Self Review: Pioneering a User Experience Process
(flickr tag: small)
Amy Hillman (along with the editors at Boxes and Arrows) recently wrote a good article summarizing the do’s and don’ts of Pioneering a User Experience (UX) Process. I’ve read articles along the same lines before, but this particular one was very good because it put all the advice in one place and was clearly written based on experience. Since I’ve been trying to do what this article is all about, I wanted to review my progress so far against the main points from the article.
Start Small
I have been trying to stay small since I started really focusing on usability engineering. It’s hard to do when there is a lot of work to be done and it all seems to be equally important. However, I’ve tried my best to prioritize everything so my work can progress but also so I don’t get too overwhelmed. I haven’t always been successful, maybe only 50% of the time.
Find Business Drivers and Track Against Them
In all honesty, I’ve kind of been avoiding this one. I have been listening to the various goals put out by engineering and marketing and any time quality or usability is mentioned, I make a note of it for the future. But I haven’t researched the numbers for things like tech support costs. This is definitely a weak point. One of the reasons I’ve been able to avoid it is because everyone so far seems to recognize the value of making more usable products, so I haven’t had to argue from a numbers perspective.
Plan UX Activities Upfront
I’ve been trying to get involved in projects early on, but so far I haven’t been very successful. A lot of it has to do with the small number of projects involving a UI and their schedules. When I started, all of these projects were in the middle or end stages. Also, as much as everyone understands the importance of usability, they still think of it as mostly a quality control function that comes at the end. I need to keep asking to stay in the loop during planning stages so that user needs and feedback can be a much bigger part of the development process.
Go Deep, Not Wide
Definitely failed this one. I’ve tried to affect all the projects at the same time and as a result I’ve contributed a little everywhere, but not a lot to really make a difference. One of my goals for the near future is to focus on just one project.
Be Realistic and Flexible
I think I have stayed realistic and flexible. I pay close attention to the needs of the company and I try to work around any constraints.
Watch Out for Toes, but Don’t Avoid Them
This hasn’t really come up yet, probably because my role hasn’t been clearly defined.
Be Patient and Set Clear Expectations
You’ll probably have days where you question whether you’re making a difference, whether you’re making any headway at all. You’ll have days where you feel frustrated and confused. When you start to question the impact you’re having, remind yourself how far you’ve come since the pre-UX days.
This quote from the article really hit home for me. I do feel sometimes that I’m not making any difference and I do remind myself of how far I’ve come since just the beginning of this year. I hope that at the very least I’ve helped put usability closer to the top of priority lists and got people talking about it.
Get Creative
This is something I always try to do. I don’t put too much stock into “best practices”; instead, I work within constraints because even if we don’t do everything right, it’s better to do something right.
Document Your Wins, Then Publicize Ruthlessly
I did keep track of the positive usability-related feedback we received on my previous project and put it into a poster that I sent out to everyone that contributed to the project. Most of the publicity from that project, however, has come from others in the company that saw the value of what we did and wanted everyone to know about it. I think this is much more valuable than just me talking about it.
So there we have it. There is definitely room for improvement, but a lot of it will come as I gain more experience.
Comments
1 comment
Good post. I also read the original article.
Sounds very familiar to me. I am in a situation to improve our main product’s usability and it is good to reflect what I have achieved so far and what remains to be done. Last four years I have been advocating usability practises in our company and as a result the product is much better than before. No one here needs to be convinced about usability anymore. But still a lot remains to be done.
For example, one thing is that it’s sometimes easy to design a new feature and ensure it’s easy to use. But it is a challenge to make sure that the whole ‘big picture’ also remains solid and easy to use. Adding new features can be harmful to the usability of the whole.