Reasons why your developer hates you…
Posted on October 30, 2009 in Tech, User Experience by LisView Comments

Most people don’t know, that I started my career as a Front-End/Java programmer. Although this stint didn’t last long, the background and experience has proved invaluable to my User Experience career. I get a ton of questions about how to work successfully with your development team, what books one should read to come up to speed, etc. So with the help of some friends I decided to put together a small series to describe what your developer hates about you. This is not meant to include all developers and is not meant to speak for them. These are just observations I’ve made and gone through over the years. That being said, if you have any ideas, opinions, comments please share them with me! I’m looking for feedback to push these ideas further.

So first reason why your developer hates you. Your requirements are unclear and incomplete and yet you expect a concrete answer to your question. Sound familiar? As UX Designers we are constantly crying out for requirements that are more complete. Our designs are only as complete as the requirements that they fulfill. If you give me requirements that are incomplete, how am I supposed to have a concrete user experience? This is exactly the same for your developer. When you ask…. “can this design do ABC?” your developer says “ABC should be possible”. Then you had over ABCDEFG and expect the same answer. As UXers we have to have empathy not only for our users, but also for those consuming our documentation.

Which brings me to my second point… your requirements are unclear. There are times when you receive requirements that are either a) solutions and not requirements (i.e. the system shall present a dropdown with all the states abbreviations) or b) unclear (i.e. the system shall do this action thingy to that jimmy jammie thingy) and we are left saying “huh”? This again is the same thing that we do to our developers. Some people put databases and system talk into their Interaction Design documentation, and to be honest that is really none of our business. (note if this is something you’ve talked about with your development team and they like your documentation this way, that is a different story). We simply need to define the interaction from the user’s perspective not from the system’s… let the development team do what they’ve been trained to do.

On the other side of things sometimes we provide unclear user requirements. Because the interaction is simple enough for the user to use (hopefully) that doesn’t mean that the way you’ve documented it is simple for others to use. Be clear, be concise, be descriptive but most importantly if possible, BE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. Teamwork is key in this business, and people are going to have questions. Ask suggestions on how they would like to see interactions documented in order to make your work clearer in the future. Treat your development team as users of your documentation, research what they understand, what they don’t and cater to their needs.

These tips make it much easier and efficient to work and more importantly foster great working relationships that are fun and exciting. Coming up next: You bring us to the playing field after the game is over.

October Learnings
Posted on October 15, 2009 in User Experience, freelancing by LisView Comments

One of the hardest things about living in NYC is that there are a MILLION things to do and be apart of. Now I’m not complaining, but being an overachieving perfectionist means wanting and feeling I need to be apart of it all… especially when I find myself in one of the coolest professional communities ever. However, this October has brought me some new insights.
First off, I have been sick with a cold for almost two weeks straight. 1) I hardly ever get sick and 2) Once sick I never STAY sick. So I have to stop and ask myself why I’ve been sick for so long. I haven’t changed my eating habits, I still make time to work out most days a week, so my body itself is in pretty good condition to fight off disease. That leaves one answer, I’m going too hard at life! It’s got to be it, and therefore I need to do something about it.
When I look at my schedule compared to some others, I think wow they are REALLY going hard at life, I can’t even compare. But my first learning for this month, is that it’s about what I can handle, and not about others. There is no reason to compare the two. My body simply cannot handle what I’m putting it through. Then I think, well how am I supposed to succeed as a freelancer if I don’t get out there and show myself? And lastly, I really enjoy my craft and the people I’ve met and am going to meet. What’s a UXer to do??
One thing: work/live smarter, not harder. This is learning number 2.
In my attempt to meet others, network, find work, and help out in the UX world, I’ve lost some of my non UX self. In my balancing act, I need to ensure that I make time for this part of me, because exercising it brings creativity and personality to my work which is my differentiator. Also in my attempt to work/live smarter I’ve decided I need to pursue those things that I really enjoy as opposed to those that I think that I “should” go to. To work smarter is to be aware of one’s self, my base, my talents, what I need to work on, etc. This always needs to be top of mind, or I’ll be grasping for straws and trying to improve and enhance everything all at once, which is where I have been at for too long. Lastly, I’ve taken everything that has been in my mind as “I have to get this done” written it down, and prioritized it. I’ll focus on the top priority until it is done or at a stand still, then move down the list. The most important part is that highest priority doesn’t always mean right now, it means work on first.
So that was my October so far. I’m still a work in progress (and always will be!), however I think that I am on my way to a balanced state. One that I can maintain and one I can be happy to call my life. Now… to kick this cold!

October’s NY Tech Meetup
Posted on October 7, 2009 in Entrepreneurs, Independent Consulting, freelancing by LisView Comments

Last night I FINALLY attended my first NY Tech Meetup (thanks for the heads up Whitney and Ann B!) and it was awesome. I’ve been meaning to attend for some time, but never took the opportunity. I’m so glad that I did.
For those of you who haven’t heard of it, the NY Tech Meetup brings together people who are interested in the tech space, people who are from many different backgrounds. There are some announcements and then there are demos of upcoming sites (mostly in beta). After the demos there is time to talk and mingle, which is a GREAT time to showcase your networking skills. Lastly everyone heads out for drinks and more mingling. Sadly I didn’t have the stamina to attend the post meetup event. Still working on getting to that one.
I did want to be sure to call out some of the great demos that I saw last night, and encourage you to check them out! SetJam looks to make watching any show or movie of your choice easier and cheaper that the cable alternative. Postling is an interesting and easy way for businesses to manage their social media. Tagnic is a fun way to utilize Twitter. CloudContacts helps to manage all your physical business cards electronically. And AnyClip introduces a new way to search and tag. All great ideas that you should take a few minutes to check out. Note that some of these are still in private Beta mode, however see if you can get on the list if you are interested in using them.
Lastly I wanted to bring up the Big App competition that was showcased last night. It’s a competition that is being put together by NYC and a group that runs ChallengePost.com. Go to the challenge on ChallengePost to read more!
As you can see this was a lot of fun and a TON of cool and useful info. I’ll be sure to make it out next time, and you never know maybe I’ll hang in there for the after party.