The 3 Cs of Design - Charters, Critique, and Culture - Interaction South America 2015
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I’ve worked for a lot of idiot managers in my career. And then, one day, after I had become a design manager myself, it finally dawned on me: Now I’m the idiot! I had a lot of ideas about what a good manager is, how one acts, and the exact positioning of where the spotlight should land on the hero, which was absolutely supposed to be me. Thanks, ego. Heroically speaking, I failed on many, many levels. I didn’t understand how to understand a team, and help turn their perceptions and expectations into something shared and agreed upon. I didn’t understand how to foster critique; I only knew that I was in charge of design and that I had the final say. Most of my career has been an exercise in “trial by fire” and this process worked well when I was a designer and was trying to master the art of the task flow, site map, wireframe, prototype, personas, and so on. In leadership positions, the option to go back to the drawing board or to iterate hasn't always been readily available--nor as painless to my pride and potentially my pocketbook. The passing of time, the second and third chances that I’ve been given, and the sound advice that I didn’t want to listen to in the past have opened me up to a much different perspective. Oh, I’ve still got plenty to learn, and I’m excited to share some of what I’ve learned about charters, critique, and culture of design organizations.
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The 3 Cs of Design - Charters, Critique, and Culture - Interaction South America 2015
- 1. RussUnger | @russu|GECapitalAmericas The 3 C’s of Design Russ Unger | @russu Charters, Critique, & Culture
- 2. Russ Unger | @russu Source: Justice League War
- 4. RussUnger | @russu|GECapitalAmericas EVERY NEW LEADER, EVER: Russ Unger | @russu Where’s the Manual? (Almost)
- 6. Russ Unger | @russu Source: Justice League War
- 7. Russ Unger | @russu Therearenogrown-ups.Wesuspectthiswhenweare younger,butcanconfirmitonlyoncewearetheoneswriting booksandattendingparent-teacherconferences. Everyoneiswingingit,somejustdoitmoreconfidently. “ Pamela Druckerman Source: NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/opinion/sunday/what-you-learn-in-your-40s.html
- 8. Russ Unger | @russu Therearenomanagers.Wesuspectthiswhenweare younger,butcanconfirmitonlyoncewearetheoneswriting reviews,SOWs,slidedecksandattendingleadershipretreats. Everyoneiswingingit,somejustdoitmoreconfidently.Everyoneiswingingit,somejustdoitmoreconfidently. Source: NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/opinion/sunday/what-you-learn-in-your-40s.html “ Pamela Druckerman(& Russ)
- 10. RussUnger | @russu|GECapitalAmericas THE TEAM CHARTER
- 11. Russ Unger | @russu What is a Team Charter? Aunifyingplanthatateamagreestoasitsrulesof engagementandgoalsandobjectives. “
- 12. Russ Unger | @russu OUR UX TEAM You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. I'm standing by your side. I'll be right behind. No one loves you more than I do, Put your hand in mine. I can see a part of me in you. A little something special that comes shining through. I hear it in your laughter, And I feel it when you cry, I will be right there for you, Until the day I die. You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. You can count on me. TEAM PURPOSE COMMITMENTS TEAM FOCUS •User Research •Interaction Design •Information Architecture •Information Design •Prototyping •Usability Testing AREAS OF GROWTH You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. I'm standing by your side. I'll be right behind. No one loves you more than I do, Put your hand in mine. PERCEPTION OF TEAM You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. I'm standing by your side. I'll be right behind. No one loves you more than I do, Put your hand in mine. Image Source © Time Inc. It’s Like a Persona. For Your Team.
