TOWARDS A F*CK UP M@N1F3STØ

How do we incorporate f*cking up into the user experience design process?

Grawlix Typographical symbols standing for profanities, appearing in dialogue balloons in place of actual dialogue. Invented by American cartoonist Mort Walker.!!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_Walker!

The Romance of Failure

Ben Huh Setup: Huh was a 22-year-old journalism major when he moved to Chicago and founded software analytics firm Raydium in January 2000... he cobbled together $750,000 over two rounds. "Uh-oh" moment: Eighteen months later, he hit a wall. "You're hopeful to the end, but we were flat out of money and couldn't meet payroll," he says... For two weeks, he says, he could barely leave his room. The way out: Six years passed before Huh decided to buy I Can Haz Cheezburger and begin building his funny-blog empire... "You know how painful it can be, but you do it anyway," he says. "I think you are better prepared, mentally and financially, but you never know if it's going to be successful. That's called maturity.” http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225204#hipswap

One Reality of Failure

But ultimately, he succeeded...

Another Reality of Failure

SO"in our world...

Failure is Fine !  For entrepreneurs & startups !  When it’s a means to an ends !  When overcoming an obstacle adds to a success story !  When the risk of failure is assumed & accepted by the $

people !  When the creator has longevity, endurance, and sticks

with the project !  When you learn from it

Failure Sucks !  For consultants & agencies !  When it’s the final word !  When you can’t see see past the obstacle !  When asses need to be covered !  When the designer doesn’t or can’t stick it out !  When you can’t learn from it

BUT"in the world of creativity & art...

FAILURE ROCKS!

Failure Is The Heart of Creativity Failure is awesome/acceptable when we call it: •  Play •  Experimentation •  Fun When it fuels us When we don’t fear it, or fear it, but don’t shy away from it When it leads us to do something no one’s ever done before

When we learn from it

I RISK FAILURE"ALL THE TIME

I Risk Failure When I play music: •  Will I keep time, hit the right notes, play “right”? When I get on stage or in front of a camera: •  Will they laugh at me? Or not laugh with me? When I write: •  Will anyone read it? Do I have anything to say? When I run workshops: •  Will any of you really care about any of this?

BUT

Because I Risk Failure I Gain Experience I learn new things & have new experiences I find new joys I meet new people I do things I’ve never done before I make movies, play music, act, write, run workshops I lose fear I take more risks—even risk the next failure

And, consequentially, I get better at creating

SO

WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR"

ME TO FAIL AT WORK?

Hard, Yes, But I Can Do It! Just not always in constructive/creative ways... •  I fail because I’m afraid to take risks •  I fail because I “show off” through over design •  I fail because I take feedback as an indictment

In short, I fail because I’m afraid

How Are You Afraid to Fail? Me? •  I’m afraid to be wrong •  I’m afraid to lose control How about you? •  •  • 

Let’s change our relationship to failure—make failure an

accepted part of our process. Let’s share our F*CK UPS.

F*CK UPS ANONYMOUS

Hi, I’m Jason, ���and I’m a failure.

This is where you say:

Hi Jason.

Can we cut through the pleasantries, so I can tear this piece of SH*T apart?

My client at ESPN talking about a first draft wireframe deck.

ESPN’s DIGITAL CONVERSION PROJECT

I Actually Learned A TON From That Feedback

•  I listened to his criticisms with an open mind •  I realized I was over designing because I was so excited

about my first time designing for touch screens •  I went back to thinking about my users, and most

importantly their environments •  I simplified, simplified, simplified And helped create the interfaces that drive one of the biggest HD digital broadcast studios in the world.

So... What’s your most embarrassing work failure?

And how did you handle it?

F*CK UPS ANONYMOUS

F*CK UPS ANOMYMOUS RULES & REGS •  Publically share our failures •  Listen without judgment for similarities, and outliers •  No “should haves” “could haves” or “would haves” •  Capture on Post-Its

–  Themes –  Questions –  Feelings –  Observations

STICKIE BREAK!

WANNA HELP ME"WRITE THE

MANIFESTO?

