“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
Slide 32
“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
Slide 33
“It’s very…
interesting.”
“Boy, this is a huge
departure and I
need some time to
process this.”
Not helpful
Helpful
T
RANSLATING
CRITICISM
Slide 34
@davidwieland
Everything is
going great —
until it isn’t
The calm
before the storm
Slide 35
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
Slide 36
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
Slide 37
Navigating
choppy waters
Hope for the best,
but prepare for the worst.
Navigating
choppy waters
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
Keep written records of
any decision a client
might backtrack on.
If only to make sure you’re not insane
Slide 42
Remember kids— the difference
between screwing around and
science is writing it down.
— Adam Savage
D
OCUMENT
EVERYTHING
Slide 43
@davidwieland
Too many captains
will sink any ship
Navigating
choppy waters
Slide 44
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
!
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
!
Slide 56
Disembarking
After the ship has sunk,
everyone knows how she might
have been saved.
Navigating
choppy waters
Slide 57
@davidwieland
When it doesn’t
look as advertised
Disembarking
Slide 58
@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
Slide 59
@davidwieland
Demystifying
User Acceptance
Testing (UAT)
Disembarking
Slide 60
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
Slide 61
@davidwieland
Parting ways
Disembarking
Slide 62
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