- 13. Russ Unger | @russu It Requires A Lot of This
- 14. Russ Unger | @russu It Involves Defining All of This…
- 15. Russ Unger | @russu Focus Areas • WhataretheTypesof Work WeDo/WanttoDo? • WhataretheTypesof WorkWe DONOTDo/DoNOTWantto Do? • User Research • Interaction Design • Information Architecture • Information Design • Prototyping • Usability Testing WHAT WE DO
- 16. Russ Unger | @russu Team Purpose • Whatdoesthisteamdo? • Whatarewegoodat? • Whatshouldwebeknownfor? The UX team works with our customers to create useful and usable designs that meets the needs of our users and serves the business goals and objectives. We understand our users--their needs, behaviors and motivations and provide insight into how they use the products that we design. OUR UX TEAM
- 17. Russ Unger | @russu Team Commitment to Each Other • HowDoWeWanttoWork Together? • WhatAreOurExpectationsof EachOther? The UX team works with our customers to create useful and usable designs that meets the needs of our users and serves the business goals and objectives. We understand our users--their needs, behaviors and motivations and provide insight into how they use the products that we design. We work with each other to share our knowledge and grow and strengthen the team in all aspects of UX, and beyond. We acknowledge and respect our peers, their opinions, and the value of their work. We will be critical of work product, yet not the person doing the work. OUR UX TEAM
- 18. Russ Unger | @russu Perception of the Team by Others • HowDoWeWantOthersto ViewOurTeam? • HowDoWeBuildthis Perception? • HowDoWeKnowWe’re There? Experts About Our Users PERCEPTION HOW TO CREATE ACHIEVED BY •Increase research activities •Identify opportunities to build usability testing awareness and activities •Including clients in the user- related activities to show them our process and expose them to users more frequently •Increase the amount of client collaboration that includes user discussions •Common theme/voice for UX team •Colleagues request our expertise in speaking to customers •Colleagues and customers recommend the UX Team’s expertise to our colleagues and customers
- 19. Russ Unger | @russu Areas of Growth / Improvement • WhereDoWeNeedMore Experience? • WhatistheRationaleforthe Need? • HowWillWeKnowWhen We’veAchievedtheGrowth? Experience Mapping GROWTH AREA RATIONALE ACHIEVED BY •Gets everyone involved in identifying touchpoints •Visually describes what the user’s journey looks like •Tell stories and craft narratives from the user’s point of view •Orient teams around a shared understanding of the journey •Expand on scenarios, personas, and mental models •Engaging in 1-3 Experience Mapping activities this year •Proving value through the activities by stakeholder approvals
- 20. Russ Unger | @russu …And Then You Sign It. WeAllAgreetoAllofThis! AGREED UPON BY
- 21. Russ Unger | @russu OUR UX TEAM You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. I'm standing by your side. I'll be right behind. No one loves you more than I do, Put your hand in mine. I can see a part of me in you. A little something special that comes shining through. I hear it in your laughter, And I feel it when you cry, I will be right there for you, Until the day I die. You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. You can count on me. TEAM PURPOSE COMMITMENTS TEAM FOCUS •User Research •Interaction Design •Information Architecture •Information Design •Prototyping •Usability Testing AREAS OF GROWTH You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. I'm standing by your side. I'll be right behind. No one loves you more than I do, Put your hand in mine. PERCEPTION OF TEAM You can count on me. No matter what you do. You can count on me. No matter where you go. I'm standing by your side. I'll be right behind. No one loves you more than I do, Put your hand in mine. Image Source © Time Inc. It’s Like a Persona. For Your Team.
- 22. Russ Unger | @russu It’s Like a Persona. For Your Team. Photos Courtesy of Boon Chew
- 23. Russ Unger | @russu It Can Look Like This
- 24. Russ Unger | @russu Recap: Benefits of A Team Charter • IdentifiesYourTeam’sPurpose • DefinestheTeamCommitmenttoEachOther • ClearlyArticulatesAreasof Focus&Expertise • AcknowledgesAreasof Growth/Improvement • ExplainsHowtheTeamWantstobePerceived • ProvidesUnifiedAgreement UX ^
- 25. RussUnger | @russu|GECapitalAmericas CRITIQUE Image Source © Time Inc.
- 26. Russ Unger | @russu New to Critique? Start Here. Aaron Irizarry & Adam Connor DiscussingDesign.com
- 27. Russ Unger | @russu The Problem Me HowdoImakecritiqueapartof our culture,asaformalizedprocess?
