Coping Mechanisms
A recent lecture I attended discussed some of the "fun" dynamics that exist in the professional world of experience design. I was reminded of several factors in my current situation that I find... shall we say... less that savory.
As I let these issues bother more and more over the last few days I had a re-realization of how I have effectively coped with culture in the past (apologies in advance to all vegetarians/vegans).
Forget the fat & focus on the meat.
In essence, this is all about forgetting (or choosing not to focus on) the politics, personal pet peeves, immaturity of others, etc... and focusing on two main objectives, which are:
- Consistently deliver unquestionably exceptional work
- Do everything in my power to support and encourage objective #1 in everyone I work with.
By maintaining this line of thinking/attitude, I've been able to keep moving and even deliver some of my best work even in the midst of the worst environments.
In saying this, I acknowledge that there are some situations in which one's ability to effectively accomplish these two objectives is hindered by the situation itself. In these cases, I follow a completely different coping mechanism...
LEAVE THE ORGANIZATION
Any organizational structure, whether formal or cultural, which consistently inhibits your ability to contribute despite efforts to rectify the situation is not a structure you want to be a part of.
Stepping Back and Understanding
I frequently find myself frustrated that visual designers do not adhere more strictly to the wires I create. It’s difficult for me to see a layout I’ve put my heart, soul and countless hours into seemingly be ignored. However, a project I’m currently engaged in is helping me gain empathy for designers and understand that they may not be ignoring my wires. Rather, I’m learning, more than ever, that good design is an almost ever-moving, highly iterative process
I’m currently working on a project to redesign my personal website – matthewjdoty.com. In doing this, I have to fill roles that have normally been filled by others in my professional life, namely, visual designer.
As I step back and watch my process, it seems to have started as many of my projects do, with user analysis, a sitemap, flows and wires. However as I have begun the process of creating comps and trying to strictly execute based on my wires, my designs have changed significantly.
Have ignored my wires? No. So what is going on?
Inspiration does not stop as soon as the wires are complete. Quite the opposite… Translating wires into comps can produce a superior layout and ultimately a superior user experience. The designs I’ve “comped out”, although inspired by my wires, are better than my wires.
I’ve often preached the balance of business objectives, user needs, and technical constraints. From now on, I’m going to be adding creative innovation to that balance.
Crucial Conversations
As a User Experience community, we often wonder how to best communicate with others when we’re left out of meetings, ignored and/or generally not treated with the greatest ammount of respect. In response to this, I’d like to recommend each of you checking out Crucial Conversations.
This is a set of resources (book/site/web seminars/etc) focused on how to communicate effectively when emotions are high, stakes are high, and opinions differ.
Additionally, there are free web seminars we can access.
WARNING: This may seem like another one of those Matt Foley type of self help deals, but it’s not. Its really useful.
In my previous job, I discovered Crucial Conversations and was able to use the skills in some of my strategy discussions with senior marketing managers and the president of one of the universities I was working with (which got pretty heated at times).
Enjoy!
When to Wire
OK so I'm getting a little frustrated with a project that is asking me to produce wires without providing any clear direction as to what the requirements are. I'm also getting the impression that this is not the first time this type of thing has been done at my company.
I've always done wires when we had a good idea what the user, tech and functional requirements were. However I'm curious to see if any of you have a different idea.
Let me know
