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Armedia.com Blog: Software design is in crisis

by A.J. McClary on 15. Jul, 2010 in User Experience

In the 90’s, when ECM solutions were rare, we could get away with designing solely toward requirements, but there is too much at stake nowadays. A recent study sampling various IT projects reported that:

  • 62% percent of projects fail to meet their schedules
  • 49% are over budget
  • 47% have higher than expected maintenance costs
  • And get this—25% are canceled before they are ever deployed!

If you’ve been in the software industry long enough, you’ve probably seen all of these things happen. The funny thing is, it doesn’t really come down schedule, cost, or requirements—it comes from bad design. When software companies think design, they’re thinking about contractual obligations and meeting commitments with their stakeholders.

Click HERE to read the rest of the entry over at Armedia.com

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Being the Bad Cop

by A.J. McClary on 06. Jul, 2010 in User Experience

It’s one thing to design something–but it’s often a huge struggle to implement it correctly. Wireframes and interaction designs are never enough. Good user experience designers have to be part of the entire development life-cycle–holding developers and the rest of the team accountable for detailed design, extensive user research, and expectations that have been set with stakeholders.

Being a good cop is pretty fun. For one, we’re known as the good guys because you never get into confrontations with people. Everybody likes us because we can make important promises and give users exactly what they need. Kicking off design is where most of us thrive because we love being around users, architecting solutions, and being creative. We always look good because we design based off of our extensive experience in human interaction and cognitive engineering. (more…)

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Creating the User Experience—Experience

by A.J. McClary on 28. Jun, 2010 in User Experience

Being responsible for the user experience is often not what you’re hired for. I’m usually brought on to improve the user interface of an application or redesign it, but I’m rarely called upon to test the usability of an application or measure the effectiveness of a feature.
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5 Weeks of Cognitive Walkthroughs

by A.J. McClary on 10. Jun, 2010 in User Experience

I just completed over a month of back to back usability testing sessions for different clients along the eastern seaboard. This consecutive approach to cognitive walkthroughs was exhausting. I’m literally sitting on the plane about to pass out–thankful I’ve finally got a day off to relax tomorrow.

As a UX consultant, I often find myself in different offices watching people use software I helped develop. There is so much you can learn by simply watching people. Some are resistant to change, some embrace it, some are computer savvy, and some have limited experience. Regardless, sampling a variety of users is important because it allows you to collect constructive feedback from all different perspectives.

Since I haven’t blogged in a while, I thought I’d share what I’ve “learned and confirmed” in the last five weeks: (more…)

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Software is About People

by A.J. McClary on 26. Apr, 2010 in User Experience

User experience is about people

What a drastic statement! We often forget the products we build are not about technology, engineering, or even design. We write software because it enriches the lives of others and makes the world a better place to live.

If this can’t be accomplished, the tools we build are just lines of code rendered graphically on a computer screen.

While developers fall for this trap on a steady basis, user experience consultants and information architects are supposed to be an advocate for their users—but I’m beginning to observe many of us focusing heavily on our design tools rather than who’s most important, the people we serve.

At the end of the day, our wireframes, personas, style guides, taxonomies, photoshop comps, and site-maps are just communication tools. They serve no purpose unless we communicate them between our customers, stakeholders, and engineers. We have to convince people to adapt to better technology and embrace change.

So why am I writing this blog entry? I’m writing this because I want to offer a gentle reminder to the universe that people always come first. If we’re to be successful in our industry, we need to remember the people we serve. You’re not just “the wireframe guy” or “the photoshop gal”, you’re a very important person that is there to make a difference in the lives of your users.

You have professional responsibility to ensure the best experience for your customer, but I believe you also have a social responsibility (as a citizen of this planet) to build experiences that make peoples lives better. If you can limit someone’s frustration and empower them with technology, you are changing the world. Remember, those who believe they can change the world are the ones that do.

So what are you doing to change the world?

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