- 28. Russ Unger | @russu Eachoneteachone. “ Kim Goodwin many
- 29. Russ Unger | @russuRuss Unger | @russu Critique Buddies WTF are ? (Now calling it “Continuous Critique”)
- 31. Russ Unger | @russu The Setup L BBB L BBB M • Select“CritiqueLeads” • NominateCritiqueLeads • SelectTeamsof 3-4Buddies • LeadsChoose“Teams” • FocusonConnectingPeople WhoDon’tNormallyWork Together 2-3
- 32. Russ Unger | @russu How It Works • (Bi-)Weekly30minutemeetingswithCritiqueLeads&Buddies • Adhocmeetingsasneededandasavailable • Critiqueshouldworkbothways • (Bi-)WeeklyCritiqueTeamMeetings • All3-4membersmeetingatonceforgroup critique • Everyoneshouldparticipate B B B L T L B B B L T L
- 33. Russ Unger | @russu 1:1 Meetings • Startsveryinformally • Gettoknoweachother • Reviewof what’sbeingworkedon,etc. • DrivenbytheCritiqueLead
- 34. Russ Unger | @russu 1:1 Meetings • Shiftsto (slightly)formal • Agendas,morestructured pitch/presentation • LedbytheCritiqueBuddy
- 35. Russ Unger | @russu Critique Group Meetings • CritiqueLeadsSchedule • HappensBi-Weekly-ish • TeamMembersSign-upfor 10-minutetimeslots • Anythingrequiringadditional canbecoveredin1:1meetings Image Source: https://www.andertoons.com/phone/cartoon/3122/were-playing-teleconference
- 36. Russ Unger | @russu How It Works • EntireDesignTeamCritique • ~Everymonth/4-6weeks • Alloweveryonetoparticipateif possible • Weekly30minuteCritiqueLeads&Manager • Reviewthecritiques • Critique&tweaktheprocess
- 37. Russ Unger | @russu All-Team Critique Meetings • …Stillkindof workingonthis:-) • EntireDesignTeamParticipates • WillLetYouKnowHowItGoes!
- 38. Russ Unger | @russu Leader Meetings • Reportsonprogressof theteam • Creates&updates“CritiqueManual/ Guide”forteam • ModifiestheCritiqueBuddyprogram baseduponlearning • SelectsnextCritiqueLeads(Quarterly)
- 39. Russ Unger | @russuRuss Unger | @russu That’s It! Image Source © Time Inc.
- 40. Russ Unger | @russu Benefits • Freesyourtimeasprimaryreviewerof alldesign • Identifiesleadersandleadershipinyourteam • Uncoversgrowthandtraining/learningneeds • Strengthenscritiqueabilitiesacrosstheteam • Increasesdistributedteamcommunication&interaction • Improvesfacilitation&presentationskills • Improvesdesignacrosstheteam
- 42. Yes. I was a culture-killer, a cancer, a reason to not want to work with me, and even worse, a reason to not want to work with great companies. I don’t think my managers knew how to “fix” me, so the brushed me aside, put me on projects that I couldn’t be much damage on, or worse, they ignored me. I’ve discussed a couple of the more “functional” things that have helped me along the way. With CULTURE, it’s less functional, and more philosophical, so bear with me as I shift gears a bit and talk about the things I’ve done wrong, and that I try to guide others away from on the teams I work with. I’ve found that if I can keep my focus on fighting these past bullies off, culture can be a friend and not a foe. Speaking of foes…
- 43. Russ Unger | @russu We Don’t Need Another…
- 44. Russ Unger | @russu S l o w D o w n .
- 45. Russ Unger | @russu Big,GrandRevealsareforAmateurs. “ Mitigate Design Surprises Andadvertisingagencies.
- 46. Russ Unger | @russu Lighten Up
- 47. Russ Unger | @russu Hack the Org Chart
- 48. Russ Unger | @russu Work Hard. Play Hard. Bull Crap.
- 49. Russ Unger | @russuSource: https://signalvnoise.com/posts/3124-give-it-five-minutes Give It 5 Minutes
- 50. Russ Unger | @russu 5 Years Whenyoufindyourself stressed,askyourself onequestion: Willthismatterfiveyearsfromnow? If yes,thendosomethingaboutthesituation. If no,thenletitgo. “ Catherine Pulsifer
- 51. Russ Unger | @russu
- 52. Russ Unger | @russu Servant Leadership !☔
- 53. RussUnger | @russu|GECapitalAmericas SO WHAT?
- 54. Russ Unger | @russu • TeamCharter • Facilitation • Collaboration • Critique • Culture My Key Take Aways Non-Technical / Non-Design Skills! LIFE
- 55. Russ Unger | @russu Source: Justice League War
- 56. Russ Unger | @russu Everyone Else Aleaderisbestwhenpeoplebarelyknowshe exists,whenherworkisdone,heraimfulfilled,they willsay: Wediditourselves. “ Lao Tzu
- 57. Russ Unger | @russu • TeamCharter • Facilitation • Collaboration • Critique • Culture My Key Take Aways • Bonus#1:LeadershipisMoreAboutYourTeamthanAboutYou • Bonus#2:Keeponwingingit.Confidently.
- 58. Russ Unger | @russu ¡Muchas Gracias!