It seems natural or implied that we all prefer our job to be something we like to do, something that, together with the people we work with, we understand its impact and can feel its effectiveness, how it’s perceived, its potential, expectations and pains from the world it operates in.
Is that the case in your company, or in your project?
Deep down, for the people it’s aiming to help, your project has a very good chance of not being the choice between:
– solving what ever the problem via your project
versus
– eating an ice cream this very moment – replace ice cream with what ever delicious craving or spoils apply.
What if it were though?
A UX designer, or Product designer is the kind of role that can build a bridge between your team(s) and the people they’re trying to help, and create together communities. The result, which would make the choice instead of the ice cream, is excitement (even if for some only deep inside – cause “they rocks”) for the results and even (or specially) the process.
Such is inclusion and the melting pot of perspectives that are bringing value – not after you’ve already spent time and money and realized it wasn’t impactful, but from the beginning. It may not be without any errors or provide absolute guaranties – but it will sure make that ice cream seam like something they’d want to share instead of going for it alone. If you have failed, you have failed together, the shoulder that helped in all the effort that failed would be the shoulder that will help you push through understanding and learning from the mistakes and try again, and even a shoulder to lean on when it all feels like a bit too much. You’re not alone – however the more people you did not include their perspectives (or even rejected) the more alone it may feel when it does get difficult – and it will get difficult. But together, it can be a shared stride.
So then:
Do projects in your company last longer than you initially expected?
Does focus shift a bit too much to really call it focus – maybe because the target isn’t very clear – understanding and visions diverge?
Does important information, technical or contextual get ignored, or even siloed, to then spring at you a bit much later than you’d prefer?
Does the result of the effort not exactly yield the expected outcomes?
Did you spend a lot of time working on something that turned out wasn’t quite what was needed?
Say hello to a UX guy or gall, today.
Why so? Such a role would:
- Help you understand what the people you’re trying to help with your project are really trying to do (they hope that your project will help them).
- Clarify what the context is for people when trying to do what ever it is they want to do (and which you would be aligned on considering the bullet above) so that you can adjust in order to ensure increased efficiency in the way your project and effort really does help them.
- Even help you realize things that people maybe didn’t think they want to do but you can build it for them and they would throw money at you because it addresses one or more of their basic needs (like efficiency, certainty, security, entertainment/ escapism, health, connection/belonging, stability, and more).
- Help you and your team be aware and aligned in understanding the standards and familiarity of people and their context – so that your outcome would be easily understood and adapted, and simplify things instead of adding a level of complexity which can imply a learning curve that adds to the initial complexity of what ever it is that can be helped (before really helping out).
- If a learning curve is inevitable, help identify where are they getting stuck, identify why that happens and what would avoid such bumps.
There’s more to this, and things are not black or white or binary, like that pressure situation asking for a yes or no, cause “it’s a simple question with two options”.
As a UX Designer, with experience in Enterprise software and familiar with Agile methodologies, and continuous process improvement, I can help.
Let’s talk.
PS. While I know it can help at least with grammar and typos, no AI flavors in this post.