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PREPARED BY
Let’s Get Real: Creating Tangible Experiences
@MARSINTHESTARS
September 22, 2015
Content Strategy Summit
Marli Mesibov, Director of Content StrategyMad*Pow
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• Director of Content Strategy at Mad*Pow
• Managing Editor of UX Booth
• Find me on Twitter @marsinthestars
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Who am I?
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1. What is an artist?
2. No more deliverables
3. The Lean UX Blues
4. Get hit by a bus
5. Think forward
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Today’s Agenda
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WHAT IS AN ARTIST?
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“An artist should create beautiful things.” –Oscar Wilde
“What if I don’t make anything?” –Voices in Marli’s head
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What Does “Artist” Mean?
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Most Artists Make Things
Type of artist Process OutputWriter Writing BookPainter Painting PaintingsSculptor Sculpting Knick knacksMusician Playing RecordingsKnitter Knitting Hats, scarves, sweaters
Cinematographer Filmmaking MoviesComposer Composition Songs, music scoresPhotographer Photography PicturesPerformance artist “Creation” Videos, ephemeral
experiences
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I Am Not an Artist
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Definition (noun): A field where creative people find jobs that feel like art but pay like grownup jobs.
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User Experience
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Many UX Jobs Make Things
Job Process Output
Interaction designer Sketching/Wireframing Wireframes
Visual designer Designing Mockups
Copywriter Writing Copy decks
Project manager Managing/Scheduling Schedules and budgets
Information Architect Organizing Site maps
User researcher Interviewing/Testing Reports
Content strategist Planning/Strategizing ???
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We create experiences.
Some of us make products.
Users feel experiences.
Users touch products.
Users expect experiences.
Users pay for products.
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Products vs. Experiences
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NO MORE DELIVERABLES
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“[UX Designers are] measured and compensated for the depth and breadth of their deliverables instead of the quality and success of the experiences they design.” –Jeff Gothelf, Lean UX: Getting Out of the Deliverables Business
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The Problem with Deliverables
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• Collaboration
• Constant education and process-improvement
• Quick iteration
• User-focus
• Creating an experience
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Lean UX Goals
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The Lean UX Process
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THE LEAN UX BLUES
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What do you do?
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The Lean UX Blues
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Right. So you’re a copywriter?
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The Lean UX (and content strategy) Blues
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…so, what is it you do again?
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The Lean UX Blues
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Process
• End goal is to learn or grow.
• Specific steps are incredibly valuable.
• The client is integral to the project.
• UX is a process.
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Process vs. Deliverable
Deliverable
• End goal is to build a “thing.”
• Specific steps don’t matter.
• The client may not be involved.
• UX may create deliverables.
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• Tangible deliverables help outsiders to understand what we “do” (if we’re sure we aren’t doing the copywriting).
• Connecting our process to an outcome helps outsiders to recognize our “value.”
• Leaving clients with a physical thing helps them to remember our takeaways and advice.
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Benefits to Deliverables
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GET HIT BY A BUS
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What if a Bus Hit You?
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• Could someone else follow the timeline?
• Could a stranger pick up where you left off?
• Have you updated the team on your progress?
• Are the files accessible?
• What guidelines or strategies are only recorded in your head?
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What Would You Leave Behind?
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“Let me be very clear: Lean UX is not “anti-deliverables.”
-Jeff Gothelf, Lean UX is Not Anti-Deliverables
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Deliverables!
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We create experiences, not deliverables.
However, we do create artifacts along the way that make those experiences sustainable.
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TL; DR
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THINK FORWARD
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• What can we measure?
• Who is creating, and what are they creating?
• What happens if I leave tomorrow?
• Experiences are ephemeral.
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Steps to Thinking Forward
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• My job is to help the user.
• I will know I’ve been successful when ___________________.
• I will measure that success by ___________________.
• If I can’t measure my success, I might miss the mark and not help the user.
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What Can We Measure?
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• Consultants are important. Strategies take time.
• Tangible proof takes MORE time.
• Don’t screw over the worker bees.
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Who is Creating?
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• How does my team communicate?
• What’s the simplest language I can use to explain my work?
• What is complete, what is in progress, and what will be an ongoing process?
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What Happens if I Leave?
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• We can’t fix all perceptions.
• We don’t want to fall back into the pre-Lean UX trap.
• Sometimes you have to suck it up and accept that your client may not “get” what you do, but they like that you’re making their lives better.
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Experiences are Ephemeral
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Thank you!