Biggest Fear for Usability Professionals?
Posted on January 9th, 2009 in Usability | 3 Comments »
As part of my “super secret” usability professional training program I’m looking into FEAR…
I can’t tell you too much right now about my premium training program. But, what I can tell you is that it will take you to the next level of success as a usability professional. It’ll help you become recession proof too. I can share more in the near future — stay tuned — but right now I have to protect my intellectual material. I’m certain that some copycats will follow me once they get wind of this. Keep an eye on WebWord and definitely subscribe to the WebWord Newsletter to be the first to know what I’m doing.
So, why am I looking into fear? The answer is complex. Every time there is downward pressure on a company usability and UX professionals start to worry. They feel marginalized because usability is often seen as a “nice to have” not as an essential piece of a business.
Many managers and executives not familiar with UX look at usability professional like we don’t add bottom line value. It’s as if we’re overhead or something. We know this isn’t true but it’s hard to fight.
We’re now deep into a recession. In the last month alone I know of at least three usability professionals who have lost their positions. These are smart, motivated, and talented people. But, because they are not seen as being essential to the profitability of the business they are let go like a used up Coke bottle in a recyling bin. People are afraid of being … dropped.
The frustration I have is that we ARE critical to the bottom line. I’m not talking about cost justifying usability. That kind of thinking makes sense on the surface and books are sold helping people get down to the numbers. That’s fine, but I’m talking about something much bigger.
UX’ers have the ability to boost innovation, drive dramatic improvements to marketing materials, jack up revenue by working with the sales force, and much more. Usability pros can also help pinpoint the fat in an organization. So, they can identify where else to cut — versus the usability budget and UX’ers jobs!
These are the things that I am seeing in the usability world now through my deep connections. As some folks know, I work in the belly of the beast like many of you reading WebWord right now. I’m inside a Fortune 100 company and I know how the wheels turn inside the machine. I also know how to navigate the landmines.
So, what is your biggest fear right now in the world of usability? Is it job security? Is it changing positions within your company? Is it your lack of business and internal marketing skills? This is about you. Share your fear and let’s see where it goes.
~ John
3 Responses
One of the key reasons that UX is typically under the microscope in times of cost cutting is that it’s difficult to measure the ROI associated with UX activities. Business leaders want to see quantifiable value. They want to be able to see a clear connection between the company’s investment and the increased revenue of that investment. This is often very hard to do.
An interesting point that you brought up is that there is almost always “fat” or dead wood somewhere else in the organization. I’m always surprised that other disciplines are never questioned as well to “prove” their value.
Undoubtedly, developing models to measure RIO is an important initiative that must be continuously pursued going forward.
“I’m always surprised that other disciplines are never questioned as well to “prove” their value.”
They are not asked because they have already been accepted or matured to a point where less selling of the value is required. So the UX industry has to do a better job of selling its value.
The companies that really solely on ROI or are purely numbers driven scare me. In that they are asking for these when budgets are being allocated on products or projects that may not historically have added any value in the first place.
Get over the idea that “other functions” don’t have to “prove their value”. That’s just wrong. Lose the attitude. It makes the UX community sound like they are part of a religion or cult. It’s business.