[IxDA Discuss] design by committee??

[Cindy Alvarez]

>
> I'm not saying that data is the devil. I'm just saying that if you are
> "relying" on data to stop design by committee, you are possibly already
> too
> late. Relationships, articulated and consistently adhered to design
> vision/direction with proper buy-in, collaborative design processes, etc.
> are all much stronger, repeatable, and longer lasting at avoiding the
> "design by committee" problems that started this thread.


True, but folks who work with external stakeholders are less likely to have
control over that.  Internally, I work with great org structure and
processes.  When working with clients, it's usually one of two extremes -
total "design by committee" or total "design anarchy" (designers making
pretty screens with zero knowledge of the product/business goals).

In either case, the tactic that works well for me is to always ask why.  Is
there a specific concern you're trying to address?  What is the problem
you're looking to solve?    It tends to diffuse the personal opinion
clutter, and helps people feel listened-to.   I've often found that a
stakeholder demand is a bad solution to a valid problem, and opening up that
discussion gives me an opportunity to find a better solution that is a
win-win.     Sometimes a stakeholder is locked-in ("we already have similar
pages in our website/webapp and have to be consistent") and I have no room
to negotiate, but at least everyone knows where they stand in that case.

Cindy