Words of UX Wisdom: Spend Some Time Upstream

If your organization is like most, as a UX designer you get more of your “design requirements” from other sources, such as business analysts, project manager, user researchers, etc. While this level of input can work OK if the features you’re designing are well contained (small scope, tactical), it will not work as well if you’ll be designing something that has workflow implications. Instead, you’ll eventually discover that your design vision is missing the "root" insights and rationale that will let you envision a more ideal solution. 

 While consulting at Human Factors International (HFI) I had the wonderful opportunity to perform data gathering activities that allowed me to “get inside the heads” of typical users of the site or application. And I was thankfully also the same person creating the UX solution. This gave me both a holistic view of not only the issues to be solved, but also the specific business objectives the design was meant to achieve, which made it easier to create a better end-product (and more satisfied client).

So, what’s a poor guy or gal embedded in a scrum team and fed only an occasional diet of user stories and technical requirements to do? My advice is to spend some time “upstream” in the process by persistently asking a lot of questions. If you did not previously, ask about the users - their profiles, mindsets and intents. If you don’t have these profiles, create them. These will be the “actors” in your user stories, so it’s essential you know where they are coming from psychologically. 

Start with asking the “why” questions about the requirements you’re given, such as:

• “Why is Feature A a priority?” “For which user?”
• “How does it fit into the user’s workflow relative to Features B and C?”
• “Has this need been validated by data, either qualitative or quantitative?”
• “How is success of this feature be measured after its deployment?” 

Yes, these questions were supposed to have been vetted by researchers and project managers earlier in the project, but often they either haven’t been asked at all, or not at a deep enough level. We need to realize that the main motives of the project manager and developers is get a well-defined feature deployed within the allotted time and with an acceptable level of quality. While your project (or product) manager is responsible for the overall technical solution and it’s performance (KPIs, etc), he or she is often does not (with some exceptions - Steve Jobs is one that comes to mind) have the in-the-trenches knowledge of what users need and, most importantly, want and expect in their features when integrated into your site or app. Your main task - in fact, your duty, as a diligent UX pro is deeply learn these user wants and needs so your design solution can fully address them - if not in the current sprint, at least over time.

So, whom do you ask these questions? The short answer is, anyone who will listen. After starting with your immediate colleagues on the creative and tech side, move to your project manager. If they don’t seem to have clear answers to your questions, keep moving outward and upstream to the people what really should know these answers - people with titles like Market Research Analyst, User Researcher, UX Analyst or Sales Manager. (When you want to speak with people with titles of “manager” and above, for political purposes it’s best to first get permission from your manager. If you don’t get permission, don’t despair - persist [in the more assertive, yet nicest, manner possible] ).

Asking these questions and learning the answers (and undoubtedly the new questions that will arise from these discussions) is an invaluable experience because it not only gives you insights - it also gives you personal connections and builds organizational accountability (as in, “Wow, Julie is asking a lot of questions. She really cares about creating a great design.”) If you’re the introverted type, this is a good time to push that shyness into the background. History has pretty strongly borne out that the most inquisitive and persistent (yet cordial) designers and researchers have delivered the user experiences that most make both their users and the company CFO smile.

Of course, the main point of asking these questions, besides gaining valuable user insights, is to inform the analysis you’ll be doing - workflows, interaction architecture, etc - the predecessors to the finished, polished product. I can guarantee that if you ask more questions upfront and do more analysis diligence, you’ll be able to both design more quickly (and with more confidence), and to create designs that produce better bottom-line results. 

I often think of what my first UX mentor said: You first need to define the problem you are solving. Solving the wrong problem, or even solving the right problem with insufficient understanding, is a waste of both your time, and the time of others in your organization. What’s more, designing without deeper insights will result in a UX that feels poorly thought out and more "siloed," which can leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.

Here's something else to keep in mind: asking your questions and connecting with colleagues is FREE; it just requires you to allocate some time out of your week. I’ve found that about 2 hours a week (or about 5% of your time) is sufficient initially to get the dialog going. And if you establish the value of caring more deeply about your users’ core functional and emotional needs, you - or someone else in your organization who is better able to do so - will be allowed to devote more time and budget to research activities even further upstream, such as motivational interviews, usability testing, and customer journey mapping. If and when you get to this point, you’ll find that these activities will give you the biggest “aha” insights of them all.

So remember, if you’re feeling hesitant, or “not sure you have permission,” just repeat this UX mantra: “My users need me to ask these questions, and to be persistent in getting them answered!” By not doing so you risk your designs (and you) being judged as mediocre, and not evoking the positive emotional responses you want from the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who experience the result of your work every day.

How to Reach Mark

email: mark.hall99@gmail.com
skype: markhall_skype
twitter: @HallmarkUX
linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/hallmarkexperience