselves, given the right support.”

Seasoned
folks risk
getting stale.

“I’m so out of practice with the
hands-on design tools. I never did
learn Sketch properly. It’s like I
need a sabbatical to just catch up.”
~ Sr. Design manager 
Huge tech company

Newly educated
folks struggle to
get hired.

Jeff Atwood, Stack Overﬂow & Stack Exchange: https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-years-of-experience-myth/
v
v

State of UX Design in 2019, UX Collective, https://trends.uxdesign.cc/

Many jobs 
we’ll hold 
don’t exist yet.

Ikea to hire 16,000 new employees by 2030, news.com.au, April 5, 2018
https://www.news.com.au/ﬁnance/work/careers/ikea-to-hire-16000-new-employees-by-2030/news-story/ca519209cb3ad80511a126ff88f26e19
v
v
v

We have a problem

We have an
opportunity

A way to learn 
that actually 
works for work.

school work

• UX Designer at Mercedes-Benz
Research & Development North
America, Inc.
• Product Designer at Lyft
• Player Lab Manager at Riot Games
• UX Design and Product Management at  
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Service Designer at Designit
• Co-Founder & CEO at Together10
• Product Designer, Asana
• Senior Product Designer at Grovo
• UX Designer at HotSchedules
• Product Designer at Teachable
• Experience Designer at Havas
• Senior Product Strategist at Invoke Co.
• Head of Product at Traﬁ
3 years later…
Jan 2014 - April 2015
• 15 months
• 12 cohorts
• 57 designers

A culture of
continuous
learning

Continuous Learning
✓ Individually-directed and personal
✓ Peer-to peer, collective and social
✓ Learning partnerships
✓ Not a “one and done”…ongoing,
iterative and thrives on feedback

✓A map to 
guide us
✓Simple steps for 
immediate use
Framework
Practice

a map of how
learning works
Framework

Four Stages 
of Competence
image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_competence
Noel Burch, 1970s
image: https://www.slideshare.net/KarenMartinGroup/the-improvement-professionals-evolving-
role-from-practitioner-to-facilitator-oto-coac/13-Dreyfus_Model_ofSkill_AcquisitionStuart_Hubert
Dreyfus Model of
Skills Acquisition
Stuart & Hubert Dreyfus, 1980s

via Perry, Belenky, Baxter-Magolda
with some Rutter viz interpretation
Du-Mu-Rel-Com
guide collaborate
Knowledge is
contextual & ethical
• Quest for evidence
• Gain personal experience
• Respectful debate
• Ability to reference evidence
• Evaluate new info in a  
nuanced way
• Apply, adapt & create new  
models of thinking
Knowledge can & must be
evaluated with evidence
BeliefsBehaviors
teach elicit
Knowledge = amassing  
piles of “right” facts
• Avoid ambiguity
• Focus on “right” answer
Knowledge = personal  
perspective on facts
• Opinionated discussion
• Search for “best” answer
• Acceptance of complexity
Duality Relativism Commitment
simplistic sophisticated
Multiplicity
Learning StagesPartner’sRole

Du-Mu-Rel-Com
guide collaborate
Knowledge is
nuanced way
models of thinking
BeliefsBehaviors
teach elicit
• Avoid ambiguity
Multiplicity
Onramping
Contributing
Learning StagesPartner’sRole

guide collaborate
Knowledge is
nuanced way
models of thinking
BeliefsBehaviors
teach elicit
• Avoid ambiguity
Multiplicity
Partner’sRole
How fast can
we get here?
with some Rutter viz interpretationLearning Stages

Partner’sRole
guide collaborate
Knowledge is
nuanced way
models of thinking
BeliefsBehaviors
teach elicit
• Avoid ambiguity
Learning Stages via Perry, Belenky, Baxter-Magolda
Multiplicity
LISTEN &
EXPLORE
PERSPECTIVES
ASK “WHY”
& MAKE THINGS
TURN EVIDENCE
INTO
EXPERIENCE
REFLECT,
EVALUATE
& SHARE

Du-Mu-Rel-Com:
Beliefs, behaviors
& roles
Framework

simple actions 
we can start
today
Practice

3 steps to action
Set an intention1
Start simple2
Share progress3

Learn List
Written list of learning
topics to pursue in 6
months-year. The more
specific the better.
✓ 2-4 concrete, specific
things you want to learn…
✓ …that will benefit you  
and your organization
✓ Generate solo;  
Share communally
✓ It’s so simple 
it’s stupid
1] Set an intention

Learn List
Written list of learning
topics to pursue in 6
months-year. The more
specific the better.
✓ 2-4 concrete, specific
things you want to learn…
✓ …that will benefit you  
and your organization
✓ Generate solo;  
Share communally
✓ It’s so simple 
it’s stupid
1] Set an intention
wsd

