The Craft of CollaborationCollaborate 2015 Jason Mesut, Resonant Design and Innovation

@jasonmesut

When I hear ‘Collaborate’ I think of this…

Ice Ice Baby video

“alright, stop, collaborate and listen”Vanilla Ice

“if you’ve got a problem, yo i’ll solve it”Vanilla Ice

“if you’ve got a problem, yo i’ll solve it”Too many designers

Don’t be the VI of UX

Design challenges getting more complex

Increasing numbers and types of collaborators

– Data scientists – Industrial Designers – Developers – Visual designers – Marketers – Business analysts – Engineers – Call centre staff – Strategists

Collaboration has always been important

Collaboration has always been important

But fundamentally difficult

Collaboration has always been important

But fundamentally difficult

It relies on human connections

Collaboration has always been important

But fundamentally difficult

It relies on human connections

Humans are messy

Digital folk don’t even understand each other

We don’t agree amongst ourselves

What’s the collective noun for UXers?

What’s the collective noun for UXers?

A flock of sheep

1

What’s the collective noun for UXers?

A flock of sheep

A school of fish

1 2

What’s the collective noun for UXers?

A flock of sheep

A school of fish

An argument of UXers

1 2 3

UX has done a pretty good job of making itself complicated in a short period of time with all the different sub-disciplines: IA, IxD, etc.

The more compartmentalised, the worse the result.

Marcus Hoggarth Industrial Design Director, Native

UX is confusing

Competition between ‘partners’

Competition between ‘partners’

Talent is scarce

Competition between ‘partners’

Talent is scarce

Process materials are sacred

Competition between ‘partners’

Talent is scarce

Process materials are sacred

They all want a bigger piece

Contractual mismatches

Fixed cost Time and materials Resource + time

1 2 3

Process differences

Agile Waterfall Something completely different

1 2 3

There is a cost of collaboration

There is a cost of collaboration

But a bigger cost of not collaborating

There is a cost of collaboration

But a bigger cost of not collaborating

It’s just getting harder to estimate

There is a cost of collaboration

But a bigger cost of not collaborating

It’s just getting harder to estimate

And sponsors always want more for less

There’s never enough time

There’s never enough money

There’s never enough space

Designers are normally quite introverted individuals Struggle with connecting to others

How can we get clarity through this fog?

Caveat My answers are based on my experience

Context for this talk

Personal experience over 16 years in UX

Research around Industrial Design and UX

Current experience on some interesting projects+ +

1 2 3

Brunel

Industrial Designer

Interaction Designer

User Experience Consultant

Director of User Experience

Head of User Experience

Yell PA Consulting Flow Oyster / Framfab / LBi

The Team RMA Plan

‘96 ‘15

– Service designer – Product strategist – Researcher

– Designer – Leader – Manager – Consultant

4 years Local leader

Interaction Design Association

L o n d o n

Subjects over 4 years Internet of Things Future of publishing Urban environment Smart materials Mobility / Automotive Clinical applications

My personal context

Confidence

Shy

Vocal

Leader / Manager

Good

Terrible

Working preferences

With others

By myself

Building on research

Industrial Designers

Industrial Designers Digital / UX Designers

Interviewed over 40 designers

Experience with big names

Consultancies Manufacturers Education

Building on recent project experience A new transportation service

– Helps people unlock London – Mobile apps and wider digital services – Spaces, places, people, vehicles, interactions

Icons created by Vicons Design from the Noun Project

?

Key project partners

– Automotive client – Call centre services company – Brand agency – App development company – Systems integrator – Product strategy consultancy – Marketing and advertising company – Political negotiations – PR groups – Maintenance company – Hardware companies – Payment provider

Current project roles

– Algorithm experts – Product owners – Product designers – Developers – Researchers – 2D Designers – 3D Designers – Design strategists – Product strategists – Content strategists – Strategist strategists

A lot of overlaps in what we contribute to

– Proposition – Service ideas – Marketing ideas – Design details – Language

A lot of opinions about everything

How can we better collaborate with an increasing number of stakeholders of different backgrounds? ?

