Failure is relative.
For my friend Brandon, I was looking for quotes on the role of failure in creative work.
First, I found this definition in the dictionary:
Fail
be unsuccessful in achieving one’s goal,
be unable to meet the standards set by [whatever, whoever]
Then this in Scott’s book.:
“The dirty little secret—the fact often denied—is that unlike the mythical epiphany, real creation is sloppy. Discovery is messy, exploration is dangerous. No one knows what he is going to get when he’s being creative. Filmmakers, painters, inventors, and entrepreneurs describe their work as a search: they explore the unknown hoping to find new things worth bringing into the world. And just like other kinds of explorers, the search for ideas demands risk: much of what’s found won’t be satisfactory.” (Berkun, The Myths of Innovation, p. 86)
So, failure is relative. You set your goals. You set your standards. Others set goals and standards, too. You meet them, you don’t. One person’s total failure is another person’s progress.
In project work, I am frequently called upon to share work in progress with clients and their co-workers. Sometimes the same material is shared with different stakeholders, each with their own personalities, agendas, and pet peeves. When I work with a client in a large organization, the diversity of audience can become even greater.
I use this checklist to make sure I have all the information I need to make an effective presentation and satisfy the goals of the call.*
audience
Names, roles, titles, relationships to each other, hot issues and touchy subjects.
purpose
Why is the presentation happening in the first place? To keep someone informed? To get someone’s thoughts or ideas? To test an idea? To persuade someone?
desired outcome
What will happen as a result of this presentation? Are there specific answers needed or next actions to be taken?
anticipated discussion
Are there issues, questions, or concerns that might surface during the discussion?
modifications to material
Does the language, order, or content need to be changed in any way to better support the discussion or more effectively speak to the audience?
* By asking these questions, you might find out that there isn’t a clear goal or desired outcome for the presentation.
Scott Berkun, author of The Myths of Innovation
, takes an honest look at the types of development methodologies actually in play in the world of software development. His post, “asshole driven development,” had me rolling on the floor this morning.
My favorite?
“Development By Denial (DBD) - Everybody pretends there is a method for what’s being done, and that things are going ok, when in reality, things are a mess and the process is on the floor. The worse things get, the more people depend on their denial of what’s really happening, or their isolation in their own small part of the project, to survive. “
Denial is truly a powerful methodology but denial wastes people’s precious time. I’ve experienced teams (my own and those around me), that, even when it seems obvious to everyone around them that something isn’t right, won’t admit to themselves or others that something has gone horribly wrong. If a team can admit to each other that something isn’t working, there is a chance to correct it.
Denial by a group, may come from a lack of trust and communication (surprise!) amongst team members. Fear of what others will think, fear of being seen as negative, fear of failure are powerful driving forces. It’s up to the team to foster a safe, honest environment.
Some ways to beat denial that come to mind:
Check Your Motives - When making decisions, are you serving the best needs of the project? What’s driving you?
Ask Others - If you have uncertainty or doubt about the way a project is progressing, ask others what they think. You never know what you can learn about your own attitudes and processes by listening to others.
Encourage Others to Share - Is there someone in the room or on the team who is quiet but has a unique point of view on a particular problem? Encourage that person to share with the group.
Make Room for Regular Dialog - In addition to working meetings, make some space in the project for a “How are things going?” discussion.
Solicit Quick, Anonymous Feedback - I’ll be writing a post this week on a method for gathering quick, anonymous feedback. Check back!
UX Week 2007 is going to be great - and not just ‘cos I’m the program chair.
UX Week (Aug. 13-16 in Washington, DC) is Adaptive Path’s opportunity to host smart people with great ideas about user-centered design and user experience. Changes in technology and process are forcing us to re-think some of our favorite tools. Out goes the waterfall model, in comes agile development. Out go wireframes and in come rapid prototyping. Out goes evaluative research and in comes generative research.
Of course, we don’t want you to throw out the baby with the bath water, but rather to look critically at the way you work and find new ways to achieve the best user experience you possibly can.
Check out the program and if you decide to come (you know you want to), use promo code FOSN (friends of Sarah Nelson) for a 15% discount.
These punctuation bookmarks look like fun. They are intended to be used as bookmarks but they have light adhesion so they could be used anywhere you use stickies. Haven’t tried them myself but love the iconic design. Can’t you see them visually identifying participant quotes in user research analysis or clearly marking question areas in a sea of stickies?
By nature, I am a solitary being. I enjoy time alone, tinkering, experimenting, and playing with ideas. Early in my user experience career, I was drawn to solitary pursuits - coding, graphics production, site maps and content inventories.
As I have progressed in my career, working alone no longer seems like a viable, let alone desireable option. From strategy development with clients, to design work with teams, to participatory design with users, working with others skillfully is critical to the success of any complex design project.
This blog is about navigating the world of collaboration. through methods, tools, techniques and ideas. I’ll share both my experience working with teams, clients, and users, methods and tools I’ve tried, resources I come across, and inspiration to help you do your best work.
