[IxDA Discuss] design by committee??

[Bret Hekking]

> - Base your decisions on ethnographic research. I've found few things that
> silence critics as quickly as apt anecdotes and observed behavior patterns.
That is, if you can get some. I've had to rely a lot on user surrogates,
'assumption personas', and prior research since I don't yet have the green
light to venture into the field to get real data.

> - Define (and agree on!) the problem before proposing or evaluating
> solutions.
By now, this should be obvious...but I have plenty of evidence to the contrary.
In almost every meeting I attend, my first words are: "What are our objectives
for this meeting?" This also speaks to the tendency most requirements
docs/discussions have to focus on "how" instead of "what".

> - Figure out constructive ways for the whole project team to participate
> early enough in the process to entertain divergent thinking without it
> becoming counterproductive. I'm not necessarily advocating playing with legos
> or brainstorming (though those are both fun).
One method I've used is to be the official scribe during design sessions. I
take copious notes, record decisions made, then iterate the design and bring it
back for another round. Typically, no one else wants to do this, so it enables
me to steer the discussion, or at least its content.

> - Depersonalize solutions by focusing on serving the needs of personas/user
> models/roles/whatever you like to use (i.e. it's not about "my idea" versus
> "your idea," but about serving the needs of "nancy.") This also helps with
> the defining the problem bit.
Yes - this is critical. I believe that design cannot even begin without
identifying personas/user profiles. When design becomes an opinion battle, it's
time to refocus the discussion or revisit your assumptions about users.

> - Be willing to throw your ideas out. If you're a good designer, and you've
> got a strong solution to a complex problem, my experience is that nothing is
> going to freak the team out more than going back to a blank slate. After
> about 5 minutes they usually come running back to what you proposed (though
> whether they give you credit for it is another question ;).
This is probably the toughest part of being a designer (or an engineer as I
once was), especially with higher-fidelity work. I've tried hard lately to
avoid using software for concepting for just this reason.

Best to all of you,
Bret Hekking
Sr. UX Designer, Applix, Inc

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