Great Design through People Skills

or...nice guys finish first

Christina Wodtke

Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web

Why bother?

• Problems– They don’t understand

what I do– We get called in too

late– I don’t want to be a

colorist

• Desires– I want to be taken

seriously– I want my design to

see the light of day– I want to get promoted

The Foundation of Influence

1. Understand your network

2. Know your value

3. Articulate your value

4. Prove it

5. Advertise your successes

6. Package yourself

7. Use persuasion strategies

Understand Your Network

People are everything

Your Network Keeps You Afloat

• When you have a problem

• When you need advice

• When you need information

• When you need to build consensus

• When you don’t even know you need them…

Your Work Network

• People with direct effect on your job– Your boss– Product management– Marketing– Accounting– Your employees

Your Extended Work Network

• Who do you know who– Does what you do – else where– Knows things you need to know– Knows the people you know

How far up can your network go?

Persuasion Strategy #1

Authority“Just doing what I was told”

The Milgram StudiesThe HolocaustJapanese Internment Camps

Titles

Clothes

Body language

Sell down, not up

Your personal network

• Casual Contacts– Security– Coffee shop– Receptionist

• Professional– AIGA, CHI, AIfIA– Alumni associations– Fellow travelers

• Personal– Friends, family

Nurture the Network

• Be friendly and polite always

• Small talk is exercise– good for you

• Don’t always ask for something

• Notice people

• Listen

You have time for this.

Persuasion Strategy #2 Liking

We prefer to say ‘yes’ to the requests of people we know and like

Friends

Physical attractiveness

Similarity

Compliments

Grow your network

• Use org charts to identify people• Target the people who affect your work• Use your network to meet them• Do research first

– What is their background?– What do they think of design?

• Understand company and department issues• Meet them– then meet again. Nurture.• Follow up with an email, article or report.

Persuasion Strategy #3

Reciprocity

We are obligated to repay what another person has done for us

“Free” gifts and samplesCalistoga water

Mailing stickers

Hari Krishna flowers

“You would do the same for me”

Help others grow their network

• It’s nice• It promotes good

feelings• People will do the

same for you• Peter Merholz: master

of the introduction

Know your value

• Why are you valuable?

Know your value

• Why are you valuable to the business?

What are you reading?

Hint: you can read both… and your company’s memos, reports and goals.

Know your value

• Why are you valuable to the business that is unique to your role?– Why can Design help– Why can IA help– Why can User Research help

Do you know the answer?

Exercise

• List your strengths.. All of them• Cross out those that aren’t relevant to

business• Cross out those that others can offer

Now you have your core value

(Note: great to do in a weekly staff meeting!)

User Experience Design is Valuable Because…

• Understand consumer needs and wants• Understand how those can be executed

in product choices• Can prototype and test the value before

expensive building• Can innovate and create unique

productsMore examples?

Articulate your value

• The elevator pitch• What do you say when people ask you what you

do?• What do you say when you can say more?

I create the visual manifestation of the business strategy as set by the board of directors and the CEO

Spin Doctor

“Yes, you have your story of what you've done in your job, but you have to put the best twist on it. On each gig, you must be marketing your worth, marketing Me Inc. “

-- Tom Peters

User Experience Design is Valuable Because…

Through an understanding of core customer desires, needs, and behavior, we design products that are desirable, useful, innovative and keep the company profitable.

Prove it

• Excellence is not enough

• But it’s still required

The proof of the pudding is in the tasting

Make good pudding every day

Become a Master

“Competence in many skills is important, but it's not enough. The act is finding the stuff you love and getting so damn good at it that you become an indispensable human being. “ – Tom Peters

Advertise your successes

• Case studies• Posters• Diagrams• PowerPoint

"Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but nobody else does."

- Steuart Henderson Britt

Package You

• Design yourself• Don’t buy into the

designer myth• Appear to be what

you want to be

• Strategize your stage presence

Would you trust this man with a million dollar project if you were CEO?

How do you communicate?

Three pitcher types• The Showrunner

– Practical intelligence

• The Artist– Bleeds creativity

• The Neophyte – Wants to learn

How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea

by Kimberly D. Elsbach

Harvard Business Review September 2003

Reprint Number R0309J

Will you play the artist? Will you go to important meetings? Do you want to?

Everything you do is you

• What questions do you ask?

• What issues do you pay attention to?

• How are you in meetings?

• What meetings do you attend?

• What does that say about you?

