Communicating the UX Vision - Edition 1 - By Martina Schell and James O'Brien Elsevier Educate

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Communicating the UX Vision,

Edition 1 13 Anti-Patterns That Block Good Ideas

By Martina Schell and James O'Brien

Publication Date: 19 Mar 2015

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This book identifies the 13 main challenges designers face when they talk about their work and provides communication strategies so that a better design, not a louder argument, is what makes it into the world.

It is a fact that we all want to put great design into the world, but no product ever makes it out of the building without rounds of reviews, feedback, and signoff. As an interaction or UX designer, you’ve felt the general trend toward faster development, more work, and less discussion. As we spend time crafting, we become attached to our own ideas and it gets all too easy to react to feedback emotionally or dismiss it, when we should be taking the time to decode it and explain or adapt the design.

Communicating the UX Vision helps you identify the skills and behavioral patterns to present your work in more persuasive ways, and respond more constructively to feedback from coworkers and stakeholders.

Key Features

Learn presentation tips that make stakeholders and other departments take your designs more seriously
Uncover valuable techniques to make feedback sessions more productive
Understand how to improve empathy with business stakeholders and learn to speak their language better
Discover how to better understand your behavior and identify your personal anti-patterns

About the author

By Martina Schell, User Experience consultant and James O'Brien, UX Designer and experienced Agile practitioner

Table of Contents

Dedication
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: Speaking different languages
- Abstract
- Summary
- The “Speaking Different Languages¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when…
- Patterns
- If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
- Terminology explained
Chapter 2: Having different KPIs
- Abstract
- How organizations measure success
- Intrinsic motivation
- When KPIs clash
- Summary
- The “Having Different KPIs¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when …
- Patterns
- If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
Chapter 3: Not embracing everyone’s goals
- Abstract
- Onto the right path
- The sore thumb paradox
- Summary
- The “Not Embracing Everyone’s Goals¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when…
- Patterns
- If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
- Terminology explained
Chapter 4: Presenting without contextualizing
- Abstract
- Common assets for providing context
- Telling the story of UX
- Getting good feedback
- Summary
- The “Presenting Without Contextualizing¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when…
- How to break the anti-pattern
- Patterns
- If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
- Terminology explained
Chapter 5: Being in the room but not present
- Abstract
- What is your job?
- New software development processes, new collaboration models
- Collaborating in iterative environments
- Focus in an open-plan world
- Summary
- The “Being in the room but not present¿ anti-pattern
- You’ll know you’re in it when …
- Patterns – how to be a better collaborator
- What to do when someone is locking you out of their silo
- Terminology explained
Chapter 6: Not having a consistent design language
- Abstract
- Say what?
- Buzzword Bingo
- A consistent design language
- If you liked it, you should have put a label on it
- A note on labeling files
- What do you do?
- A step too far
- Summary
- The “Not Having A Consistent Design Language¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when…
- Patterns
- If others subject you to this anti-pattern
- Terminology explained
Chapter 7: Throwing deliverables over the fence
- Abstract
- Tearing down the fence
- Of fences and other obstacles
- Code quality
- Making the case
- Find a shared rhythm
- Collaborate across the project timeline
- Deliver awesome products
- Summary
- The “Throwing Deliverables Over The Fence¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when…
- Patterns
- What to do if others throw deliverables over the fence to you
- Terminology explained
Chapter 8: Living in the deliverables
- Abstract
- Best-in-show deliverables
- Conversations, not lectures
- Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate
- Make space for collaboration
- Leaner, meaner... UX
- Prototyping
- What if you work in an agency?
- Collect user feedback
- Summary
- The “Living in the Deliverables¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when…
- Patterns
- If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
- Terminology explained
Chapter 9: Assuming others don’t get design
- Abstract
- A note from the authors
- Creating design and understanding design
- Pretentious little jerks
- Pitchslapped
- We live in a designed world
- “Creative¿ isn’t a noun
- How can you make sharing easier?
- Feeding back
- Well-intended suggestions
- Get the HiPPO on board
- Some people view creativity as risk
- The “Assuming Others Don’t Get Design¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when…
- Patterns – making sharing easier
- Patterns – principles to strive for
- If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
- Terminology explained
Chapter 10: Insisting on perfection
- Abstract
- Delivering on your vision
- Setting expectations
- Introducing a functional grammar
- Trade-offs
- Sustainable pace
- UX debt
- Knowing when you’re done
- Take inspiration from start-up entrepreneurs
- Launch your idea in 3 hours, 24 hours, a weekend
- Summary
- The “Living in the Deliverables¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in this anti-pattern when…
- Patterns
- If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
- Terminology explained
Chapter 11: Responding to tone, not content
- Abstract
- Nonverbal, not unimportant
- Tone varies with culture
- Gaps in understanding
- Who you are and who you’re perceived to be
- The IKEA effect strikes again
- Respondent fatigue
- Summary
- The “Responding to Tone, Not Content¿ anti-pattern
- The patterns
- You’ll know when you have encountered this anti-pattern, because …
- What to do when someone is being confrontational or misunderstanding your tone
- Tips
- Terminology explained
Chapter 12: Defending too hard
- Abstract
- Spotting this type of client
- The hidden cost
- Business theater
- Summary
- The “Defending Too Hard¿ anti-pattern
- You’ll know you’re in it when …
- The patterns
- What to do when someone keeps repeating the same objection
- Tips
- Terminology explained
Chapter 13: Not defending hard enough
- Abstract
- Everyone’s a critic
- What is the right decision?
- Using the Five Whys to understand business value
- Shortcut: Always defend user research
- Summary
- The “Not Defending Hard Enough¿ anti-pattern
- You know you’re in it when …
- The patterns
- How to remedy a wrongly given-up point
- Tips
- Terminology explained
Chapter 14: Identifying and fixing your own anti-patterns
- Abstract
- The tip-off
- The cool-down
- Get an outside perspective
- Find the common factor
- Forgive yourself
- Identify some patterns
- Make it a habit
- Keep going
Chapter 15: Relaxation techniques at work
- Abstract
- In the moment
- Lifestyle
- About the author
Chapter 16: Group design techniques
- Abstract
- How many people to invite?
- How much time to budget?
- How to facilitate a group
- In the room
- Try out new formats
- How to prioritize
- Dot voting
- Prioritization matrix
Conclusion
Glossary
Index