Comments on Terrible Twos

Croc O' S**t — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

It’s B&A’s B-day? SHEEEETTT, time sure does fly!

Let me just say that B&A is a damn fine two-year old! Next year I say forget the Webby’s and run this sucka in the Kentucky Derby!

(IMNSHO, if I know my crap and add value to the team I’m on, people forgive my occasional slip of the tongue.)

Bob — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

Saying “Know your STUFF” would have been just as effective.

By stooping to common street language, you’ve degraded the quality of anything else you might have to say … and gave me reason to read no further.

Talk like a foul mouth child if you please, but don’t expect to be respected as a professional.

Kirsten — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

“Know Your Shit” is right on….Thank you, Boxes and Arrows, for two years of education and inspiration. Here’s to fifty more!

Fran Diamond — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

Congratulations to Boxes & Arrows and all the editors who put in so much hard work to make this an outstanding research for IAs/UXers/designers/whatever the heck we are!

It is a delight to read the articles and participate in this vibrant community.

Laura Harley — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

I’ve been a graphic designer for over 20 years. One thing Christine states I can’t over emphasize—get a good design foundation or education. One of the things that was hardest for me early on was defending my ideas and design choices. In each design class I took, especially graduate level, we had to present and present and present. At first I was shy and didn’t know how. Then I watched senior designers present some of the craziest ideas to clients—they were clever or unusual ideas—and they sold the ideas! As one of my former bosses said to me, “even a good idea needs to be sold.” These senior folks’ ability to present their ideas with confidence and determination showed me how to do it, too. Christine is so right, you can’t persuade anyone about your ideas if you’re not sure of them or you don’t believe in them. Thanks for reminding everyone, Christine!

Frank Ramirez — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:08:09 GMT

Happy birthday B&A!

This article got me thinking about when it’s appropriate for a designer to say “no” to his boss, teammates, etc. (in the context of a project).

So when should a designer just say “no?” Maybe we should take a cue from parenting and reserve the word for dangerous situations only. That is, only say “no” if you’re certain that you, your team or the company you’re working for will certainly be put in harm’s way by following the directions you’ve been given. In the case of a child, that’s when she’s reaching toward the open light socket. In a corporate environment, that’s a bit trickier to distinguish. I’d love to hear what B&A readers think those situations are.

For now, I’d like to offer some alternatives to saying “no.” Parenting experts will tell you to give kids options instead. For example, a child who doesn’t want to eat his raviolis can be given the choice of raviolis or spaghetti. It works. If your manager asks you to design 50 wireframes in 2 days, think about your options before using the “n” word. Think to yourself, what will happen if I do 50 wf’s in 2 days? How many open issues are there? What will I leave out? How will that impact the other members of the team? Last time we did this, what was the result? What’s so critical about 2 days? In my experience, unrealistic expectations like these come from managers who are inexperienced with the development process and are being pressured themselves with some pretty outrageous expectations. Figure out why your manager needs to have something done in 2 days, then give him options that will accomplish his goals and appeal to his good instincts (he *is* a manager, so he should have some).

Examples may be…
Option A: I’ll work myself to death in 2 days only to deliver some half-baked wireframes that will be useless to the development team because they will not include many of the elements and behaviors that are not yet defined – we’ll also lose credibility in the process.

Option B: We spend 1 day resolving the open issues with the team, then 1 day designing a wireframe for the most critical page(s)

Option C: etc.

One last comment, good managers listen to the reasoning of the designers on their team. They attempt to understand that reasoning, challenge it, then bring the team to a mutually desirable conclusion. They cover the open light sockets and set their team up for success. I’ve seen it. It’s cool.

Thanks for the provocative article!

FYI: here are a couple articles about saying “no” to kids:
http://www.babyconnection.com/toddler/toddevelopment/1228…
http://www.theparentreport.com/resources/ages/teen/limit_…

Nancy Broden — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

Terrible as it sounds, making a big(ger) deal out of what you are presenting (as in, “yes, in fact, this is the biggest thing since sliced bread…”) also goes a long way, particularly when presenting to clients who are unsure of their own experience in this realm. I have seen ideas that I would consider old-hat or ‘no, duh’ sold with such gusto that everyone leaves the room thinking it’s genius and cutting-edge.

Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm, just as confidence breeds confidence.

melinda — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

I love the first item, “Know Your Shit”. I’ve actually been told that I know my shit, and that it’s intimidating to other team members. I see it as a plus, but that isn’t always the case. However, when I have data in hand, I’m not seen as being intimidating by knowing my shit, but merely presenting data that was gathered, which aligns with my view on a design. Building credibility is easy with some, tougher with others, and having data support me has been a way to build credibility.

Shiv Singh — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:53 GMT

Congratulations, the editorial team is doing an excellent job and is playing a vital role in growing our profession!

kay Aubrey — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:52 GMT

I appreciate Christina’s simple advice. This article is funny and breezy readin’. I’ve found much of my success with development teams revolves around gaining credibility & dealing with conflict & getting the group to lay down their arms.

One issue I deal with all the time is resentment that you are “taking away” a function that developers want for themselves. (even though you wouldn’t have been called in if their work was usable).

Even if a product has very extreme usability problems, if the development team is not receptive to outside input, your ideas will have limited effect. Thanks for broaching this subject – it is very central to being successful in our jobs -

Kay

daniel harvey — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:52 GMT

They grow up so quick these days. If you’d like, I can help intimidate any boy websites that may come by and try to date her too early.

Liv — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:52 GMT

Happy birthday and thank you for two years of great stuff!

jess — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:51:52 GMT

Happy Birthday!!! All the work of the B&A team is so important. I especially appreciate the editors – edited articles just have that better signal to noise ratio. Thanks for all the hard work.

Looking forward to many more years of outstanding UX thinking.