Data, any data, is just fine by me

Think about your recent meetings to talk about a new site, a redesign or just getting some buy in to move a project forward.  While discussing a new feature to be added to the site, have these illustrious words been uttered around the table.  “Why would we build that?  I wouldn’t use that and others probably wouldn’t either.”  And somehow the conversation stops and that ends that feature’s life or at least puts it in the “nice to have” category, aka dead.  How can that happen?  Especially in 2011, we still have people viewing products built for other people that they only perceive from their own perspective. 

Or how about this one.  “We don’t know how often that information is accessed?”  But that same person or group is going to develop new content without knowing what is resonating and what is just not worth keeping.  Why is this allowed to occur and how can you prevent mistakes being made or at the least slow down the rush to developing a  misguided product? 

If you’re in the UX trenches at a place where it’s hard to gain traction, you might have an uphill battle on your hands.  If your going toe to toe to get your studies approved or just get cooperation, my advice is hang in there, change plans accordingly and just get whatever you can done.  You need to stick to your goals and get something in front of people because, as I’m realizing lately, your colleagues might just be guessing at what should be done next.  Guessing too strong of a word?  Pay attention in your meetings and digest where the direction of projects are coming from.  Some people will have concrete ideas based on data, others, not so much.   

So whatever you can bring to the table for others to learn more about their own products and their own users probably is more than they have ever known before.  Sure, your data analytics person is running and emailing reports but I don’t think that’s enough.   A survey may go out here and there with the data consolidated into a report.  How far-reaching are those reports, are they getting passed around and what is the story behind those numbers?  Does your company have enough knowledge sharing built into the process that those reports are easily shared or is someone holding the keys to data?    And that’s only one small example, think about what else isn’t being shared or what isn’t really being thought out.

Here’s the thing we need to realize,  UX has the ability to tie the whole story of what is taking place on sites together and view the whole picture from start to finish.   It seems like this shouldn’t have to be considered but I really feel like I need to remind myself that once in awhile.  Other teams and colleagues are not looking at the big picture and when they are, many times in my instance, it is centered around how they can smooth out any problems they have with their job.   Again, pay attention to the answers and solutions people present in meetings.  Consider what they are saying and what are they actually solving?  Does it help a customer?  Or does it make an internal process a little easier but maybe a little more difficult for the customer?

In my situation right now, I’m staring up at giant silos where very little communication takes place across teams, within these teams people aren’t keeping each other in the loop and product goals are not shared and even known in some instances.  To add a little more trouble, within these silos there isn’t a strong set of knowledge as to what is taking place on sites, what can be accomplished from a design perspective, what the long-term goals might be and furthermore, what do our customers needs from us. 

And I love all of these issues from a selfish perspective.  Our team has a chance to make a difference and help these teams see what is going on from a variety of lenses.  We can dig deep into the interaction or design to help identify pain points with little effort.  We have the ability to analyze usage patterns, which thankfully are being captured, and find trends that are either positive or negative circumstances.  We also have the ability to get to our users and learn about their needs and where we need to step up and make a difference.  For the time being, we are charting our own paths and developing studies to feed into meetings and projects.  In some cases, we’ve been asked to deliver.  In others, we see a need and we’re going to  fill it.  There might not be a receptive audience but I feel it’s important for people in UX roles to address issues when they exist and not just hide behind a process or silo.

If you can get your hands on any amount of concrete data or statements;  underground, grassroots, overtime or in any capacity, find a way to get facts.  Than you are ready to go back into those meetings with knowledge to share.   And when someone brings up the fact that “I wouldn’t use that feature” you can counter with “I understand you might not use that feature, however I ran several tests and it turns out our users would like this feature and in fact would like to see it enhanced as soon as possible.”  You might have to stay under the radar and get some guerilla tests going.  You might have to pour through some usage reports on the side.  But in the end, you’ll start to gain some credibility and also have a positive change on your products for others to recognize.  Over time you might not have to beg to get some UX work done, in fact you might have to tell people no.

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