Understanding Client Dynamics, presented at Embrace UX

UNDERSTANDING

CLIENT

DYNAMICS

EMBRACE UXFEBRUARY 28, 2015

MORAG JOHNSTON

© 2015 Morag Johnston | @MoragJ 1

theoatmeal.com/comics/design_hell


“What the heck

just happened in

there?”


WHY TALK ABOUT CLIENT

DYNAMICS?

Create a great user experience

Affect business outcomes

Generate repeat business


APPROACH

Based on 20+ years of consulting

experience.

Assumes the best of people.


Designers are not users.


Designers are not clients.


“When you ask creative people how they

did something, they feel a little guilty

because they didn't really do it, they just

saw something.

It seemed obvious to them

after a while.”

-- Steve Jobs

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/04/creativity-habits_n_4859769.html


Treat this like a

design problem.

© 2015 Morag Johnston | @MoragJ

http://blog.mitx.org/Blog/bid/87111/What-Does-Innovation-Mean-to-You-7-of-

7

9

1. What is your client’s goal?

2. What tools, skills and attitudes

are they bringing to bear?


Image: http://hqworld.net/gallery/data/media/20/tip_of_the_iceberg.jpg

Creating the

User Experience

Annual project

portfolio

Organizational

objectives

Political,

Economic,

Social and

Technology

Environment

The Project

11

CONTEXT

Bid on

contract

Awarded

contract

Team

formed

Made

aware of

project

External Project Team

Internal Project Team Members

PRIOR TO KICK-OFF

Kick-off

meeting



Bid on

contract

Awarded

contract

Team

formed

Made

aware of

project

External Project TeamKick-off

meeting

Internal Project Team Members

WHY DOES THIS PROJECT EXIST?

•Market impact VS. risk

• Investment VS. short term profit

•Response to a competitor

•Legislative requirement

•Visual identity alignment


WHY WERE YOU PICKED?

Reputation

Account team

Proposal

Mandated


WHY THIS CLIENT TEAM?

A-Team

Right skills,

knowledge,

attitude,

availability,

connections &

personalities

Not the A-Team

A-Team has higher

priority work

Growth opportunity

Scope misjudgment

Politics

No one exists


AT THE TABLE

•How do they introduce themselves?

•Who does most of the talking?

•What are they doing?

•Where do people sit?


Image: http://www.colonialwilliamsburg.com/plan/groups/meetings-and-conferences/© 2015 Morag Johnston | @MoragJ 18

http://intimateexcellent.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/snapshots-cyrano-production-design-meeting/19

FRAMEWORK

How

What

Why

= Project contribution

= Business contribution

= Personal investment


PROJECT CONTRIBUTION

21

High

Low

Learn how they get

things done

Provide strong project

management

PROCESS RIGOR

DESIGN EXPERIENCE© 2015 Morag Johnston | @MoragJ

http://coldbroken.deviantart.com/art/Circuit-board-8359189

ExpertLearning the Ropes

PROJECT CONTRIBUTION

Help them

solution

differently

Move toward a

partnership?

UX / Subject

matter education

Over-over-

communicate

© 2015 Morag Johnston | @MoragJ

http://coldbroken.deviantart.com/art/Circuit-board-835918922

High

Low

PROCESS RIGOR

DESIGN EXPERIENCE


BUSINESS CONTRIBUTION


Expert

Learning the

Ropes


CORE

COMPETENCY

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

BUSINESS CONTRIBUTION

Great business

requirements

Create

allies,

carefully

Educate as best

possible

Why are

they here?


Expert


CORE

COMPETENCY

DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

Learning the

Ropes

PERSONAL INVESTMENT


Corporate

Personal

OpenClosed

OBJECTIVES

VULNERABILITY

http://globe-views.com/dreams/lizard.html


PERSONAL INVESTMENT

Optimally

productive

May take

credit

Make them

look good

Do nothing in

public

Corporate

Personal

OpenClosed

OBJECTIVES

VULNERABILITY

Working with clients is a

design problem.

Improve incrementally.


THANKSUnderstandingClients.com

@MoragJ


Understanding Client Dynamics, presented at Embrace UX

Design

morag johnston

clients empathy

great experience

clients wont

clients goal

user experience design

meeting project objectives

userfriendly design