Part Two

You In Action

The Project Lifecycle

Four Key Human Moments

• Requirements gathering

• Design presentations

• Sign off

• Surviving the launch

Requirements gathering

• Critical for– Meeting people– Making them feel heard– Hearing them

Requirements gathering

• Create a requirements document– Living but stable document– Provides reference to motivators– Offers background– Captures decisions– Records sign-off

Requirements Document

1. Project Overview– What are we doing– Why are we doing it– Why are we doing it now– What will be a successful outcome

2. Category Review• Who are the competitors? The players?

Requirements Document

3. Target Audience– Everyone on the web?– Strategic advantage of focus

4. Company Portfolio• What else do they have?

5. Design Objectives & Execution Guidelines– Style guides and exceptions

Requirements Document

6. Project Scope, Timeline and Budget• Talk them through• Do phases• Justify each one

7. Research Data• Collect all previous• Add your own as you go

8. Appendix

Persuasion Strategy #5

Consistency Once we make a choice or take a stand, we will

encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment

Signing petitions & non-binding contracts

The foot-in-the-door technique “Drive Safely” study Long sales pitches

Bait-and-switch

Understand your Players

• What kind of person is the key stakeholder?– Power– Recognition– Social

• What are their design tastes, concerns– Mood boards– Competitive reviews

Mood Boards

• Opportunity to gather values

• Invite stakeholders to play

• Understand their tastes, phobias

Presenting your design

• Before the presentation– Get feedback early– Collect body of work– how we got here

• At the presentation– Recap the history of the project– Reiterate goals (memes good)– Discuss process to arrive– research good!

Presentation

• Walk through your design (findings, architecture)

• Explain reasoning• Avoid Jargon• Keep it impersonal and opinion-free

– NEVER use “I like” or “I thought”– Only “It works because…”

• Refer to your consensus activities

Persuasion Strategy #7

Social ProofWe view a behavior as correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it

Canned laughter

“Priming” tip jars

Seeding the audience

“Best selling” & “Most popular”

Presentation

• You can ask to have all question held until the end

• If you don’t know, say so. (But promise a time for the answer)

• Turn pixel criticism into discussions• Take notes!• If you are angry, defer.• Say you will address the issues, but don’t cave.• Thank people for their time.

Sign off

• Get sign off at each critical point

• Get it in writing

• Note the logic behind it… you’ll need it later

Open question: who should have sign off?

Holding on during launch• Earlier Sign off is critical

• Remind panicker of previous logic

• Discuss risk of change

• Discuss time pressures

• Sleep on it

• Be stubborn when it counts

Persuasion Strategy #8

Scarcity Opportunities seem more valuable to us when they are

less available

Supply and demand Scarce resources are more valuable More valuable resources are more scarce

Limited time offers “X minutes left to call” “1-Day Only!”

                       

So Remember

1. Understand your network

2. Know your value

3. Articulate your value

4. Prove it

5. Advertise your successes

6. Package yourself

And use Persuasion Strategies Reciprocity

Consistency

Social proof

Liking

Authority

Scarcity

Conclusion

• We aren’t artists

• We aren’t a service

• We are partners in business success

KNOW YOUR VALUE AND HYPE IT

Be great every day

Reading List

Books

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by BeingRemarkable by Seth Godin ISBN: 159184021XLearn to speak to marketing…

First, Break All the Rules: What the World'sGreatest Managers Do Differently by MarcusBuckingham (Author), Curt Coffman (Author) ISBN: 0684852861 It’s what your managers are reading…

Make It Bigger by Paula Scher ISBN: 1568983328 Look ma, a design book! Learn to sell down, not up….

Building Strong Brands by David A. Aaker ISBN: 002900151X Brand is the easiest way to express design value

The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity fromIdeo, America's Leading Design Firm by TomKelley, et al; ISBN: 0385499841 Ideo knows how to sell design solutions

Harvard Business Review Articles

How to Pitch a Brilliant Idea Publication Date: Sep 1, 2003Author(s): Kimberly D Elsbach Product Number: R0309J

What Is Strategy? Publication Date: Feb 1, 2000Author(s): Michael E. Porter Product Number: 4134

Subscribe, there are many more….

Other articles

Soft Skills for Information ArchitectureBy Jeff Lashhttp://www.digital-web.com/columns/ianythinggoes/ianythinggoes_2003-09.shtml

Q&A

Christina Wodtkecwodtke@yahoo-inc.com

www.yahoo.com LEARN MORE!book : : www.blueprintsfortheweb.com

zine : : www.boxesandarrows.com

blog : : www.eleganthack.com

peeps : : www.aifia.org

DRINK MORE!AIfIA F2FDay: Wednesday Oct 15thTime: 8- until we are doneLocation  the Cambridge Brewing Company (two blocks from conference hotel)See website http://www.cambrew.com/