Endless advice on how to collaborate

Too many half answers and silver bullets

We have plenty of tools and techniques

Workshop tricks ain’t gonna save usBut this is a great book

Agile or Lean ain’t gonna save usBut there’s mileage in some of the approaches for some of our projects

Post-its ain’t gonna save usBut we do have a healthy obsession

Slack ain’t gonna save usAlthough it helps with ongoing banter

SharePoint?Everything but a place to share

Skype ain’t gonna save usWebEx, hangouts and more all suffer from the same problem

A useful exercise, for sure, but hard to do all the time

Or even sketching + prototyping together

Neither will an experience mapAlthough communication tools do help especially if others are involved

These are all valuable tools at your disposalBut they are not enough

We also have some useful scientif-ish theory

Jazz ain’t gonna save usAlthough I totally embrace some of the principles behind this

There are useful models in team dynamics

BelbinDifferent team roles

Myers BriggsDifferent personality styles

Tuckman4 stages of group development

MesutCreating the Perfect Experience Architect

Some attributes important for over 10 years

– Team player – Empathy (users, business, tech) – Pragmatism – People/relationship sills – Listening skills – Passion & energy – Strong backbone

All useful But I want to give a different perspective

Hypothesis Collaboration is a craft

Part science Theories and frameworks

Part art Your own self expression and style

Mostly craft Theory, tools, own style and lots of practice

I believe We need more fundamentalsStrategies, principles and practices

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Find common ground

Connect on a personal level

Respect differences

Fun1

Craft of collaboration fundamentals

Strategies, Principles,

Skills

Myers Briggs

Belbin Tucken

Jazz

3 Key Iterative Strategies 6 Key Principles

6 Key Skills

A framework for collaboration

Connect

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Calibrate

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Create

Connect

Find common ground

Connect on a personal level

Respect differences

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Calibrate

Adapt ourselves

Adapt our processes

Translate our language

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Create

Relationships

Together or alone

New value

Connect

Find common ground

Connect on a personal level

Respect differences

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Jargon

Documentation

Communication

Motivation

Values

Principles

Methods

Software

Approaches

Value

Uniqueness

Horizons

Timelines

Pace

Offer Mindset Language Tools Time

Key ground

Jargon

Documentation

Communication

Motivation

Values

Principles

Methods

Software

Approaches

Value

Uniqueness

Horizons

Timelines

Pace

Offer Mindset Language Tools Time

Identify overlaps

Respect differences

Respect differences

– Agile – Lean – Waterfall – UCD – Native vs. web – Mobile first – Six Sigma

I setup a monthly lunch with the director of R&D.  It helps that we both care about the same thing. That helped bring down any barriers. I worked to understand his and his team’s goals, so that we could better support them and work closer together.

Nick Myers Director User Experience Design, Fitbit

Connect on a personal level

Practice Learning others’ perspectives

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other perspectives

Planning and preparing

Sharing at right time

Learning others’ perspectives

a. Research specific topics in others’ media of choice

b. Meet lots of people c. Capture what others say

Connect as a team

Socialise

Moan

Celebrate successes

Practice Listening

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other perspectives

Planning and preparing

Sharing at right time

Listening

a. Listen to language others use b. Really listen to what they are saying

and what they are not c. Probe and capture d. Show interest

Example Share experiences and perspectives at project kick-off

Favourite project

Something you love

What people say about you

Ways you like to work

Hopes and fears for the project

Establish team working principles

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourselfPrinciple Be human

Be human

a. Be passionate b. Show weakness c. Be yourself (with a twist)

Calibrate

Unite on a common purpose

Adapt ourselves

Adapt our processes

Translate our language

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

I’ve found the best way to get integration is to get away from the features and unite on the higher goals

Scott Jenson Product Strategy, Google

Unite on a common purpose

We structure projects so industrial designers, interaction designers, mechanical engineers, and strategists can do the research together.

