Physical prototypes expand your thinking about interactions in a digital space. origami/ Thanks for sharing, @jkheltzel

These are just a few examples of how playing with paper can really contribute to the design process. Whenever I’m trying to communicate an idea or working through solving a problem, I find pushing away from my computer and sliding over to a stack of paper for “craft time” can bring a fresh perspective.

“But there’s a difference between trying to use more precise language to clarify the boundaries between roles, and declaring that someone else’s job is bullshit. The difference is that DTDT can help move the profession forward, even if it sometimes looks like messy bickering. It is inherently harmful to think you can point at a job title, a profession, a whole class of people, and claim that their work isn’t valid.”

Questions to gather context and collect details
Questions to probe on what’s unsaid
Questions that create contrasts in order uncover frameworks and mental models

"Hefty deliverables are unnecessary when working with a startup or agile team. I’m not a fan of templates, but let’s not discount documentation entirely. Here’s a detailed look at one thing I make semi-regularly that keeps everyone informed and moves the product forward."

"But I frequently have to coach other UX professionals as they deal with environments where they feel minimized and this is what I tell them: Be ornery."

"Non-UXers in the environments where I work might still treat staples like mental models and storyboards skeptically. They finally buy the concept of personas, but only in their most shallow incarnation (basically: “our imaginary friends.”)"

"In other words, if these folks don’t stand up for what they think is important, nobody else will. The pressure is on them to be right most of the time, but open to feedback and new data at all times. When they feel minimized, they have to figure out the most important thing they’re saying that’s not being heard and they need to focus on getting those points into the overall project conversation. They have to be stubborn, but not in a self-involved quest for victory. Their job is to provide the greatest possible value to the project even, and especially when others don’t see that value. And they have to muster whatever skills they’ve developed in their careers to get that done without getting themselves fired."

"Working with our clients, we've seen teams prioritize their work using the Kano Model. They're constantly monitoring their users' current basic expectations, to make sure there's nothing they're missing. They are always on the lookout for inexpensive ways to add excitement generators. And they use the performance payoff to help understand how much delight they can generate with new features."

"The best designers, the ones who are experienced, will read a job listing like this and be able to tell that the author is asking too much from a single person. It’s a signal that the author is not familiar with user-centered design, and it can scare away good designers."
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"The rest of the team is often better at front-end development than any designer. In terms of skill coverage, when you hire a designer that can code, you’re doubling down on engineering, when you could be diversifying and getting other skills on your team. But most important, design is a full-time job. If you’re asking your designer to write code, you’re asking them to spend less time designing, studying users, prototyping, and doing all of the other activities that lead to great products."

"When you go to download Dropbox, here's what you see on Internet Explorer. Note they've used a three step tiny screenshot sequence. Each of them isn't a real screenshot, but rather "evocative" of the thing an IE user would see. For example, the second User Access Control dialog isn't real, but it's close enough that it makes the point while still fitting into width of the page cleanly. Their Welcome to Dropbox Setup screenshot is the same way, distilling the essence of what's coming while keeping the design consistent.

See below how the first screenshot shows what's coming and looks enough like the actual Save As experience that pops up seconds later as to guide the user to the next step."

Before thinking about a UX Librarian position, consider forming a cross-departmental UX Team. Include frontline and administrative staff from all departments. The purpose of this team is just as much about creating an organizational culture that supports UX design as it is about making direct improvements to the library. Make sure to scope this team’s charge realistically, and guarantee that its recommendations aren’t met with undue ­resistance.

Likewise, scale its work appropriately. Instead of immediately giving the group a huge community research project, have team members identify and evaluate all of the ways that people interact with the library (for example, see “Getting To Know Your Patrons,” LJ 6/1/11, p. 24). As this team explores the hundreds of points of daily interaction, ensure that it thinks about the old standards along with the high-tech and whiz-bang latest offerings—the idea here is to approach the full spectrum of library experiences, including those involving staff, with a critical eye. This exercise will take tact, trust, openness, and a lack of ego.