WHY I THINK FAILURE MATTERS IN UX DESIGN

•  Our clients want something new, innovative, different, fun, fresh, exciting

•  Our clients want something successful •  Our clients want something they can be proud of

Not taking risks, doing boring evolutionary design, and simply applying best practices doesn’t do any of this

WHY I THINK FAILURE IS HARD IN UX DESIGN •  Our clients want to cover their asses •  Our clients want something proven •  Our clients want something they can measure •  Our clients don’t want to pay for process—failure costs more

by the hour. •  Our clients can be “risk averse”

And risk aversion is the antithesis of F*CKING UP

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Is having space to F*CK UP important in the design process? Why? Why not? •  •  • 

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS ON

THE MANIFESTO

LET’S FORMALLY ADD FAILURE TO THE PROCESS

1.  Show why F*CKING UP is important to our clients 2.  Get our clients to commit to be our fail buddies 3.  Formalize some rules for F*CKING UP 4.  Incorporate testing and validation into the process to

learn from our F*CK UPS

Then show how F*CKING UP can lead to the creation of amazing things

WHAT DO YOU THINK? What would you add to this? What would you take out? •  •  • 

SHOW WHY F*CKING UP IS IMPORTANT

1

THE SAFE ZONE

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea DANGER DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

I WENT TO THE DANGER ZONE!

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Idea

THE FIN

ISH LIN

E

THE SAFE ZONE

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Idea

DANGER DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

I WENT TO THE DANGER ZONE!

THE FIN

ISH LIN

E

THE SAFE ZONE

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Design Iteration   YAWN  

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Idea

THE FIN

ISH LIN

E

DANGER DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!

I WENT TO THE DANGER ZONE!

THE FIN

ISH LIN

E

Idea THE SAFE ZONE

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea

Idea AND HERE’S WHY

Design

Design Idea

Idea

Iteration  

Iteration   Iteration  

FAIL   Idea Iteration  

Iteration  

COOL!  

Iteration  

COOL!  

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Does this diagram do the trick? (Probably not.) What would? How can we “sell in” F*CKING UP? •  •  • 

GET OUR CLIENTS TO FAIL WITH US

2

WILL YOU BE MY FUDDY? (F*CK-UP-BUDDY)

1.  Can we get our clients to share their fears with us? Can we share our fears with them? Is sharing caring fer realz?

2.  How about including them in our brainstorming sessions? (yeah, I know, brainstorming is broken, let’s get to that too)

3.  How about lifting the hood, and showing them more of our messy process? Would that help?

4.  Can we get them sketching? White boarding? Stickies-ing?

Can we get our clients to have fun with us?

WHAT DO YOU THINK? How do we get our clients to partner with us? Even when it’s FUGLY? How can we start F*CKING UP, and stop blamestorming? •  •  • 

FORMALIZE F*CKING UP 3

THE FIRST RULE OF F*CK UP CLUB IS... 1.  Set the stage with a GOOFY DANCE (or Twister, or Charades, or

whatever you can think of to get the seriousness out of the room)

2.  Try a puppet show– come up with a different way to express the problem, or idea.

3.  Replace brainstorming meetings with a “worst idea you can think of” meeting

4.  Sketch, sketch, sketch, for at least ½ the design process (At least ¼??)

Can’t we all have some fun with this?

WHAT DO YOU THINK? How can we formally add F*CKING UP into our process? What activities can we include? What do we have to watch out for? •  •  • 

LEARN FROM F*CKING UP 4

THIS WILL BE ON THE TEST... 1.  Let’s incorporate user testing at all levels of the process 2.  Let’s share our early ideas—even the craziest ones 3.  Let’s listen to our user rep’s feedback, discounting most of

what they say of course, and really focus on their reactions—are they excited, giddy, leery?

4.  Let’s keep pursuing at least one really oddball idea for most of the design process, test it, and determine what out of it can be included in our final design

Don’t take it personally. This is about F*CKING UP, isn’t it?

WHAT DO YOU THINK? How can we learn from our F*CK UPS? How can our worst ideas to inform our best ones? How do we test this stuff? •  •  • 

F*CK UP"AMAZING 5

FCKUP""

design