“Have we been smoking a pipedream named UX?”
                               A SxSWi 2013 Core Conversation Proposal
                                                   By Roshen Mathew




By Roshen Mathew
SUBMISSION IN 1000 CHARACTERS OR LESS:
 Great UX. It’s been elusive for many organizations, a “holy grail” of sorts, they can’t seem to make the magic happen.
 The problem isn’t a lack of great experiences in our world created by talented folks. Companies haven’t been able to
 reliably build teams capable of producing holistic user experiences driving business. Most focused on solving the
 problem by hiring individuals, with a “silver bullet” approach. “If we just hire the right person…” But, there are far
 too few of these “right persons.” In the late 90’s, IA exploded on the scene at the dawn of the commercial web.
 These IAs were brought in from the world of product design, & asked to produce docs the likes of tech specs, wires,
 & use-cases & now prototypes. Over time, the industry demanded evolution, from IA to UX professional, to
 Experience Designer & so forth. Each evolution had new needs; the individuals didn’t change, because the evolution
 was driven by market demand, not by people. Let’s discuss & solve this together!


                                 QUESTIONS TO BE COVERED

      Are there characteristics and backgrounds that differentiate information architects, user-experience folks, and experience designers?

        How does an organization optimally build a UX discipline capable of providing more than just assumed table stake deliverables?

                                  What does an organization need to do to best integrate its UX department’s
                                       thinking and talent in everything it produces and does for itself?

                     How can the UX department best interface with the organization and its legacy beliefs and practices?

      Is the role of a UX discipline to be “the voice of reason” and convergence or can it be a source of divergent and innovative thinking?




By Roshen Mathew
Evolving               EVOLVING LABELS WITH EVOLVING EXPECTATIONS
      Titles


                     Information Architect            UX Professional                      Experience Designer
     Individual
        The




                         “I’m Jim, your            “I’m still Jim, but now                “It’s me again, but I’m
                    information architect.”           I’m your UX guy.”                     all about XD now.”
     Expectations




                    + Organization & function    Organization & function                 Organization & function
                                                 + Inspiration & behavior modification   Inspiration & behavior modification
         Key




                                                                                         + Surprise & delight




                    Experts in the consumption   Experts in driving individuals          Experts in visual design, movement,
     Required
      Skillset




                    of information.              through a behavioral continuum with     sound, and interaction
                                                 lots of moving parts
                       Think: Classic IA type    Think: CRM strategist                   Think: Art director who codes

By Roshen Mathew
“MAD MEN” ERA          RECENT CONFIGURATION




              Art                  Copy    Art                         Copy



                                                         UX



                                                                 The “silver bullet,” master
                                                                    of all experiences .


                                                 But, is this realistically possible?
By Roshen Mathew
DO EXPECTATIONS NEED TO BE MATCHED WITH DISTINCT TALENT?

                                            Experience Planning Lead
                                                                                                                  “I’m Ed.”

                   Information Architect                UX Professional                      Experience Designer




                           “I’m Jim.”                       “I’m Anne.”                             “I’m Mark.”
              + Organization & function            Organization & function                 Organization & function
                                                   + Inspiration & behavior modification   Inspiration & behavior modification
                                                                                           + Surprise & delight


              Experts in the consumption           Experts in driving individuals          Experts in visual design, movement,
              of information                       through a behavioral continuum with     sound, and interaction
                                                   lots of moving parts
                   Think: Classic IA type          Think: CRM strategist                   Think: Art director who codes
By Roshen Mathew
“MAD MEN” ERA           PERHAPS A NEW MODEL IS NEEDED?


                Art             Copy
             Director           Writer
                                                        Art                     Copy
                                                     Director                   Writer



                                                                  Experience
       RECENT CONFIGURATION                                          Lead
                                         Should this be
                                          the Creative
                                           Director?

