Title: Winning a User Experience Debate
Context: Designers are from Mars and everyone else is from Venus. But the part of Venus that constantly disagrees with people from Mars.
Synopsis: I know this almost never happens, but what should we do when confronted with an opinionated colleague who is challenging the design decisions that we are making? I know, crazy right? But just in case you ever find yourself in this rarest of positions where you are forced to defend one of your designs, always remember that there are ways of dealing with even the most irate challenge (that don’t involve beating someone about the head with a whiteboard). Do you have evidence? If so, use it. Do you have relevant research? Well, then use that as well. Do you have proven design principles that you are using as your starting point? Then explain those too. Basically, be prepared to prove your recommendations and validate your decisions. But only if someone challenges them in the first place. Which they won’t. Because that almost never happens.
Best Bit: “The worst UX designers are those who succumb to the arrogant conceit that stakeholders are design-illiterate fools.”
via uie.com
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