Diagnosis: UX Charlatans

@MartinaMitz@MartinaMitz

How to Spot Them Quickly and Stop Wasting Time, Money, and Nerves

UX Camp Berlin 2017

DIAGNOSIS:UX Charlatans


THE Plan™

1. Who the F**k Am I to Diagnose?

2. Situation on the Market

3. Diagnosis UX-Charlatans

4. What is UX Then?

5. What to Look for


…Me in the Past Few Years

image: http://thebqb.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/frust3.jpeg


BUT WAIT

Let me tell you where I am coming from…


Hobby

(1999) 2001:

Web Designer

(self-taught, semi user-centered)

confidence level


Education

2001 - 2007:

Certified Psychologist

(Diploma)

confidence level


Profession

2008 / 2009:

Clinical Psychologist

confidence level


…Me at the Time

image: https://nonverbalforte.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Insecure-Photo.jpg

confidence level


Time to Do Something!

WEB-DESIGN(passion)

PSYCOLOGY(profession)

ME(mad?)

confidence level


New Profession

2009 / 2010:

Concept Developer

(Internship + Pro-Bono)

confidence level


New Profession 2

2011 - 2014:

Interaction Architect

(user-centered design)

confidence level


Professional Experience

since 2014:

Senior UX Architect

Senior UX Designer

Lead UX Designer

Lead Information Architector simply

UX Designer

confidence level


Currently

since May, 2017:

Product Experience Lead

happiness level


Meanwhile

… on the Market


Buzzwordizing

image: http://www.sparksgroupinc.com/resources/sparks-group-blog/


Growing Demand

But lack of skilled workforce

image: https://nonverbalforte.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Insecure-Photo.jpg


Lack of Official Educational Paths

• UX is more expensive Web/Visual Design

• UX is only User Research

• UX is only digital

• UX is done once

• It is a linear process / it has an end

• UX is like Pixie Dust

• UX is some magic

• UX Designers are Unicorns ;)

Makes the spreading of very wrong understandings easier:


Summary

Market Situation:

UX has become trendy

✶ BUT actually in a misunderstood way

There is a higher demand for skilled experts

✶ BUT it is hard to know who the right one is

UX is more and more involved

✶ BUT usually at the wrong stage of the process

A Perfect breeding-ground for charlatans

graphic: http://granitegrok.com/wp-content/uploads/charlatan.png


9 Symptoms

of UX Charlatans


1st Symptom

ONLY USERS ARE IMPORTANT

Dismissing business/stakeholder needs, pains or questions

Getting lost in User Research

Not creating any valuable outcomes

“it’s all about the users”

The business (+ other stakeholders) should also be your users

We all won’t have a profession if it wasn’t for them and their needs/pains

USERS BUSINESS


USERS

2nd Symptom

DO WHAT BUSINESS WANTS

react only to the direct demands of the business or other stakeholders

do, do ,do - deliver, deliver, deliver

no critical thinking

care more about “networking” and their salary/title, than the product/service

“it’s all about the money”

being reactive, rather than proactive doesn’t help the business at all

+ empowers them to repeat mistakes

BUSINESS


3rd Symptom

KNOW-IT-ALL

Trust-me attitude + strong ego

Know all the answers straight away

Give solutions, rather than uncovering different solution-paths

“we have to do ‘Agile’, it’s what Google and Netflix are doing”

no one alone can be in possession of the ultimate truth!

you can only strive to uncover it in an objective, informed way

collaboration and iteration are key

BUSINESS USERS


USERS

4th Symptom

SWEET TALK

Say things that sound right

Make strong and confident statements

No substance – no practical coverage of their words, no reality-check

“I have over 15 years experience in the digital area”

If you want to change mindsets then you’ll probably need practical examples

You’ll also need to talk about the bad/hard stuff and about fails

“Hype vs. Change = Talking vs. Doing”, Rupert Platz

BUSINESS


5th Symptom

MASK IT WITH JARGON

when sweet talk is not enough they tend to hide behind jargon

they seem to feel more expert and it raises their ego, when no else understands them

“we definitely need Contextual Inquiries to get the User Profiles”

If no one understands you, then no one will see your value either

Better to explain, than to only state “the right way to the truth”

MVP BIZ


6th Symptom

JUST RETURN THE BALL

They are good at delegating and/or fishing for information and ideas

They are better in adapting into the current situation, but have hardly the experience to take well informed decisions or make predictons

Can’t say “I don’t know”

“Remind me again what CTA was?”

Asking further/deeper questions will make a Charlatan insecure.

Count on your logic, not on buzzwords

CONFIDENCE EGO


WIRE-FRAMES

7th Symptom

UX IS ALL IN THE TOOLS

Strong advocates of specific tools

Usually, don’t like trying out new stuff

Only concentrating on tangible outputs, not on outcomes

“I use Axure and Photoshop”

one should be interested in and consider long-term strategies and solutions, rather than just quick fixes

it’s useful to have a wider range of tools to chose from, depending on the different user/business needs

BUSINESS


8th Symptom

UX IS JUST DIGITAL

Also, only concentrating on tangible outputs, rather than solution paths

Acting only on one channel/touch-point in isolation, rather than looking at an overall journey

“We are only resposible of the platform/website”

the experience, is the front stage of the entire product/service –everything that the user interacts with

…and the user is an actual human, not a predictable robot or algorithm

USABILITY


9th Symptom

WORKING WITH/FOR UX DESIGNERS IS ENOUGH

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Summary - 9 Symptoms

If 3 or more of the following symptoms appear on more than 3 encounters, you are probably dealing with a UX-Charlatan:

1. ONLY USERS ARE IMPORTANT

2. DO WHAT BUSINESS WANTS

3. KNOW-IT-ALL

4. SWEET TALK

5. MASK IT WITH JARGON

6. JUST RETURN THE BALL

7. UX IS ALL IN THE TOOLS

8. UX IS JUST DIGITAL

9. WORKING WITH/FOR UX DESIGNERS IS ENOUGH


BUT WHAT IS UX THEN?

I will let the “father of UX” explain…


Don Norman

video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BdtGjoIN4E


WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Similar traits in great UX Designers


Some UX-Mindset Observations

Great Design-Thinkers:

• Will hardly give you a direct solution – probably rather ask you questions about the problem and context

• Don’t feel comfortable jumping into decisions/commitments without enough context or insights

• Learn to be comfortable with being proven wrong

• Become modest with time, egos vanish

• Realize that collaboration is key, as they can’t know everything in detail

• Have ta ability to zoom out and look at the bigger picture

• Are analytical and empathetic

• Are NOT F***ING UNICORNS!


Martina Mitzieva-VegliaUX Designer & Psychologist

[email protected], skype, twitter: Martina Mitz

currently:Portsmouth, UK

Thank You!

UX Camp Berlin 2017

Date post:	24-Jan-2018
Category:	Design
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