David Sherwin Director of User Experience, lynda.com, LinkedIn

Research together

Photograph by Misha Miller

Align efforts where it matters most You can’t innovate everywhere

Principle Hold up a mirror

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

2. Hold up a mirror

a. Take a 3rd person perspective b. Record your behaviour c. Watch yourself d. Listen to yourself

Know your own tone of voice In different situations

When you’re

– Stressed

– Happy

– Excited

– Tired

– Disagreeing with someone

Know your own tone of voice

Know-it-all Teacher Mother

Oracle Antagonist

Naysayer

OptimistThinker

Watch your body language Stance, arms, hands, head

lonerwolf.com

And your facial expressions Smirks, scowls, smiles

Listen to the language you use + other’s reactions Do they understand you?

Principle Establish common frames

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

Establish common frames Define your terms

Establish common frames Clarify roles +responsibilities

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

Principle Flex yourself

Flex yourself Adapt yourself to your environment

Flex yourself

a. Be prepared to change b. Adapt your behaviours and tone of voice c. Adapt your language d. Adapt your ways of working

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Create

Relationships

Together or alone

New value

Create relationshipsPersonal + professional

Create togetherIn the right space, with banter

Create together Celebrate and take the knocks together

Blame is toxicBe careful of taking others down for your gain

Collaborate away from project work

We run Interaction Labs events and people collaborate across the studio

Heather MartinVP of Design, SmartDesign

Principle Foster friendly friction

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

Foster friendly friction

a. Have strong opinions held weakly b. Don’t tread on others’ toes c. Find right tone of voice to disagree d. Follow-up after conflict

Practice Capturing

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other perspectives

Planning and preparing

Sharing at right time

Capturing

a. Capture key notes b. Capture key phrases people use c. Try to document decisions and feedback

Create aloneGive yourself and others time and space

Communicate virtuallyKeep comms alive on phone, VOIP or chat

Communicate physicallyCreate focal points of progress

Practice Sharing at the right time in the right way

Sharing at right time

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other perspectives

Planning and preparing

Sharing

a. Share meeting / session outputs quickly b. Share useful references c. Share work ugly early, but caveat d. Respect people’s inboxes

Share regularly

At Palm, we did show and tells across ID and UX. IDs would bring their models and we would offer suggestions and opinions. We would bring our interface concepts or prototypes and they would share their ideas too.

Kim Lenox Director of User Experience Design, LinkedIn

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other perspectives

Planning and preparing

Sharing at right time

Practice Talking

Talking

a. Speak concisely b. To different sized groups c. Know when to speak up d. Know when to shut up

Practice Planning and preparation

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other perspectives

Planning and preparing

Sharing at right time

Planning and preparation

a. Give yourself time to prepare b. Research people and environments c. Get others on board before large sessions

Principle Practice, practice, practice

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

How can we better collaborate with an increasing number of stakeholders of different backgrounds? ?

Create Ca

libra

te

Connect

Strategies

C

reate

C

alib

rate

Connect

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourselfPrinciples

C

reate

C

alib

rate

Connect

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

Crafting Collaboration

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other

perspectives

Planning and

preparing

Sharing at

right time

Skills

Thank you@jasonmesut

C

reate

C

alib

rate

Connect

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

Craft ofCollaboration

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other

perspectives

Planning and

preparing

Sharing at

right time

Thank youCollaborate 2015 Jason Mesut, Resonant Design and Innovation

@jasonmesut

C

reate

Calib

rate

Connect

Be

human

Hold up

a mirror

Establish

frames

Foster

friendly

friction

Practice,

practice,

practice

Flex

yourself

Craft ofCollaboration

Talking

Capturing

Listening

Learning other

perspectives

Planning and

preparing

Sharing at

right time