creating tangible experiences - stc summit slides

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PREPARED BY

Let’s Get Real: Creating Tangible Experiences

@MARSINTHESTARS

June 23, 2015

STC Summit

Marli Mesibov, Director of Content StrategyMad*Pow

2STC Summit | @marsinthestars

Who am I?

• Director of Content Strategy at Mad*Pow

• Managing Editor of UX Booth

• Find me on Twitter @marsinthestars

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1. What is an artist?

2. No more deliverables

3. Service provider woes

4. Get hit by a bus

5. Think forward

STC Summit | @marsinthestars

Today’s Agenda


What is an Artist?


What Does “Artist” Mean?

“An artist should create beautiful things.” –Oscar Wilde

“What if I don’t make anything?” –Voices in Marli’s head


What Does “Artist” Mean?

Type of artist Process Output

Writer Writing Book

Painter Painting Paintings

Sculptor Sculpting Knick knacks

Musician Playing Recordings

Knitter Knitting Hats, scarves, sweaters

Cinematographer Filmmaking Movies

Composer Composition Songs, music scores

Photographer Photography Pictures

Performance artist “Creation” Videos, ephemeral experiences


I Am Not an Artist


User Experience

Definition (noun): A field where creative people find jobs that feel like art but pay like investment banking.


User Experience

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.


Products vs. Experiences


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


The Problem with Deliverables


The Problem with Deliverables


Lean UX Goals

• Collaboration• Constant education and process-improvement• Quick iteration• User-focus• Creating an experience


The Lean UX Process


Service Provider Woes



What do you do?


Service Provider (&content strategy) Woes

Right. So you’re a copywriter?



…what is it you do?


Process vs. Deliverable

Process• End goal is to learn

or grow.• Specific steps are

incredibly valuable.• The client is integral

to the project.• UX is a process.

Deliverable• End goal is to build

a “thing.”• Specific steps don’t matter.• The client may or may not

be involved.• UX may create

deliverables.


Benefits to Deliverables

• 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.


Get Hit by a Bus


What if a Bus Hit You?


What Would You Leave Behind?

• 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?


Deliverables!

“Let me be very clear: Lean UX is not “anti-deliverables.”

-Jeff Gothelf, Lean UX is Not Anti-Deliverables


TL; DR

We create experiences, not deliverables.

However, we do create artifacts along the way that make those experiences sustainable.


Think Forward


Steps to Thinking Forward

• What can we measure?• Who is creating, and what are they creating?• What happens if I leave tomorrow?• Experiences are ephemeral.


What Can We Measure?

• 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.


Who is On the Ground Level?

• Consultants are important. Strategies take time.

• Tangible proof takes MORE time.• Don’t screw over the worker bees.


What Happens if I Leave?

• 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?


Experiences are Ephemeral

• 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.

33STC Summit| @marsinthestars

Thank you!

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