[IxDA Discuss] Affordances in interface design

[Cecily Walker]

Hi Leo,

Thanks for your reply. I'd forgotten about Cooper's "About Face" - I
have a copy of it at home and will refer back to it this evening.

Re: your other suggestions about how to convince stakeholders -
without giving too much away, let's just say that the UCD process is
"developing" in this environment, and not only am I a UX practitioner,
I find myself being the UX cheerleader as well.

We've been doing the research, but there's still that uncertainty.
Until the stakeholders can really see the value in what this team is
doing, they won't be sufficiently convinced, and I'm fine with that.

I also keep reminding the stakeholders that when users say "UGH! I
*hate* this!" in response to any proposed design changes that it is
important to listen those critiques, but it is equally important to
see whether the new design is actually usable. I think they're
starting to come around to that way of thinking. I've even offered to
work with marketing to tailor the message we'll be sending to our
users to make them aware of the new changes that are coming. I think
this is similar to your approach, and I've found it goes a long way
toward soothing the stakeholders' furrowed brows.

- Cecily