OKRs
(Objectives & Key Results) 
written to provide measurable
progress from deliberate
practice.
✓ Periodic, quantitative
measures of progress
✓ Personal vs Individual
vs team
✓ Set stretch goals
✓ Routinize achieving
objectives
1] Set an intention

“
I think of my personal OKR set
as a lucky rock in my pocket.  
I touch it over and over again,
to remind myself of my
dreams. But instead of
wishing, I plan. And I act.
~ Christina Wodtke
Author of Radical Focus

✓ Visualize the concepts
& connections
✓ Generate solo; 
Use communally
✓ Iterate & enhance as
you learn
✓ Challenging! 
but oh so interesting
Knowledge Map
A hand-drawn map or
concept diagram of your
current knowledge in a
focused area.
2] Start simple

Knowledge Map
Practices
Teresa Brazen
@teresabrazen

Deliberate Practice
Dedicated time…1 hour a
week…or as close as you
can get, for focused,
goal-oriented practice.
✓ Focus on speciﬁc
techniques or topics
(chunks)
✓ Daily (!) practice  
~1 hour a week
✓ Get continuous
feedback
2] Start simple

“
It’s not just a matter of
accumulating hours. If you’re
doing your job, and you’re
just doing more and more of
the same, you’re not actually
going to get better.
~ Anders Ericsson
Author of Peak

✓ 5-7 minute presentations,
held frequently
✓ New contributors share
expertise
✓ Whole team learns
something together
✓ Celebrate progress
Short talks about an idea,
insight or body of evidence.
Routinizes packaging and
sharing ideas.
Present
3] Share progress

https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/HumanCapital/gx-cons-hc-learning-solutions-placemat.pdf
Googler-to-Googler
Karen May on how Googlers teach and learn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhD-rojP11M

✓ 1 hour over lunch
✓ Share what we’ve learned
✓ Hear from others outside
the company
✓ Exposure to new ideas
Brown Bags

Publish
Articles, posts & talks on
what was learned and the
path to get there.
✓ Summarize learning in 
a reﬂective way
✓ Publish early, 
publish often
✓  
Internal blogs 
LinkedIn
3] Share progress

v
v

Learn List
Knowledge Map
OKRs
Deliberate Practice
Publish
Present

How can you
use these
tools for
continuous
learning?

1) Write down 2-4 things…
2) …that beneﬁt your career and your
company. The more concrete the better.
3) Share it with someone at the break!
In the next 6 months…
What do you want to learn?

Kate Rutter
@katerutter
http://intelleto.com
Thanks!
Swearing, drinking & UX…give it a listen!
http://bit.ly/whatiswrongwithux

References
Sand Image: https://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/azarius/237129691/ (creative commons license)
Tradecraft: http://tradecraft.com/
Mindset - The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck :  
https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322
Four Stages of Competence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_competence
Dreyfus Model of Skills Acquisition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_model_of_skill_acquisition
How Learning Works 
https://www.amazon.com/How-Learning-Works-Research-Based-Principles/dp/0470484101
Tools and Methods to Learn, Navigate, & Make a Name for Yourself in the User Experience Design
Landscape by Teresa Brazen:  
https://www.slideshare.net/teresabrazen/tools-methods-to-learn-the-ux-landscape
Peak - Secrets from the New Science of Expertise:  
https://www.amazon.com/Peak-Secrets-New-Science-Expertise/dp/1531864880
Deliberate Practice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Practice_(learning_method)#Deliberate_practice
Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke: http://eleganthack.com/radical-focus-is-here/
OKRs: http://felipecastro.com/en/okr/what-is-okr/ 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OKR 
https://www.atiim.com/google-okr-objectives-key-results-video-transcript/
The Texting Tea Pot by Dan Saffer: https://medium.com/@odannyboy/the-texting-tea-pot-5b33d2c9f726

Resources
Continuous Learning
https://www.getadministrate.com/blog/how-to-help-employees-embrace-continuous-learning/
Learning Models & Theory
How Learning Works - 7 Research-based Principles for Smart Teaching  
by Susan A. Ambrose, Michael W. Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha C. Lovett, Marie K. Norman
Pragmatic Thinking and Learning - Refactor Your Wetware by Andy Hunt
OKRs
Radical Focus by Christina Wodtke: http://eleganthack.com/the-art-of-the-okr/
https://medium.com/@cwodtke/personal-okrs-three-years-later-7616e60574a4
Deliberate Practice
Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
https://medium.com/the-crossover-cast/deliberate-practice-learn-like-an-expert-cc3114b8a10e
Other interesting things
The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnova

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