Communicating the UX Vision

Communicating the UX Vision

by Martina Schell, James O'Brien
Released February 2015
Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 9780127999241

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Book description

This book identifies the 13 main challenges designers face when they talk about their work and provides communication strategies so that a better design, not a louder argument, is what makes it into the world.

It is a fact that we all want to put great design into the world, but no product ever makes it out of the building without rounds of reviews, feedback, and signoff. As an interaction or UX designer, you’ve felt the general trend toward faster development, more work, and less discussion. As we spend time crafting, we become attached to our own ideas and it gets all too easy to react to feedback emotionally or dismiss it, when we should be taking the time to decode it and explain or adapt the design. 

Communicating the UX Vision helps you identify the skills and behavioral patterns to present your work in more persuasive ways, and respond more constructively to feedback from coworkers and stakeholders.

  • Learn presentation tips that make stakeholders and other departments take your designs more seriously
  • Uncover valuable techniques to make feedback sessions more productive
  • Understand how to improve empathy with business stakeholders and learn to speak their language better
  • Discover how to better understand your behavior and identify your personal anti-patterns

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Foreword
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
  9. Chapter 1: Speaking different languages
    1. Abstract
    2. Summary
    3. The “Speaking Different Languages” anti-pattern
    4. You know you’re in it when…
    5. Patterns
    6. If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
    7. Terminology explained
  10. Chapter 2: Having different KPIs
    1. Abstract
    2. How organizations measure success
    3. Intrinsic motivation
    4. When KPIs clash
    5. Summary
    6. The “Having Different KPIs” anti-pattern
    7. You know you’re in it when …
    8. Patterns
    9. If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
  11. Chapter 3: Not embracing everyone’s goals
    1. Abstract
    2. Onto the right path
    3. The sore thumb paradox
    4. Summary
    5. The “Not Embracing Everyone’s Goals” anti-pattern
    6. You know you’re in it when…
    7. Patterns
    8. If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
    9. Terminology explained
  12. Chapter 4: Presenting without contextualizing
    1. Abstract
    2. Common assets for providing context
    3. Telling the story of UX
    4. Getting good feedback
    5. Summary
    6. The “Presenting Without Contextualizing” anti-pattern
    7. You know you’re in it when…
    8. How to break the anti-pattern
    9. Patterns
    10. If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
    11. Terminology explained
  13. Chapter 5: Being in the room but not present
    1. Abstract
    2. What is your job?
    3. New software development processes, new collaboration models
    4. Collaborating in iterative environments
    5. Focus in an open-plan world
    6. Summary
    7. The “Being in the room but not present” anti-pattern
    8. You’ll know you’re in it when …
    9. Patterns – how to be a better collaborator
    10. What to do when someone is locking you out of their silo
    11. Terminology explained
  14. Chapter 6: Not having a consistent design language
    1. Abstract
    2. Say what?
    3. Buzzword Bingo
    4. A consistent design language
    5. If you liked it, you should have put a label on it
    6. A note on labeling files
    7. What do you do?
    8. A step too far
    9. Summary
    10. The “Not Having A Consistent Design Language” anti-pattern
    11. You know you’re in it when…
    12. Patterns
    13. If others subject you to this anti-pattern
    14. Terminology explained
  15. Chapter 7: Throwing deliverables over the fence
    1. Abstract
    2. Tearing down the fence
    3. Of fences and other obstacles
    4. Code quality
    5. Making the case
    6. Find a shared rhythm
    7. Collaborate across the project timeline
    8. Deliver awesome products
    9. Summary
    10. The “Throwing Deliverables Over The Fence” anti-pattern
    11. You know you’re in it when…
    12. Patterns
    13. What to do if others throw deliverables over the fence to you
    14. Terminology explained
  16. Chapter 8: Living in the deliverables
    1. Abstract
    2. Best-in-show deliverables
    3. Conversations, not lectures
    4. Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate
    5. Make space for collaboration
    6. Leaner, meaner... UX
    7. Prototyping
    8. What if you work in an agency?
    9. Collect user feedback
    10. Summary
    11. The “Living in the Deliverables” anti-pattern
    12. You know you’re in it when…
    13. Patterns
    14. If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
    15. Terminology explained
  17. Chapter 9: Assuming others don’t get design
    1. Abstract
    2. A note from the authors
    3. Creating design and understanding design
    4. Pretentious little jerks
    5. Pitchslapped
    6. We live in a designed world
    7. “Creative” isn’t a noun
    8. How can you make sharing easier?
    9. Feeding back
    10. Well-intended suggestions
    11. Get the HiPPO on board
    12. Some people view creativity as risk
    13. The “Assuming Others Don’t Get Design” anti-pattern
    14. You know you’re in it when…
    15. Patterns – making sharing easier
    16. Patterns – principles to strive for
    17. If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
    18. Terminology explained
  18. Chapter 10: Insisting on perfection
    1. Abstract
    2. Delivering on your vision
    3. Setting expectations
    4. Introducing a functional grammar
    5. Trade-offs
    6. Sustainable pace
    7. UX debt
    8. Knowing when you’re done
    9. Take inspiration from start-up entrepreneurs
    10. Launch your idea in 3 hours, 24 hours, a weekend
    11. Summary
    12. The “Living in the Deliverables” anti-pattern
    13. You know you’re in this anti-pattern when…
    14. Patterns
    15. If others inflict this anti-pattern on you
    16. Terminology explained
  19. Chapter 11: Responding to tone, not content
    1. Abstract
    2. Nonverbal, not unimportant
    3. Tone varies with culture
    4. Gaps in understanding
    5. Who you are and who you’re perceived to be
    6. The IKEA effect strikes again
    7. Respondent fatigue
    8. Summary
    9. The “Responding to Tone, Not Content” anti-pattern
    10. The patterns
    11. You’ll know when you have encountered this anti-pattern, because …
    12. What to do when someone is being confrontational or misunderstanding your tone
    13. Tips
    14. Terminology explained
  20. Chapter 12: Defending too hard
    1. Abstract
    2. Spotting this type of client
    3. The hidden cost
    4. Business theater
    5. Summary
    6. The “Defending Too Hard” anti-pattern
    7. You’ll know you’re in it when …
    8. The patterns
    9. What to do when someone keeps repeating the same objection
    10. Tips
    11. Terminology explained
  21. Chapter 13: Not defending hard enough
    1. Abstract
    2. Everyone’s a critic
    3. What is the right decision?
    4. Using the Five Whys to understand business value
    5. Shortcut: Always defend user research
    6. Summary
    7. The “Not Defending Hard Enough” anti-pattern
    8. You know you’re in it when …
    9. The patterns
    10. How to remedy a wrongly given-up point
    11. Tips
    12. Terminology explained
  22. Chapter 14: Identifying and fixing your own anti-patterns
    1. Abstract
    2. The tip-off
    3. The cool-down
    4. Get an outside perspective
    5. Find the common factor
    6. Forgive yourself
    7. Identify some patterns
    8. Make it a habit
    9. Keep going
  23. Chapter 15: Relaxation techniques at work
    1. Abstract
    2. In the moment
    3. Lifestyle
    4. About the author
  24. Chapter 16: Group design techniques
    1. Abstract
    2. How many people to invite?
    3. How much time to budget?
    4. How to facilitate a group
    5. In the room
    6. Try out new formats
    7. How to prioritize
    8. Dot voting
    9. Prioritization matrix
  25. Conclusion
  26. Glossary
  27. Index

Product information

  • Title: Communicating the UX Vision
  • Author(s): Martina Schell, James O'Brien
  • Release date: February 2015
  • Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
  • ISBN: 9780127999241