I like this new focused approach to the newsletter. Feels easier to have a discussion around the main thread. Two things I notice about the UCD post:
1. I'm all for pointing out blind spots in methodologies, as the post does, but I think the larger lesson is that methodologies provide guiding principles, they are not dogma. For instance, there are definitely well designed experiences that deliberately introduce friction for reasons that improve (even bring joy to) the user's experience. "Removing all friction for the user" feels this way.
2. Something that isn't discussed is what the criteria is for evaluation and prioritization amongst the needs of the various stakeholders. Who gets to decide at Uber how to prioritize between user friction, ride efficiency, and local pollution? To my mind, this is a moral question that designers are constantly engaged in, how to decide amongst competing values. Since Uber is a business, and users are paying customers, the criteria by default is usually just maximizing profit. But if we want to expand towards other considerations, we should discuss new criteria of evaluation for designers to navigate these decisions.
While I appreciate Systems Design Thinking, I think its disingenuous to blame an organization's principals on any design system. I also think it is incredibly dangerous to open an article with a statement about systemic police racism and then spend the rest of the article talking about the flaws in UCD. Was UCD used to design police systems? Doubtful.
That said, I like the 5 approaches they end it off with. Hilary Mason first introduced me to the exercise of thinking about how the technologies we were proposing could be used for evil. We would have brainstorming sessions just around that. Very valuable.
I think a lot of the issues they discuss are organizational issues, not design issues. If your organization practices Triple Bottom Line, then you are already taking these issue into account. I think user first and UCD approaches will also lead to helping solve the world's greatest challenges, starting with Climate Change.
I like this new focused approach to the newsletter. Feels easier to have a discussion around the main thread. Two things I notice about the UCD post:
1. I'm all for pointing out blind spots in methodologies, as the post does, but I think the larger lesson is that methodologies provide guiding principles, they are not dogma. For instance, there are definitely well designed experiences that deliberately introduce friction for reasons that improve (even bring joy to) the user's experience. "Removing all friction for the user" feels this way.
2. Something that isn't discussed is what the criteria is for evaluation and prioritization amongst the needs of the various stakeholders. Who gets to decide at Uber how to prioritize between user friction, ride efficiency, and local pollution? To my mind, this is a moral question that designers are constantly engaged in, how to decide amongst competing values. Since Uber is a business, and users are paying customers, the criteria by default is usually just maximizing profit. But if we want to expand towards other considerations, we should discuss new criteria of evaluation for designers to navigate these decisions.
While I appreciate Systems Design Thinking, I think its disingenuous to blame an organization's principals on any design system. I also think it is incredibly dangerous to open an article with a statement about systemic police racism and then spend the rest of the article talking about the flaws in UCD. Was UCD used to design police systems? Doubtful.
That said, I like the 5 approaches they end it off with. Hilary Mason first introduced me to the exercise of thinking about how the technologies we were proposing could be used for evil. We would have brainstorming sessions just around that. Very valuable.
I think a lot of the issues they discuss are organizational issues, not design issues. If your organization practices Triple Bottom Line, then you are already taking these issue into account. I think user first and UCD approaches will also lead to helping solve the world's greatest challenges, starting with Climate Change.