Liz, you asked: %u201CSo, what are some of the best means we (IxDA) could employ to communicate the IxD message & self-definition with recruiters, HR departments, education, business leaders, etc.?%u201D
I think that is a very important question. It cuts to the core of what IxDA must do if it is to become the spokes-organization for our profession. I think there are real dangers here. Andrei Herasimchuk said it clearly in a recent post: "...it's dangerous for designers to silo themselves %u2026 because %u2026 the need to have multiple people do the job of the design and the economics of building digital products will simply not be viable." In other words, we will get to the point where companies simply want to add a %u201Cuser friendly%u201D person to the team. Not an interaction designer, a usability specialist, an information architect, and a visual designer. These distinctions are too fine for the external facing world; they only serve to confuse. How do we get to a simple job description? Here are my top 10 ideas (for today): 1. Acknowledge that our external facing position needs to be simple and comprehensible to a non-practitioner. 2. Select a simple term that encompasses the profession of designing the presentation layer and use it consistently. Call it human-centered design (my choice) or user experience design, or user friendly design or usability or come up with another term, it does not really matter. But make certain that whatever term we select resonates with those who manage businesses and hire. 3. Change %u201CI am%u201D to %u201CI do.%u201D Instead of saying %u201CI am an interaction designer or I am a usability professional,%u201D say (for example) %u201CI am a human-centered designer or a user experience designer. I do interaction design, information architecture and usability testing but I do not do visual design.%u201D Of course, modify the %u201CI do%u2019s%u201D to suit each individual%u2019s skill set. 4. Get together with the other human-centered associations and work on #2 together. Get over the politics and work with the key organizations to define the human-centered design profession. While we are at it, we may want to include the business analysts and technical writers. Later we can focus on the differences among us but not until we have a unified way to present ourselves to the outside world. 5. Think big about IxD. It is easy to make the mistake of putting ourselves in a box that will limit us later, thinking we are distinguishing ourselves from the competition. I see IxD as having responsibility for the conceptual design of the product, its usability and the overall user experience. Be prepared to lead and realize that the profession is evolving under out feet %u2013 don%u2019t fall into the trap of narrow thinking. 6. Get clear about the theory and foundation of our profession. In this regard, I have come to realize that we come from different backgrounds and have not fully integrated with each other. For example, I am perhaps typical of the older designer: a cognitive psychologist with a computer science background and I identify strongly with the usability profession. Many Ix Designers have come through design schools, hold an MFA or similar degree and identify with the design professions. That is all to the good. But we need to integrate our thinking to include both design and cognitive psychology. 7. Bring the developers in. At the end of the day, it is the developers who will create what we design. We need to help them understand the value we bring to them and how we fit into their world. 8. Define process and best practice. We need this not only for ourselves but to integrate our work into the larger product development cycle. 9. Build and use metrics. We are unique among the design professions in that we have a tool to measure the quality of our designs %u2013 it%u2019s usability testing. If you are a good designer, then you should be able to demonstrate that empirically. I realize this is an oversimplification and not complete. But at the end of the day, that is how we can ensure quality. 10. Learn about business. We will always be working with MBA%u2019s as well as developers. Part of our role is to bridge the divide between them. To do that we need to understand both worlds. It is clear from the many posts on this topic and on the IxDA list in general that there is a great deal of interest in defining who we are and what we do. We need to do is to move beyond the discussion into constructive action. And, IMO, we need to be cognizant of the fact that this is a dangerous process. We need to get it right. Once we do that, we need to educate the HR folks so that they understand who we are and what we are about %u2013 but that%u2019s a topic for another day. Best, Charlie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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