Changing Co-Workers' Minds About UX... In 2 Days

You've heard it over and over. We can't make people respect UX... it's like trying to get someone to quit smoking. You've tried UX evangelism and held all those meetings about how important you are. You've strongly questioned people who didn't seem to care about the user or lacked empathy. How are we going to change minds at our workplaces?

I set out to answer that last year and ended up writing a program that I lovingly call DevOps ICU. It's not really about DevOps but I feel a kinship to DevOps since in addition to dev operations, it focuses on building the right, high-quality product for customers to increase their satisfaction. And that's where UX certainly overlaps.

During the 2-day workshop, I give the attendees various polls. I want to share with you how the most recent training in Sacramento did with two poll questions in particular.

One of the first slides they see is this poll asking which of these negative things they believe about UX. The poll is optional so if you are 100% positive about UX, you don't need to choose any of these (and there are no positive choices). These are all negative since my workshop aims to dispel and unravel all of these beliefs... without "UX evangelism."

With 14 non-UX people in the room, here is how this poll went. Lots of people believed that UX is only about wireframes or drawing boxes on pages. A few votes for some of the other negative ideas we hear so often about UX. Yes, you could vote for more than one.

One of the last polls the attendees see at the end of 2 full days is this one asking them to write any words/phrases about what they think of UX now. I told them it's OK to still write negative or frustrated/frustrating things if that's how they feel. Please be completely honest. Here is today's word cloud with those responses.

Well that's a beautiful moment! It truly makes me feel like my workshop creates real change, has an impact. The only negative comment I've spotted there is "slow development." I understand that non-UX roles would be afraid that adding or changing how they integrate UX might slow things down. It could at first, and then will find its groove.

Nobody said it's drawing boxes on a page (after nearly everybody voted for that belief just a day ago). At least one person said, "More than just boxes." Nobody repeated any of the negative beliefs they voted for the day before.

That's quite a shift after a 2-day workshop. This is exciting! I can't help but be proud and excited about this!

If you are having trouble explaining UX around your company, getting buy-in, improving processes, and getting teammates to stop circumventing and overruling UX, my training should help. Bring in all the worker bees but especially those leaders, managers, and even execs. This is a change that has to come from the top.

Raise your UX IQ and improve efficiency, productivity, culture, product, and customer satisfaction all while saving time, money, and sanity. Are you a UX expert who wants to train others on this program? Contact me about train the trainer sessions.

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