There are a lot of blogs out there. Why start another one? Same reasons as everyone else. Hopefully, I can share some experiences and ideas and start some conversations that might be helpful to others.
Who is this blog written for?
Anyone working on improving the user experience of web sites or software, including experience designers, IAs, usability practitioners and those whom we work with.
What’s the issue?
As I talk to colleagues, there is a lot of frustration. Things aren’t as easy as they should be. There are a lot of talented people who are not able to do their best work.
It seems to me that process can help. That doesn’t mean you should all follow my process. Heck, I don’t really have a process. I believe in creating the right process to fit the situation at hand. For some, that means adding some rigor and focus to a chaotic process, and for others, it means adding some flexibility and streamlining an overly restrictive process. Don’t expect to get it right. Expect to constantly change. As a radar expert told me once, a missile doesn’t fly in a straight line. It constantly veers off course and then corrects itself, typically overcompensating, and then adjusting again.
I also don’t want to limit the conversation to just the design process, but everything around it as well. How do you lead a team of designers? How do you prove the value of what you do? I’m open.
I’ll also talk about how to work within an agile/iterative process. This is an experiment with my current start-up. I’ll post what works and what doesn’t.
Are there any topics you’d like to see covered? Leave them in comments.