Just came across Bryan Minihan’s thoughtful list of “mantras" for life in the UX trenches. This came from a discussion over on the IXDA discussion list about the firing of a disgruntled and vocal designer at American Airlines. I love these insights because they so clearly come from hard-won experience. You are wise, Mr. Minihan.
- Always assume, despite all evidence to the contrary, that most people want to deliver quality work
- If you feel your company is too slow in delivering quality, most likely, everyone else does, too
- If you hear “that’s impossible", you’re not providing enough of a solution
- If you hear “we don’t know how to do that", you need to show them how
- If no one else will do it, figure out how to do it yourself
- If you get pushback from management, marketing, sales, support, operations, development, or the PMO office, then you’re not involving them in your design process
- If you don’t like the bureaucracy, figure out how to change it
- Never bash your own company/department/colleagues in public.
- If you disagree with a group or person in the way of progress, talk to them about it, or drop it and move on
- The folks who drive real change in large companies don’t do the leg-work. If you want to make a difference, climb out of the cube, talk to people, and claw your way to a level where you can affect real change. If you’re not up for that, stop complaining. Yes, this can take years (and has).