Design Zen – Improving your designs by staying curious longer

DESIGN ZEN

The idea for this talk was conceived at the Warm-up party of the 8th international UX Camp Europe in Berlin on June 2nd, 2017 and given 2 days later. Thank you, Tom Allison for the initial spark.

ZEN

… is a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind.

Zen is a way of being.

It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts.

I like when people understand each other. So let’s start with a definition of Zen. Definitions might be hard to understand on their own.

To illustrate what zen is, let me tell you a story: A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, “I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it.” The teacher’s reply was casual, “Ten years.” Impatiently, the student answered, “But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?” The teacher thought for a moment, “20 years.”

There seems to be a sport. A sport that many people in design — or working with designers — seem to practice. It’s called jumping. Jumping to conclusions.

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Have you encountered something like that? How did you feel?

CURIOSITY

Since my childhood I have been a very curious person. Always interested to learn more. Asking “Why”. When reaching adulthood, people were finding it offensive. They did not like me asking so many questions. But it did not go away …

CURIOSITY REVEALS NEW INFORMATION

I do not want to let it go. I feel that my curiosity is helping me discover new information.

CURIOSITY REVEALS CONSTRAINTS

And new constraints. Constraints help me to get to a solution that is better in touch with reality. Making it more feasible, useful or better aligned with the stakeholder’s goals and intents.

When thinking about the project, these attributes would usually have been areas that would give birth to constraints.

When you start probing them with questions more complexity will usually surface. Most notably around processes, tools or value.

“We need a mobile app for …

– Unnamed Stakeholder

Too often people approach us with a simple request. A request for a solution. With very little information. About the context. About the users and their needs. First questions I am asking are: “What will change in the world when we finish this?” closely followed by “When is it good enough? When am I done?”

FOCUS

What do you focus on first?

FOCUS

How much time will pass before you switch your focus to the solution? What is it triggered by?

FOCUS

Early in the process we do focus on human needs. In software the UX Hierarchy of needs as formulated by Stephen Anderson is a tool that has helped me in the past. And I like to stay in this stage long enough to understand our user’s motivations, behaviour and goals.

FOCUS

The needs of our user’s do not shape the course of my exploration alone. The needs of stakeholders, product sponsors and my colleagues – they also need to be understood and accounted for. How does the solution help achieve a goal. And which goal would that be?

TRYING TO POSTPONE MY

JUDGEMENTWhat I realised doing was postponing my judgement. Listening. Perceiving what happens and trying to understand.

ZEN

… is a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind.

Zen is a way of being.

It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts.

That does sound a lot like that definition of “zen” doesn’t it? State of focus. State of mind.

ZEN

… is a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of body and mind.

Zen is a way of being.

It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts.

Dropping the illusion and seeing things without distortion. Seeing pas our own biases.

DESIGN ZEN

… is a total state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of goal and mind.

Zen is a way of being.

It also is a state of mind. Zen involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts.

To me, design zen is a state of focus that incorporates a total togetherness of goal and mind. The aim we have. The intent we’re projecting into the world. United with our mind.

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Are you doing something similar? How does it look like?

OPEN QUESTIONS

When working on a project I create a document called Open Questions. And all the questions — the whole team needs to be aware of — are captured in it. It is passed around and anyone has access to it. And whoever knows an answer to a question can go in and capture along with the questions.

OPEN QUESTIONS (EXAMPLES)

Who is Hany Farghali?

What activities are currently taking place in these initiatives right now?

How will we evaluate the “simplicity” of the content?

What activities does this project has to support? How? Is someone going to provide this information or are we expected to come up with the answer?

These are some examples of open questions. Part of them will eventually be passed to the client.

And these are other examples from a yestedray’s talks. Questions that helped me thing the topic through. The questions helps me build a bridge from my understanding to the subject of inquiry.

HOW? WHY?

Let’s try it. Remember something I said that wasn't clear. How would you ask to understand it better?

SHALOM@Vorkronor

petr.stedry@gmail.com

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