1. The Power of
Why ?
Note:
This is a combination of three talks I gave
in a three week span in Aug/Sep 2012:
- UX Week (San Francisco)
- UX Australia (Brisbane)
- RMIT (Melbourne)
Naturally, this talk evolved in between
each run. This version combines all three.
The live presentation uses a lot of
animations to augment the story. Since
animations don’t translate to PDF, this
version attempts to recreate the essence
of the live version with static screens.
Boxes like this include things I said, but
didn’t appear in the live versions.
Bill DeRouchey Consider them as speaker notes or
talking points.
I’d love to keep expanding on this, so
Aug/Sep 2012 @billder please send any feedback to
billder@gmail.com. Thanks!
2. wh
Today we’re going to talk about that
deep probing question, Why?, and how it
relates to our careers as designers.
3. We are all quite
Lucky.
First, let’s take a step back to
acknowledge that all of us in this room
are incredibly lucky to have the career
that we do. The world of design and user
experience is an incredible profession to
be a part of.
4. Our job is to talk to people.
It’s our job to talk to people, to
understand what they do and how they
live. We get to go out, meet strangers,
and simply learn from about subjects that
we often don’t know much about.
flickr : kunchia
5. And ask them questions.
We even get to go outdoors sometimes.
Propose ideas to people. Ask them
questions. Get their feedback. Invite
people to partake of the design process,
even if it’s just fifteen minutes at a time.
flickr : kunchia
6. And then make things for them.
And then we get to go back to the office
and make things for them. Hopefully help
out their lives somehow. Ease some
burden or just make something better.
Studio Neat : Cosmonaut
7. But we have a
Problem.
But we’re faced with massive
undercurrent of the relentless pace of
technology. Keeping up with everything
keeps getting harder and harder.
8. How can we plan our
Careers ?
The result is that it makes it really difficult
to plan out our careers. Looking ahead to
plot a career may even be an antiquated
We can’t. notion. Mine has definitely been one step
at a time. But there’s something to be
said for having some sort of direction as
we go ahead in life.
9. 1967 1977 1987 2012
Let’s look at this from the long view. We’re here in 2012. Suppose
you’re 25, 35, 45 years old. Maybe even a bit more.
10. 1967 1977 1987 1997 2007 2012 2017 2027 2037 2047 2057
And based on good medicine and exercise (right?), we’re all going to
be at least 90 years old. Congratulations! Your career will span these
years if you’re 25, 35 or 45. Notice how quickly 2047 comes along.
11. 1967 1977 1987 1997 2007 2012 2017 2027 2037 2047 2057
touch
web
Let’s look at the rapid tech evolution. The web has only been around
for this long. Widespread use of touch, even less time. The iPhone only
came out five years ago. Five. Years. Ago.
12. 1967 1977 1987 1997 2007 2012 2017 2027 2037 2047 2057
?
flexible neural
displays? implants?
touch dynamic
webweb
the surfaces?
So what technologies do we have to adapt our design skills to next?
How can we continually drive toward something while we’re continually
learning about the mediums we have to design with and for?
13. Luckily, there is one
Constant.
Fortunately, beside all this technology
churn, there is one skill that we can work
on throughout our careers. At least one
constant that will serve us well at any age,
and in any situation.
14. Simply asking
Why ?
The ability to simply ask Why? To ask a
probing, yet reasonable and calm, Why?
In any situation.
15. Why does that happen ?
Suppose you’re analyzing the action and
feedback of a product and it does
something unexpected. Why did that
happen? What drove that design
decision?
16. Why is that the plan ?
Suppose you’re in a business that has a
deadline to ship on a certain date,
despite pressure that it’s a bad date. Why
is that the plan? What’s driving that
business decision?
17. Why is that the way ?
Suppose you’re in a business that has a
certain method for doing things, and it
no longer works. Why is this the way we
do things? Why did it make sense then,
but not now?
18. Why did you do that ?
Suppose you’re out in the field observing
someone during some primary research.
They hold a thing, or do things in an
interesting order, or make an unexpected
choice. Why did you do that? Tell me
more about how you made that choice,
or were you even aware of it?
