A presentation at Webconf.asia in in Hong Kong by David Wieland
Navigating choppy waters Words by David Wieland Graphics by Chelsea Ng
@davidwieland Clients are people too — they need love like everyone else Navigating choppy waters
@davidwieland Explaining design to non-designers is an underrated skill Navigating choppy waters
@davidwieland
We b d e s i g n i s p e o p l e
all the way down
Navigating
choppy waters
@davidwieland Tussling with strangers Navigating choppy waters
@davidwieland I heard you guys like frameworks Navigating choppy waters
Setting sail Navigating choppy waters
Assembling the crew Navigating choppy waters “Seamen learn to get to know each other during a storm.”
@davidwieland Why is my client not compatible with my methods? Assembling the crew
Because— Clients aren’t trained to think or work like designers! Assembling the crew
@davidwieland Show and tell each other how you do your work! Stay vigilant! Why is my client not compatible with my methods? Assembling the crew
@davidwieland Spotting red flags Assembling the crew
S POTTING
RED
FLAGS “We don’t really have a budget, that’s why we’re asking you.” Try fishing for one! → Captain’s tip!
S POTTING
RED
FLAGS “We need a fixed price, but some stuff isn’t final yet.” Something’s gotta give, kid! → Jennifer Nopez!
S POTTING
RED
FLAGS “This project must be launched by DD-MM-YY.” Avoid fixed deadlines! → Try this!
S POTTING
RED
FLAGS “You won’t be in contact with decision makers. ” Hope you like playing Chinese Whispers ! → That’s dumb!
S POTTING
RED
FLAGS “Our management wants to see an upfront design.” → So you want us to design your website before we design your website? That’s cute!
“Our management wants to see an upfront design.” In a design pitch, no one wins J ARIJN N IJKAMP →
http://bit.ly/grayscale_pitch Share this with your client! Assembling the crew
@davidwieland Spotting red flags Assembling the crew Saying “No” is always an option. Remember, kids!
@davidwieland Unmasking shadow stakeholders Assembling the crew
Who can terminate the project? Who are the loose cannons? Any signs of internal turbulence? U NMASKING
SHADOW
STAKEHOLDERS
@davidwieland Unmasking shadow stakeholders Assembling the crew Tell horror stories of what happens when you don’t involve management Try this!
The calm before the storm Navigating choppy waters When the sea is calm, every ship has a good captain.
@davidwieland Accept what you don’t know The calm before the storm
@davidwieland Accept what you don’t know The calm before the storm Determine if your client can drive the project for you Try this!
@davidwieland When things are going too well The calm before the storm
@davidwieland The calm before the storm Projects risk total collapse during a feign lull Stay vigilant! When things are going too well
@davidwieland Taking criticism The calm before the storm
“When facing criticism, stop and ask yourself: Is this helpful or not helpful?”
— Chappell Ellison http://bit.ly/chappell_criticism
T AKING
CRITICISM
“Looks like something my kids bring home from school.” “I can’t relate to what you’re giving us.” Not helpful Helpful T RANSLATING
CRITICISM
“I just don’t like it.” “I’m missing something, but I don’t know how to tell you.” Not helpful Helpful T RANSLATING
CRITICISM
“It’s very… interesting.” “Boy, this is a huge departure and I need some time to process this.” Not helpful Helpful T RANSLATING
CRITICISM
@davidwieland Everything is going great — until it isn’t The calm before the storm
There’s a set of rules we live by. Rule One is simply: “Don’t adopt anxiety.” — Mike Monteiro →
http://bit.ly/mike_anxiety W HEN
THINGS
GO
HORRIBLY
WRONG
H ANDLING
ANXIOUS
CLIENTS
Take a deep breath
Don’t get defensive
Listen carefully
Don’t assign blame
Say you’ll look into it
Don’t promise anything else
Discuss with your team
Navigating choppy waters Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Navigating choppy waters
@davidwieland Handling progressive insight Navigating choppy waters
L IST
OF
PLACES
WE ’ VE
ALL
BEEN
TO
BEFORE “Now that I look at it again…” “Could you try something totally different?” “Our marketing team wants…” “We should use our corporate font though.”
“I thought that…?” “I asked my wife/neighbor/cat and they said…”
@davidwieland Document everything Navigating choppy waters
@davidwieland Document everything Navigating choppy waters Keep written records of any decision a client might backtrack on. If only to make sure you’re not insane
Remember kids— the difference between screwing around and science is writing it down. — Adam Savage D OCUMENT
EVERYTHING
@davidwieland Too many captains will sink any ship Navigating choppy waters
Yo u’ r e r e p o r t i n g t o s e v e r a l
departments and they directly
contradict each other
!
T HAT
FEELING
WHEN
They swoop in,
make a lot of noise,
crap on people , maybe eat their lunch,
and fly away. — James unter S EAGULL M ANAGER H
@davidwieland Design mutiny Navigating choppy waters
D ESIGN
MUTINY When your client takes matters in their own hands
Imma let you finish, but this is what we came up with so why don’t you try and work with that W HEN
THEY
BE
LIKE
@davidwieland Design mutiny Navigating choppy waters Could be indicative you’ve completely misread them Watch out!
@davidwieland Revolving door stakeholders Navigating choppy waters
DOOR
STAKEHOLDERS What begins as a website project, often ends up as a corporate restructuring Ancient Chinese proverb
F LASH
BACK !!
F LASH
BACK !!
Review current blockers
Reassess project goals Reassign individual responsibilities
Suspend the project I NTERVENTION
TIME !
Being a pawn in your political tug-of-war is a) mentally exhausting and b) imminently detrimental to your project quality, so either cut this energy-draining bullshit, or we’re walking away I NTERVENTION
TIME : N UCLEAR E DITION !
Disembarking After the ship has sunk, everyone knows how she might have been saved. Navigating choppy waters
@davidwieland When it doesn’t look as advertised Disembarking
@davidwieland When it doesn’t look as advertised Disembarking Uh-oh! Someone clearly fudged it! From design mockup to actual website is a huge step and requires strict coordination
@davidwieland Demystifying User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Disembarking
All teams agree what to test for
Yo u t r e a t UAT a s a p u b l i c a t i o n d e a d l i n e
Client reports issues systematically
There’s still time to address the issues
Y
OU
’
RE
DOING UAT RIGHT
WHEN
@davidwieland Parting ways Disembarking
T HANK
YOU ! Don’t adopt other people’s anxiety http://bit.ly/mike_anxiety Giving and taking criticism http://bit.ly/chappell_criticism What are Design Ops and why should you care? http://bit.ly/dave_designops In a design pitch, no one wins http://bit.ly/grayscale_pitch
What was the biggest thing you’ve ever taken on? I doubt it was a walk in the park. One day you’ll likely face a project which appears bigger than you can chew. With the right team and assets, nothing is insurmountable but it sure as shit can be scary at times.
The larger the assignment, the more people are involved and the more likely it is to collapse under its own weight. So how do you steer your project away from catastrophic disaster? 🤔
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