                Art            Copy
             Director          Writer
                                                          SMEs tapped on adhoc basis

                         UX
                         Pro
                                                          IA          UX          XD


By Roshen Mathew
“Have we been smoking a pipedream named UX?”
                                                  A SxSWi 2013 Core Conversation Proposal
                                                                      By Roshen Mathew



     Thank You!
     And please vote for this discussion, if you think it’s worthy! 



By Roshen Mathew

Have we been smoking pipedream named UX?

  • 1.
    “Have we beensmoking a pipedream named UX?” A SxSWi 2013 Core Conversation Proposal By Roshen Mathew By Roshen Mathew
  • 2.
    SUBMISSION IN 1000CHARACTERS OR LESS: Great UX. It’s been elusive for many organizations, a “holy grail” of sorts, they can’t seem to make the magic happen. The problem isn’t a lack of great experiences in our world created by talented folks. Companies haven’t been able to reliably build teams capable of producing holistic user experiences driving business. Most focused on solving the problem by hiring individuals, with a “silver bullet” approach. “If we just hire the right person…” But, there are far too few of these “right persons.” In the late 90’s, IA exploded on the scene at the dawn of the commercial web. These IAs were brought in from the world of product design, & asked to produce docs the likes of tech specs, wires, & use-cases & now prototypes. Over time, the industry demanded evolution, from IA to UX professional, to Experience Designer & so forth. Each evolution had new needs; the individuals didn’t change, because the evolution was driven by market demand, not by people. Let’s discuss & solve this together! QUESTIONS TO BE COVERED Are there characteristics and backgrounds that differentiate information architects, user-experience folks, and experience designers? How does an organization optimally build a UX discipline capable of providing more than just assumed table stake deliverables? What does an organization need to do to best integrate its UX department’s thinking and talent in everything it produces and does for itself? How can the UX department best interface with the organization and its legacy beliefs and practices? Is the role of a UX discipline to be “the voice of reason” and convergence or can it be a source of divergent and innovative thinking? By Roshen Mathew
  • 3.
    Evolving EVOLVING LABELS WITH EVOLVING EXPECTATIONS Titles Information Architect UX Professional Experience Designer Individual The “I’m Jim, your “I’m still Jim, but now “It’s me again, but I’m information architect.” I’m your UX guy.” all about XD now.” Expectations + Organization & function Organization & function Organization & function + Inspiration & behavior modification Inspiration & behavior modification Key + Surprise & delight Experts in the consumption Experts in driving individuals Experts in visual design, movement, Required Skillset of information. through a behavioral continuum with sound, and interaction lots of moving parts Think: Classic IA type Think: CRM strategist Think: Art director who codes By Roshen Mathew
  • 4.
    “MAD MEN” ERA RECENT CONFIGURATION Art Copy Art Copy UX The “silver bullet,” master of all experiences . But, is this realistically possible? By Roshen Mathew
  • 5.
    DO EXPECTATIONS NEEDTO BE MATCHED WITH DISTINCT TALENT? Experience Planning Lead “I’m Ed.” Information Architect UX Professional Experience Designer “I’m Jim.” “I’m Anne.” “I’m Mark.” + Organization & function Organization & function Organization & function + Inspiration & behavior modification Inspiration & behavior modification + Surprise & delight Experts in the consumption Experts in driving individuals Experts in visual design, movement, of information through a behavioral continuum with sound, and interaction lots of moving parts Think: Classic IA type Think: CRM strategist Think: Art director who codes By Roshen Mathew
  • 6.
    “MAD MEN” ERA PERHAPS A NEW MODEL IS NEEDED? Art Copy Director Writer Art Copy Director Writer Experience RECENT CONFIGURATION Lead Should this be the Creative Director? Art Copy Director Writer SMEs tapped on adhoc basis UX Pro IA UX XD By Roshen Mathew
  • 7.
    “Have we beensmoking a pipedream named UX?” A SxSWi 2013 Core Conversation Proposal By Roshen Mathew Thank You! And please vote for this discussion, if you think it’s worthy!  By Roshen Mathew