19. Why do you believe that ?
Suppose somebody uses an interesting
word that reveals how they think about
something. That’s an interesting phrase.
Does that mean you think this? Why do
you believe that?
20. Why What How/Much
Who When Where
These are the questions that set us apart.
These are the words that help us uncover
the truth, that help us understand the
world around us. And I think it’s these
concepts that separate us from the other
creatures on the planet. “I think.”
22. Let’s look at this another way. A common
framework for looking at projects is What,
How, Why.
What you are working on.
How you are working on it.
Why you are working on it.
In theory, the Why is the core and
changes the least often. How you achieve
that vision may change a bit more. And
What the work entails will change the
most rapidly.
What How Why
23. Scott Sinek calls this the Golden Circle.
He says that people who focus on Why
something should happen tend to have
the best success in getting things done,
because they have the vision and can
communicate it.
What How Why
24. It is our job to create a
Conversation.
So let’s dig more into what it is to ask the
question Why?
It’s our job as UX people to have
conversations with people. They may be
research participants, co-workers, or
other partners. But as we need to learn
from others and craft solutions, part of
that is simply have a productive
conversation with somebody.
25. We often have to ask hard
Questions.
But in our quest to learn about how
things can be better, different, or
improved, we often have to ask people
questions they don’t normally hear. We
often have to ask them questions about
Why they do/think/believe various things.
We have to probe.
26. Why? digs under the
Surface.
These aren’t your everyday questions.
These are questions that dig below the
surface of everyday activity. These are
questions that dig into the layers under
behavior and sometimes into the
subconscious.
27. And this can be
Tricky.
And these are delicate conversations.
These are questions that require people
to step outside themselves to assess what
they are doing or thinking. And
sometimes with a stranger filming them
and somebody else taking notes. No
pressure at all!
28. People can get
Weird.
Not everybody is up for being placed in
this tricky situation. They may put up their
barriers and get weird somehow.
Defensive. Unsure. Flippant. In short, they
don’t respond to you in an open manner
because they feel threatened in some
way.
30. Problems arise when
Who = Why
And this is because some people tie what
they believe in with who they are, their
identity. When you question what they do
or how they think, you are questioning
them as a person. No wonder some
people get defensive. It’s because they
believe you’re attacking them. And of
course, you’re not.
31. Who ≠ Why
So we need to break the bond between
Who and Why. How?
32. Compassion
Curiosity
and
With compassion and curiosity. These will help you to reach people so that you can learn what you need to learn.
33. First, Compassion.
What better living embodiment of
compassion then the Dalai Lama? A man
who simply travels the world trying to get
people to be nicer to themselves so they
can be nicer to others.
Compassion davechan.ca
34. It is not just about
Empathy.
Many people say that designers need
empathy, and I agree. But is it enough?
Can we be truly feel what another person
is feeling? If I’m interviewing a surgeon, a
social worker or a mom, I can
intellectually identify with their feelings,
but never at a real gut level.
35. Empathy first requires
Compassion.
So we need to push ourselves a little
harder. We need to reach out to the
participant, the co-worker, the partner to
really want to help them. Compassion is
the alleviation of someone else’s
suffering. Which not coincidentally,
sounds a little bit like design itself.
36. Compassion
“ If you approach others
with the thought of
compassion, that will
automatically reduce fear
and allow an openness
with other people.”
Reducing someone’s fear can open them up.
37. Curiosity
The other thing that designers need to
reach people with is Curiosity. We’ve all
been around two- and three-year olds
and witnessed their insatiable need to
know Why the world works the way it
does.
Why is the sky blue? Why do we need
money? Why does Darth Vader always
wear a helmet?
flickr : kristaphoto
38. It is the eternal
Unfolding.
Asking Why? helps us to continually
understand the world around us, to
unfold the hidden aspects of our world.
Since it’s impossible to know everything,
it’s 100% possible to keep learning.
39. It is the essence of
Why?
And curiosity is of course the essence of
Why? It’s that desire to learn about
something you don’t know, to expand
your knowledge about something.
40. And it requires
Tenacity.
And curiosity for designers requires the
tenacity of a three-year old. The
neverending drive to want to learn more
about the subject at hand.
