The value of interactive designers from the perspective of business

Recently, and group of designers review recent work progress, found a lot of problems. Thinking of the design of a new face innocent and confused expression, I think I need more to do something. For a ued team in a business unit, it's important to be professional, but it's more important to reflect the value you bring to the business.

To make a long story short, I think that to be worthwhile, we need to do the following:

　　First, dare to trace the roots, do not do surface kung Fu

Many designers think their job is only to optimize the work related to the foreground interface, but the real kungfu comes from the reconstruction of the back end (PS: We do is biased technology platform-oriented products).

Take my review today a project to cite example: our current product experience is very bad, the process is very not smooth, so I let the designer optimize the process first. But when she finished, she told me that the changes were not big, and I suddenly had 10,000 exclamation points in my mind and asked why. Her main idea: according to the existing business logic, the design can optimize the space is not small.

So I asked her, "What do you think is the value of your existence?"

　Finding the best solution, not the correct solution

Too many designers think it's okay to be "right". So what we see is a satisfying demand side, no big problem, but very mediocre design.

Or just that example, the designer showed me a flowchart that he thought was impeccable, at least I found the following questions:

① part of the process adjustment position more smoothly (does not conform to the optimal mental model)

② some processes are unreasonable and can be removed or optimized (need to change the business logic)

③ Some processes can be merged (need to change the interface logic)

④ Some processes cannot form a closed loop (need to change the operating rules)

There may be tens of thousands of "right" process designs, but perhaps only one of the "best". and finding that optimal solution is the value of the designer. Don't forget, "interface" is just a small, small part of the "User experience" category that anyone can get involved in.

　Three, get the result

It's not enough to find the best solution, but to get the results. Like the example above, maybe I found a lot of problems, but at the same time I found that to change these issues requires many other roles, such as product managers, operations, technical architects, and so on, for some of the more difficult problems may be no one can immediately answer. A lot of thoughtful designers have come here to stop, but the executive force of the designer will find ways to use all the resources to verify their ideas are correct, such as research, running background data and so on.

To cite another example, the recent boss feedback on our other product experience is poor, I found the corresponding designer to ask, she said that all the plans before the design has not been adopted, she cited the main reasons for the following: The product manager said this place can not change; Product manager says the cost of development is too high; the product manager says the pain point is not obvious; The product manager said he could not guarantee that the process was generic; The product manager said it was too uncontrollable to drive other departments ... So she apart and compromised. In my mind again the words: What do you think you are the value of existence?

In fact, everyone has their own position, product managers are no exception, for platform-type product managers, the user experience is not his most painful point, not to mention that many ued found problems may not be in the product manager's KPI. So as a designer must have their own insistence, to clear their position, value and irreplaceable advantages.

　　Iv. thinking about the value of business

Of course, many of the best theoretical solutions may not meet business needs at the moment, and many times we have to make compromises and concessions. But this should be the best program that we have fully developed in our professional ability and enthusiasm, through a variety of trade-offs, thoughts and attempts to promote the healthy development of the business at present. Think of 100 can break through the innovation point, even if only to achieve 10 temporarily, is also a big step forward; and a breakthrough innovation of the point is not, just on the original basis of tinkering, then eventually is shapely, nothing.

So as a designer, you might as well stop to seriously think about the recent period of time, the contribution to the business in the end, what is the value of their existence, the degree of ease of substitution. In this way, the direction of the future may become clearer.