MIMA:Cultivating a User-Centered Culture

January 19, 2011

# mima

Meghan (@irishgirl) Nancy (@nylons)

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User-centered Design

A philosophy in which the needs, wants,

and limitations of end users of an

interface or document are given

extensive attention at each stage of

the design process.

- Wikipedia

User-centered Culture

A philosophy in which the needs, wants,

and limitations of end users of a

product or service are given

extensive attention at every level of

the organization.

- Geek Girls

Divides exist between:

• Leadership & Employees

• Agencies & Clients

• Web Developers & End Users

A Few Truths

Leadership &

Employees

Corporate structures haven’t changed (much) since the 1800s.

But there were damn good reasons for charts like these.

In both markets and among employees, people are speaking to each other in a powerful new way.

“Hyperlinks subvert hierarchy.

These conversations are enabling powerful new forms of social organization and knowledge exchange to emerge.”

1999

2009

Agencies &

Clients

Agencies haven’t changed (much) since the 1960s.

“They need me and my big ideas.”

Old-school creativesare used to controlling the deliverable.

Old-school managersare used to controlling...everything.

Developers &

Users

Typical Developer Typical User

Male Female

19 - 29 35 - 54

White White

College Educated High School Education

Doing job for 3 yrs or less

Sources:http://aneventapart.com/alasurvey2009/http://www.istrategylabs.com/2010/01/facebook-demographics-and-statistics-report-2010-145-growth-in-1-year/http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2009/tables.html

Mini-jackasspriceless.

5

Embracing users meansembracing chaos.

It’s not easy.

You (mostly) don’t matter.

Users do.

Everyone is a user.

A note on nomenclature:

PART I:

Company culture is a product.

Employees are users.

Happy people do good work.

It’s not about kegs and foosball.

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sharynmorrow/2618698358/

What makes us happy?

Autonomy: control time, technique, team, or task.

Mastery: make progress and get better.

Purpose: be part of something bigger.

Define your values.

It begins with leadership, but involves everyone.

1

Align hiring decisionswith your values.

Job skills are table stakes.

2

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to identify, assess, and manage

the emotions of self,others, and groups.

Necessary for leadership,

client management and end-user

sensitivity.

Communicate openly.

When resources are scarce,the way you communicatecan either inspire panic or collaboration.

Resources are always scarce.

3

Cultivate a sense of ownership.

Everybody owns the promises made,the method of delivery, and the final product.

4

PART II:

Companies are products.

Clients are users.

Find clients that alignwith your values.

Don’t be afraid to say no.

1

Communicate openly.

Speak their language,don’t expect them to speak yours.

Be honest about what’s realistic.

2

Listen.

Don’t just listen to what they say,try to understand what they mean.

3

Treat the client as the expert.

You’re the idiot in the room.

4

PART III:

Web apps are products.

Users are users.

Extend your valuesto your end product.

Be who you say you areand it will be reflected in your work.

1

Don’t allow“us vs. them” attitudes.

To be user-centered, you have to care.

2

Listen.

Ask the right questions,find the real story.

3

Communicate.

Error messages show how much you care.

Image source: http://blog.braintraffic.com/2009/01/error-error-on-the-wall/

4

Push your boundaries.

Remember what being a userfeels like.

5

Recommended Reading

• The Cluetrain Manifesto

• Here Comes Everybody, Clay Shirky

• Drive, Daniel Pink

• Happy Hour is From 9 to 5, Alexander Kjerulf

• Peak, Chip Conley

• Why Work Doesn’t Happen at Work, Jason Fried

Thank you.

If you hated us, tell us.If you loved us, tell the Internet.