41. Curiosity
You will fly to another
planet, parachute into
the thin atmosphere,
and drop yourself by
a sky crane just to go
look at rocks.
What better role model for curiosity
than Curiosity?
42. On one side, compassion for the people
that we need to have hard conversations
with. On the other, tenacious curiosity to
understand and build. Those are both
necessary components for designing.
THIS IS DESIGN
43. I want to see you right in the middle,
employing both compassion and
curiosity.
YOU
Compassion Curiosity
44. Now if you slightly twist these words, you
get Genuine Interest. And that’s what you
need to really reach people. Simply
display genuine interest in what they
have to say, because people can sense
fake interest.
YOU
Genuine Interest
45. Ok, let’s say you’ve spent some time
practicing how to ask Why? with
compassion and curiosity... now what?
You can now look at three different levels
you can focus your Why skills on:
individuals, organizations, and the world.
Why? a Person an Org the World
46. Let’s start with people. Most of this talk
has already been discussing one-on-one
conversations, so I won’t belabor this
point too much.
Why? a Person
47. But simply having and displaying genuine
interest in what somebody has to say is
the best way to reach somebody, the
best way to have a conversation that
probes into what they do and think.
People will tell you their life story if they
think you want to hear it.
flickr : halfchinese
PEOPLE
48. Now let’s step it up a level and talk about
groups of people, and that usually
means....
Why? an Organization
50. Why? exposes the
Ruts & Habits.
Too often, businesses fall into habits into
the way they do things. They drop into
ruts they can’t escape. Why? can expose
the assumptions behind them, can shine
light on decisions that made sense
months or years ago, but maybe not now.
You have the skills to probe into business
decisions to understand why things
happen.
51. It reveals absurdity of
BECAUSE
I SAID SO. Asking Why? often times will also bubble
up to somebody simply saying “because I
said so” without any backup of reasoning
or logical thought. Gut is one thing, but if
you can’t articulate anything beyond
“because”, then you have a problem. A
good designer can probe here to surface
that.
52. And then at some point...
Why ? Why!
And then at some point in your career,
the skills you’ve developed in having
conversations with people leads you to
developing skills in articulating ideas.
53. You learned to
Distill.
Because you’ve learned how to distill
many different data points or discussions
into a single concept, framework or
model.
54. You learned to
Communicate.
You’ve learned to develop ways to
communicate what you’ve distilled,
whether it be prototypes, words,
diagrams or images.
55. You are asked to
Explain.
And your co-workers and colleagues
recognize this and look to you as the one
who can explain things.
56. Your job then becomes to
Evangelize.
You become the champion of ideas
because you’ve learned to talk to people,
pose questions, distill your findings, and
communicate them.
57. You have the tools to say
This is WHY!
You’ve built up a skill set that can say
Why something should happen because
you can back it up with observations,
thought, and rationale.
58. This is driving the trend of
UX Product.
And this is what I believe is behind the
trend of UX people becoming product
managers. Because they’ve developed
the skills to understand people and
create ideas appropriate to them.
They’ve learned how to be advocates for
people, not just business plans.
59. Then you get the itch to
Go Bigger.
And then at some point in your career,
you may get that burn to try out your
skills on even bigger problems.
60. And that means looking at the big world
around you.
Why? in the World
61. And that means the big institutions of our
lives.
INSTITUTIONS!
62. The really big things that
Food Water
we’ve built up that all have
massive problems that need
fixing. Massive. Problems.
Energy Science
Banking Social Care
Education Health Care
Insurance Government
Transportation Environment
63. These are the BIGGEST design
Problems.
The great thing is, we can apply our
design thinking to these problems.
They’re just bigger, harder, more
intransigent, and ultimately, more
worthwhile in the long run to tackle.
64. Use your ability to ask Why to
Go Fix Them.
Because in the end, somebody has to
break through this mess we’ve created for
ourselves. Why shouldn’t it be the
designers of the world who conceive of
new ways to live and work and be
human? Isn’t that what we do?
65. Live to be at least 90 years old.
Practice asking Why?
Really connect with people.
With Compassion. With Curiosity.
Question everything, small and big.
And then go redesign it all. In summary...