Fresh

This panel at SXSW was really interesting for a couple reasons. Jared Spool from UIE is such an engaging presenter! He had us all laughing; I was thoroughly engrossed the whole time. Also, the panel was really awesome because it challenged a few ideas that I generally don’t think twice about.

One of the primary points from the panel was that there is no evidence that user centered design has ever worked. I was really surprised to hear this! One of the anecdotes that he used was based on Apple and Microsoft. Spool claimed that apple hardly does any usability tests, while Microsoft does them constantly. (and we all know whose designs are better!) He didn’t have any numbers behind this, so I’m not sure of the validity. But really interesting none-the-less!

When I design, I am constantly developing concepts and aesthetics with the end user in mind. I ask questions like “who is my audience?” and “will this design be appropriate for them?” If the design doesn’t work for the end user, than it isn’t successful, right? Usability tests seem like an important step, because how else will you know if your design is working for the user?

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Spool went on to look at how work gets done in general. He described five different examples. Here is the spectrum he presented:

(slide from his presentation)

Dogma:
This is an unquestioned belief system which is independent of any supporting evidence.

Methodology:
Repeatable, formulaic process.

Process:
A series of steps to get something done. Not necessarily a formula. Not necessarily repeatable.

Techniques:
These are the building blocks of process. Techniques require practice.

Tricks:
People employ tricks when techniques are too hard. They are like improperly used techniques. They still get the job done, though. An example would be to use a wrench to hammer in a nail. It still works, but is not the proper technique.

Spool argued that successful teams don’t use methodology and especially not dogma. He said that instead, they use a mix of tricks and techniques. Struggling teams have a limited use of tricks and techniques and tended to increase their use of methodology.

I agree that sticking with dogma doesn’t work- but find that having at least a loose methodology is crucial. Certain steps like creating a site architecture or QA just need to be in the process! At eROI, we employ a process that is framed by 5 stages: discover, define, design, develop, deploy. But I do agree that it is also important to have many techniques up your sleeve, and be able to use tricks when necessary!

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So how do you create great designs, then?

He identified three key things that successful teams do to make great designs. I thought these were awesome, and were one of my favorite tangible take-aways from SXSW. He gave three questions, that if you can answer yes to, points to probable success.

Having a good vision:

“Can everyone on the team describe the experience of using your design five years from now?” I really think this is key. Being able to measure the work you are doing now against a goal insures that you’re thinking long term and big picture.

Feedback loop

“In the last six weeks, have you spent more than two hours watching someone use your design (or a competitors) design?” This is one thing that seemed a little disconnected for me: how is this different from UCD?!

Culture
“In the last six weeks, have you rewarded a team member for creating a major design failure?” This point resonated with me, and is something that we’ve talked a lot about at eROI. One of our Executive of Sales, Dylan Boyd’s catch phrases is “Fail Big!” It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong,you’ll never come up with anything original.”

— Sir Ken Robinson

I really enjoyed this panel, and while I’m not convinced that user centered design and adhearing to a methodology don’t produce good work, I do find his points really interesting. I think his last three suggestions for being successful are awesome. You can check out video of the presentation here, and view his slides with audio here. What are your thoughts?