These are things I have learned the hard way…
I get preachy about a handful of things because I have learned how much they matter.
Users are not stupid. And "user errors" are usually the result of design flaws.
I cringe deeply when I hear anyone in UX (or Product) say “You can’t fix stupid.” Do. Not. Blame. The. User.
Knowing how to use your system design is not a signifier of their intelligence. If your user doesn’t understand the system, it’s because you didn’t understand your user when you created the system.
It’s ok. Adjust. Do better. Keep learning.
Draw with developers.
Actually. Draw with everyone; pictures get you on the same page faster than anything.
But especially, absolutely and frequently ask your technical partners to draw it how they want to build it before you design it. In doing so you learn so much about considerations and constraints they might not have thought to tell you and you might not have thought to ask.
Listen to Customer Support.
I don’t just mean to take into quantitative call topic data into account (you should do that too).
I mean if someone from the front lines of customer service comes to you with an idea, listen to the idea. It might not be the biggest priority, they might not have the right solution, but the definitely understand the problem – and maybe what causes it – better than anyone else.
Don’t make it pretty while you figure it out.
Start with messy. Get worse. Fail fast. It won't matter if it's elegant if it's wrong.
The best experiences come from exploration, time with non-designers, and usually some first attempts that weren't quite right.
The quality of a system has to be more than the sum of good screens.
Don’t lose sight of every single tiny piece of the eco-system solutions will be part of.
Help the team remember this too.
But move along.
(Don't start from scratch every time!)
Spec specifically and pedantically.
Don’t throw the final asset over the wall and expect anyone else to interpret it, not even when it seems really obvious.
Demos are good. But, don’t complain that it was done wrong, if you didn’t guide it to getting done right!
Add a little more detailed info to implement than you think you need.
Dream a little. But work a lot. Pragmatic execution now often helps with more ideal strategy (someday).
We don't have to choose between strategic or reactive, but there is a lot more real magic in elbow grease than there is in pixie dust.
Don't slow or frustrate your partners when the stars don't align for perfect process, discovery timelines, research budgets, or platform capabilities. Don't assume the business folk choose not to prioritize what we know they should do.
Help them do the very best thing within the realm of possibility, and don't scold them for not being willing or able to prioritize what you think is best.
Time and energy spent preaching the importance of human-centered processes can be reinvested into action. Sometimes yours process is unseen and un-applauded. But, do it anyway, and the results of steady progress through every project, whether big or small, reactive or strategic, will speak louder than words.
Celebrate your dust pile.
A big pile of designs concepts that you didn’t use isn’t a pile of failures. It’s how you figured out what not to do because it was the wrong way to go, or the wrong thing to work on.
It's dev-dollars you didn't spend. Good job.
