REUWAS

So you want to know bout UX

So you want to know bout UX

Its been a while since I wrote something regarding my profession, literally.
Theres a lot of hip out there about it lately (but then again, the profession became everybodys lifestyle so I guess I should say theres been always some kind of hip bout it).

User Experience, oh my... some have taken it as a banner to sell whatever they think it is but actual UX, to raise their "profession" status (or at least try to) by saying they are UXers cause they prolly read a book (or several) bout it. Reality is... few know how to do it cause even I know its not a new discipline, I do know it is not YET developed and standardised enough to start calling someone an expert, a guru, and so on.

Because of that I decided not to talk about it (at least in an open, public or massive channel) til I felt I had enough to say but enough also to assure that it wasnt taken as "rules" or "standards" but more like a basic guide to it, letting the rest to you and find and learn out by experience and not by an article, or a conference. Why? well... its hard to teach its core, since it comes from your actual perception vs. your actual knowledge... Now, tell me how many people love to be shown how their perception and the their actual needs are completely different? From big time bosses to common friends, very few are open to these kind of processes and results. Actually thats why UX didnt took off before, so many experts, so many gurus, bout everything... and few users with enough knowledge to realise maybe what theyre using isnt actually what they need, or that maybe theres a better way to do it, a simpler way.

Of course theres also a designer side, with all this old school in their heads where aesthetics are based on personal perception... and not in functionality (even they tried... I remember so many designers talking about logotypes, interfaces, so wicked ones... non functional at all but hey! they look so good, my client will love the cow I used in his logo, cause you know... they sell cows... who would have thought that now they need to think on how many people would like to see a cow in a product, how big the tag on the product should be cause maybe it is important to show more product than image, instead of the old ways... by thinking on how will my client smile, and pay me, cause Im so creative).

Thinking on UX isn that hard actually though, crafting it either, why? cause its always been there, maybe not as a discipline, but being a former designer, I could think about so many projects that without noticing, the user actually influenced they way I ended up with any kind of solutions, and not just me, several colleagues too. So, in few words... the first step on being able to think and craft in UX terms is... you really need to understand the importance of the user and their needs before thinking on any kind of solution for it. You see... thats the point of UX (in a very simplistic manner), stop the old practice on thinking what they need and start knowing what the need before doing anything, and after... simplify enhance it.

Im not saying it is a piece of cake though, and its kinda logical.
Have you ever seen your lead developer (yeah, those lovely nerds) talking to a girl? well... maybe lately, new generations, but theres a common profile for them, theyre quiet, introversive, stubborn, very intelligent (which is good, but also bad... therefore the stubbornness). Right, well... could you picture them not sitting down in an office, not talking to their inner friends (or in case theres non imaginary friends, talking to their Mr. Potato Darth Vader toy) that hold their complex logistics regarding every programming language, or have you ever thought bout your boss visiting his/her employees, all of them, to find out what they need? You could answer "yes", but then again, how many times? and thats when we end up with almost a null result. Thats because the "I know how and what to do, what the rest need, and if I dont I really dont care, Ill innovate, theyll follow my lead, Im the expert" is one of the biggest barriers nowadays for UX, which makes it a very long, challenging, personal and professional process. That way of thinking is still present all around, in most of any profession and interaction. But hey... who said change is easy?

UX is about developers thinking in strategy and communication, planners thinking on needs and not theories, designers thinking on strategy and planning... and so many different mixed-skill configurations... (all of them with new and not that new brand tags on their jobs like... information architects, digital business analysts, and so on) who like to work with people more than theories and with real problems more than diary studies, elements that create a perfect environment for peculiar challenging problems to solve.

So, if youre a graphic designer, you would probably ask "how can I start, and how will I know that for sure?" well, thats where UX starts, there are many processes involved, NONE of them need Photoshop, Illustrator, or any kind of app but a word processor (I use post-its and a notebook, call me old school) maybe and your brain. Yep, its THAT personal, you need to stop the theories and start the face to face phase,  you need to get out and gather information directly from users (there are many types, but then again, not standardised, so theres no point yet to call them out). Have you ever thought on doing this as a designer? yeah... NOES... but you have to, if you design for digital. Good news though! you actually have to stand up from your computer, I know you love it, but yeah... theres life out there and you need to start balancing your inspiration with strategy, to come up with actual solutions not just handmade products created to test if the solve anything at all, and then find out they didnt somehow, and yet... know nothing on how to enhance it.

To get good results a designer needs a set of skills that are not included normally in their lessons, environment, work and probably life, and no designer who is new to modernising systems will arrive to the UX world fully prepared. Thats not bad, actually is a good thing... you will keep on learning on the same pase as the very same discipline evolves, in other words, both will evolve at the same time, there wont be any missing pieces.

So... for now this is it, Ill get some new posts regarding on which steps you could implement on every design process, UX one, and so on to help you tackle the UX world properly but without the bluff and fake standards, remember, UX is about people... not software, that one is just  part of the result, and since is about people... standardising processes to get to know better a 7,395,744,182 (and counting) population... good luck on that, as the internet, it wont ever stop evolving :).
Remember that in UX there are no experts, just coaches.

Yeah... shocking population numbers :o, go and click the link and enjoy the million questions youll get while watching them going up and up and up by second.

Sam.

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