Comments on: UX’ers: Get Over Yourselves

By: Amanda Nance

Amanda Nance — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:57:45 +0000

I agree with Duane that we sometimes get stuck in the “narrow” by “focusing on the specific project at hand.” But I'd argue some prefer it that way and excel at implementing rather than persuading.

So while I understand the need for UX people in organizations to “gain influence and power,” I think it just doesn't appeal to some of us. In large organizations, often the manager or director of UX takes care of the persuading, leaving the contributors to focus on the specific projects. Perhaps that is a useful division of labor?

By: Erin Lynn Young

Erin Lynn Young — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:11:24 +0000

I don't know of a magic bullet. I do think that, if you're in a position to do so, you can save yourself some fatigue by listening closely before accepting a gig to understand the extent to which the management team shares your ideology. In my personal experience, the exhaustion resulted from fighting the battle one to one in the trenches of the organization rather than at the upper levels, where a true commitment from a handful of decision makers could have deeper influence.

It's probably also worth noting that, just as with anything else, balance and time away from the grind helps one stay inspired.

By: pjsherman

pjsherman — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:13:35 +0000

Insightful comments, Erin. Personally I've felt the “decreased passion” at times myself. How do you stave it off?

By: Erin Lynn Young

Erin Lynn Young — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:16:38 +0000

Wow. Guilty as charged. In an agency/consultancy setting, UXers are sometimes hired on because “clients want UX.” Just because clients want something doesn't mean the organization does. Team members accustomed to a UX-less workflow may not see the value or may see parts of the job that they enjoy being reassigned to the new team member. Fighting for one's place at the table becomes exhausting over time. I'd wager that fatigue plays a big part in a decreased passion to champion the benefits of UX>

By: Duane Degler

Duane Degler — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 06:57:18 +0000

Well articulated, Paul. I agree about the "rightness" challenge, although many times I've seen it manifest as frustration (however well masked), which leaves an emotional undercurrent of being critical and puts others on the defensive.

I tried to tackle this question a few years ago by looking at belief and vision, because I regularly saw those two things change manager/team dynamics. If people I worked with could begin to believe something could be different ("we tried it before... but this time...") it changed the emotional dynamic and opened up ideas and enthusiasm. I tried to capture this in a summary for a talk I did at UPA-DC 2006: http://www.designforcontext.com/publications/dd...

One other aspect is the tendency to get stuck in the "narrow" - focusing on the specific project at hand, and finding it difficult to draw parallels or bring in other experiences/observations when needed. Being in the trenches - a natural mode of working when focusing on details as UX people often do to get the job done.

By: Paul Sherman

Paul Sherman — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:24:23 +0000

Great comments Ole. I too would've liked to see more in the article, but like most of us I'm out there in the field trying to earn my keep as well. I'm sure there's a book or two in these main points, but I just don't have the wherewithal to write them right now… Gotta pay the mortgage and keep the kids clothed, wife happy, and all that. :-)

So I do what I can to contribute to the field.

By: Ole Gregersen

Ole Gregersen — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:38:43 +0000

I'm on board with the main point here (though I would have loved to read some more thoughts on the matter). I'm also totally on board with the change agent. I feel like one and take pride in it. I'm surprised to read that few UX'ers are willing to go into that changing their organisation – I thought we all were!? I preach it myself to student at the Copenhagen IT-University – heavily! I mean, all the methods and creative and iterative designprocesses aside, if you don't get the ressources its all in vain. Especially in software development, its along uphill battle – even in (gulp) 2010. And in the recession its even worse, because then its back to functionality and low cost = quality is not the use, but the getting it closer to the contract.

By: pjsherman

pjsherman — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:32:43 +0000

Thanks for the support Sam. Glad you concur. Not sure exactly what you
mean on the underdeliver side though. If anything I think we
overdeliver but undermention? Is that even a word actually? :-)

By: Sam Ng

Sam Ng — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:34:29 +0000

Preach it brother. Not to open a can of worms but IMO I think we can also tend to oversell and under deliver on business benefits. I'd personally love to see more UX professionals become General Managers & C-level people (as in CEO not Chief eXperience Officer) – and then revisit their UX former lives to see what they'd change. I bet that time machine would come in real handy.