@srijan #SrijanWW

All content provided in this document is for informational purposes only. It does not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of people and organisation I am currently associated with or from the past. It is solely my opinion.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR

OR BE ONE!ONE-MAN UX ARMY.

Yogesh Bhagchandani@pixelfiesta

@srijan #SrijanWW

What this covers

• Whom to hire your UXer (Qualities/ Responsibilities)

• What to expect from your UXer?• How to facilitate UX• How to make everybody think UX• ...and set the ball rolling

@srijan #SrijanWW

QUALITIES/ RESPONSIBILITIES

@srijan #SrijanWW

Hire wisely

• UI+UX+HTML+CSS+Javascript+JQuery+Flash+everythingNO!

• Don’t try to get a cheap deal Don’t get a SPORK

@srijan #SrijanWW

Hire them if...

• They have failed in their own product/ entrepreneurship skills

• They have managed multiple jobs before• They have made shifts in career

(Advertising, Marketing, Design to UX)

• Catch them young!

@srijan #SrijanWW

When to get him onboard

• Hire your designer before your developer• Involve him when you are thinking or validating

your idea

@srijan #SrijanWW

Responsibilities

• User Interviews• Research• Personas• Prototyping/Layouts• User Tests

@srijan #SrijanWW

FACILITATING THE UX CULTURE

@srijan #SrijanWW

Empower your UXer

• Research (Primary/ Secondary)• Surveys or Validations• Interviews/ Talk to users

Love thy user.

@srijan #SrijanWW

Allocate a budget

• Agency• For incentivising users• Meet users in person• Insist on feedbacks

@srijan #SrijanWW

• Do not re-invent• Facebook ‘Like’ / ‘name tagging’• Copy patterns, success stories,

not mistakes• Reduces learning curve for users

Allow copy/ changes

@srijan #SrijanWW

Never compare.

• No Dribbble or Behance• Who created it? When? • Was it published, sold or released?

@srijan #SrijanWW

Imperfection is OK!

• No Pixel-perfect layouts• No fine-tuning• Try half-baked product• Don’t chase gorgeousness in UI

If you are not embarrassed by your first version of your product, you have launched too late.

—Reid Hoffman, Founder of Linkedin

@srijan #SrijanWW

No big show.

• Nobody bothers about what you think is important

• Who is using your product right now?• You will always have time to improve• Design has to evolve

Ship crappy, Be happy.

@srijan #SrijanWW

Early Linkedin

@srijan #SrijanWW

You (UXer) are everything!

• Do everything when you are on it.• Workflows, Layout, Content• No lorem-ipsum. Write your UI copy• If you cannot communicate your thoughts, nobody

else can

@srijan #SrijanWW

Ban Photoshop

• Atleast keep them away• Pen and paper works best• Use whiteboards than a

21” screen

@srijan #SrijanWW

First sketch of Twitter

@srijan #SrijanWW

Facilitate

• With lots and lots of space• To write, draw, sketch, scribble, discuss, iterate,

re-iterate• Get sticky-notes (post-its)

• Make everyone participate (Doodling is best)

@srijan #SrijanWW

Remove mental blocks.

• Set a release date. Announce.• Nothing works without a deadline• Have a countdown. Put it up in a room

@srijan #SrijanWW

Leave it to the specialist.

• Control the designer in youA certain interaction pattern you like might not be appropriate in your context

• Do not guide/ suggest• Because you are the CEO and he is the designer

@srijan #SrijanWW

Submerge into everything

• UX guy knows your product well• Co-create website, e-mailers, sales pitch,

brochures, presentations, etc• Or whatever it takes to promote your product

@srijan #SrijanWW

EVERYBODY THINKS UX

@srijan #SrijanWW

Give freedom

• Facilitate meet-ups. Host some at your place• Let them co-create products• Conduct hackathons. Invite friends• Solve problems together• Allow freelance

Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to.

—Richard Branson

@srijan #SrijanWW

Create the atmosphere

• Get books. Lots and lots of them• Anything that can boost creativity

Toys/ Games/ Puzzles

• Put up posters

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

—Marcus Tullius Cicero

@srijan #SrijanWW

Who is your design team?

• Not just the immediate teami.e. Information architects, designer, researcher

• Everyone who contributes in building the product• Developer are creative too.

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.

—Steve Jobs

@srijan #SrijanWW

Avoid remote teams

• Greater difficulty in co-ordination, compared to single location

• Smaller the room, greater the communication

• Easy to sketch and share Vs Sketch, Scan, Email then wait for response

Facebook survived 34 Intense Days Of "Lockdown" To Build Graph Search

@srijan #SrijanWW

SET THE BALL ROLLING

@srijan #SrijanWW

• Hire wisely. And early.• Empower with Research • Allocate UX budget - Incentives, Agency, etc • Do not reinvent. Reduce learning curve.

(Focus on problem-solving)

• Let design evolve. (Don't plan a ceremonial launches)

• Facilitate (Lots of space to sketch and draw)

• Submerge (website, e-mailers, sales pitch, brochures, presentations, etc)

• Freedom. To co-create with anyone interested.• Create the atmosphere. Think creatively.• Encourage everything to be customer focussed.

@srijan #SrijanWWTake this conversation online by tweeting using the hashtag

THANK YOU

Yogesh Bhagchandani@pixelfiesta