Peter Stahl’s talks was one of the most fun talks I saw at the Summit, and remains one of my favorites for sheer creativity. It was a 20-minute talk, so shorter than the main talks.
Zoology of Product Teams: Care and feeding of the menagerie of specialists around you, and how to keep them happy. @pstahl #IAS18 https://t.co/NeOeg5xSHf pic.twitter.com/TmbinhJKL4
— IAC – information architecture conference #IAC24 (@theiaconf) March 19, 2018
The oxpecker and the buffalo, and the sea anemone and the clownfish are two examples of “mutualism” symbiosis. #ias18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Product teams often fail to establish mutually beneficial relationships #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
In many cases IAs are in the deliverables business, and hand them off to members of other teams. What happens to them after? Do we have blinders on about them? #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Why do our deliverables get ignored so often? Often it’s because they don’t meet the needs of our consumers — the other project members. Consumers can’t articulate their exact needs, or believe that you can tailor your work to their needs #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
“A wireframe is a wireframe, you order one like a hamburger.” Consumers are conditioned to figure out what to do with what you produce, and they don’t always use it the wrong way #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Symbiosis is found in nature, in a win/win situation. But it often doesn't appear in product teams. But aren't we, as UXers, supposed to know better? Instead, we pick and choose what we do from a menu! @pstahl #IAS18 pic.twitter.com/XLQxXcFVuy
— IAC – information architecture conference #IAC24 (@theiaconf) March 23, 2018
Knowing what people need is supposed to be our superpower, and yet we have a blind spot to the people closest to us: co-workers from other disciplines #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
The “creatures” where we look for symbiosis can be in different ecosystems. In the wild startup (a small ecosystem), species tend to do all the same tasks. In larger ecosystems there’s greater specialization and we depend on what each other produce #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
User Researchers: they are social, very good at reporting. Meerkats.
Information architects: Builders using whatever is at hand. Beavers.
Content managers: great storytellers. Parrots.
Interaction designers: omnivorous and intelligent pigs? Constantly leaping Kangaroos #IAS18— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Prototypes build illusions: zebras
Visual designers use nonverbal language to communicate: honeybees #IAS18— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Symbionts:
Software engineers: They do what they do and no one’s going to stop them. They are risk averse. Simple, complete, reusable, maintainable, reliable, speedy, bug free. Elephants #IAS18— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
In some jobs these are the criteria that Software Engineers are evaluated on for raises, so we shouldn’t be surprised that “usable” or “profitable” or “on-brand” are not on there. #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
To cultivate the symbiotic relationship with a software engineer, build a spec that the software engineer can implement. Know the capabilities and characteristics and names of their components. Then take the spec and have it refer to their environment #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
A software engineer properly fed with digestible specs will prioritize UI changes. Set them up to succeed and they will set you up to succeed. #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Page parsing parties: designers and engineers would comb through the wireframes hunting for reusable library components. By the end of the party the spec was thoroughly annotated with engineering library references #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
QA engineer: Anteater. Searches for bugs. Has a million things to do and a limited time. Easily-repeated, clearly targeted tests that can be quickly run in priority order are important to them. #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Typically a designer will come to a QA engineer and hand over the UI Spec and say “test this” and QA will ask “what parts are important?” If the designer says it’s all important, then none of it’s important. #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Annotate your specs with which parts of the flow are most important. Help the QA engineer understand the priorities of the work. #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
In return you’ll get more test cycles and more bugs caught and you won’t have to beg for UI issues to be taken seriously. QA will also feel responsible for the UI and closer to the users #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Project manager is a border collie. Time, communication, measurement, “done”, will we hit delivery on time? This can be adversarial to Design. “It’s never done” will drive them up the wall #IAS18 Border collies have sharp teeth
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Scheduling requires numbers. Embrace the numbers. Set thresholds for what is “good enough” and share those with the project managers. Go for ballpark figures. Project managers thrive on approximates. Gain allies with sharp teeth #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
You may also relax a bit if you have short term milestones, even if they’re arbitrary #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Product Managers have lots of different things that are important to them. They depend on lots of other organisms. (Raccoons.) Observe the current area of concern #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Use your adaptability to help the product manager get past the current obstacle. You’ll gain their trust and respect and gain a seat at the table. You’ll be less burdened with overly prescriptive product requirements. #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Salespeople: squirrels.
Executives: Externally focused. Smile and back away slowly. (Bears.) #IAS18— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018
Share language, give priorities, use numbers, always be watching – this is just a first step to create a symbiotic relationship with the product team #IAS18
— Anne Gibson (@perpendicularme) March 23, 2018