UX Principles: Useful? Or Useless? ft. Erin Weigel
Jul 17, 2024
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Erin Weigel, aka 'All She Does Is Win', challenges the rigidity of UX patterns and best practices, emphasizing the importance of user-centric design decisions. She discusses how simplicity is subjective, the hierarchy of evidence in UX, and the dangers of blindly following best practices. Erin advocates for personalized experimentation over scale optimization for optimal user experiences.
UX patterns can stifle innovation but can still be used effectively for user optimization.
Good UX is determined by users, not 'best practices', emphasizing the importance of user feedback.
Deep dives
Communication with Stakeholders on Experimentation
When discussing experimentation with stakeholders, it is essential to focus on managing risks and the degree of certainty they seek in decisions. Instead of delving into complex statistical details, emphasize the level of confidence needed for a specific course of action. Tailoring the conversation around risk tolerance, investment requirements, and potential outcomes can help stakeholders grasp the significance of experimental results without drowning them in technical jargon.
Understanding Stakeholder Preferences in Conversations
When engaging with stakeholders, consider their individual preferences and interests to effectively communicate complex statistical concepts. Tailor the discussion to align with their priorities, whether it's risk management for executives, statistical insights for analysts, or practical outcomes for product owners. By adapting the conversation to resonate with stakeholders' concerns, you can enhance their understanding and engagement with the experimentation process.
Simplifying Statistical Insights for Different Audience Levels
Addressing stakeholders' diverse levels of familiarity with statistical concepts, provide simplified explanations based on their interests and roles. For executives, emphasize risk levels and strategic implications, while engaging analysts with statistical significance and confidence intervals. Product owners may appreciate insights on user behavior and practical implications rather than statistical intricacies. Tailoring the depth of statistical discussions can ensure effective communication across diverse audience segments.
Balancing Technical Details with Practical Insights
In balancing technical statistical details with practical insights, consider the audience's receptiveness and engage them with relevant, real-world implications. While statistical significance is crucial in decision-making, highlighting the practical impact on business outcomes and user experiences can bridge the gap between complex analytics and actionable insights. By aligning statistical discussions with tangible results and strategic objectives, stakeholders can better appreciate the value of experimentation outcomes.
Erin "All She Does Is Win" Weigel joined Shiva to discuss UX principles / UX patterns, and how close they can be to supposed "best practices." Erin gave some pretty helpful tips on how to properly extrapolate UX patterns, and where they have downsides, but how you can still use them properly to optimize user experiences.
Erin doesn't like playing by ANYBODY'S rules... so be forewarned. Vibes were immaculate in this one.
Timestamps:
00:00 Start of Episode
7:25 "Patterns" Can Stifle Innovation In Many Cases
11:18 What is "Simple" Can Be Subjective
17:04 Erin Explains the Hierarchy of Evidence (And Why 'Best Practices' Are the Lowest Form of Quality)
27:34 Good UX Is Only Determined By Your Users (Not Anyone Else)
35:20 Shit You Should Know (Listener Question!): Sam Barber
Go follow Erin on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erindoesthings/ ) - and go buy her book (https://erindoesthings.com/design-for-impact/)
If you have listener questions, submit them at https://tinyurl.com/askfromatob for a chance to be featured like the OG Certified Homie Sam Barber!
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