Today, February 12^th is my birthday, so please forgive the somewhat off-topic post in place of the usual usability post.  And it’s not just any birthday – it’s my 50^th birthday, so please forgive me if I’m not around all that much today to chat, I’m probably off partying somewhere with my family.

I’ve decided to do what any good Hobbit usability guru would do, and throw YOU a party!  My gift to you is the gift of humor, which commences below.  Enjoy!

So here is the purpose of this birthday post, which is to provide you with some humorous thoughts,  party hats (virtual), streamers (also virtual) and birthday cake (again, totally virtual – which is good for all you calorie counters), and of course a few other thoughts thrown in for good measure.

First, let’s kick this party off with a few funny birthday quotes:

“Inside every older person is a younger person –

wondering what the hell happened.”

- Cora Harvey Armstrong

“Old age isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative.”

- Maurice Chevalier

“I’m at an age when my back goes out more than I do.”

- Phyllis Diller

Next, here’s a funny little birthday tribute to usability I like to call (drum roll please)…

The top 10 signs YOU may be a Usability Redneck!*

#10 – If you think Usabilla is a Mexican food served with chips and guacamole, you just might be a usability redneck.

#9 – If you think the Nielsen Norman Group is one of those 60’s folk music bands that toured the country in a flower-decorated bus, you might be a usability Redneck.

#8 – If you think “remote usability testing” means you have to fly to northern Saskatchewan, you just might be a usability Redneck.

#7 – If you assume Jared Spool had something to do with sewing machines and thread, you might be a usability redneck.

#6 – If you think a “protocol” is a new fangled mobile cellular device, you might be a usability redneck.

#5 – If you use focus groups, ouija boards and voting exit opinion polls to get usability data, you might be a usability redneck.

#4 – If you assume “perceived affordance” means your spouse has taken the checkbook, you might be a usability redneck.

#3 – If you think “1-on-1 performance test” is what your spouse expects at night in bed, you just might be a usability redneck.

#2 – If you think “critical task” is anything associated with getting a beer, you might be a usability redneck.

#1 – ___________ (You fill in the blank), you just might be a usability redneck.

Now it’s YOUR turn!

You fill in the number one reason in the comments (and if it’s publicly printable) we’ll all see the number one reason you just might be a usability redneck!

*Idea stolen borrowed directly from the comedian Jeff Foxworthy who is very funny (but not to rednecks).

PS – To all non-U.S. folks, and to those U.S. folks who are rednecks:  The term “Redneck” as defined in Wikipedia (yes, Wikipedia has “redneck” in it – what ISNT in Wikipedia???)  is as follows:

“Redneck is a disparaging term that refers to a person who is stereotypically Caucasian and of lower social-economic status in the United States, particularly referring to those living in rural areas. Originally limited to the Southern United States, and then to Appalachia, the term has become widely used throughout North America.”

You should be a usability zombie. Really!

Usability and Zombies

Usability and zombies go together like Halloween and candy corn.

Why? Because of a few things that zombies do really well from a management perspective that you should copy and mimic. What with Halloween coming along it makes sense for you to consider this sage advice and carefully implement it. I guarantee it’ll help you be a better usability practitioner, or double your money back (wait, you didn’t pay anything – oh well, you get the idea).

By the way, you can thank me later because being a usability zombie not only in your work activities, but physically dressing up as one at your next Halloween office party guarantees you notoriety, a win for “most creative costume” and a few highly trafficked photos on Flickr, (just give me credit for your big win – ok?).

For those of you who don’t know what a zombie is (and how was living in that cave all your life anyway?), Wikipedia defines a zombie as (yes, Wikipedia does too have a page for zombies! – why are you surprised?):

“A zombie is a creature that appears in folklore and popular culture typically as a reanimated corpse or a mindless human being.”

Craig defines zombies as:

“Dead people that some unknown (potentially evil) force reanimates so they can walk the earth again, but this time instead of wondering how come their iPhone isn’t forwarding their latest email (while sipping their non-fat no whip Grande mocha) they’re looking for delicious living human flesh to eat (by the way, goes great with the non-fat no whip Grande mocha – try it! and tell your friends!).”

If you need to research Zombies and usability, I highly recommend one of my favorite so-cheesy-it’s-great Zombie movies for your edification – “Dawn of the Dead” (the original 1978 version, not the re-make) by George A. Romero.

You see, Zombies have some excellent qualities that make them outstanding at getting things done with minimal fuss and maximum efficiency.

So here’s a few zombie qualities you should employ when going about your usability duties, well, like a zombie:

1. Zombies are focused

Zombies have but one purpose, one goal, one mission. In their case it’s to eat living human flesh. This makes them excellent managers, because they never lose their focus – and stay on track no matter what obstacles are in their way.

Likewise, you as a usability practitioner must be focused. You must not let obstacles stop you. Your sole (so to speak) goal is to generate more money for your company or client. No really, it is! You just happen to be using your expert talents at usability to accomplish this goal.

Usability is NOT the end goal, usability is but a means to a goal. And that goal is to help your company ( or your client’s company) do what it does better, faster and cheaper. Period.

If your company sells mobile cellular devices and plans, then focus all your usability energy on helping the company sell more cellular devices and plans.

If your organization is a library, then focus all your usability energy on making it easier for your library visitors to find and access the literature they need.

If you company sells Space Pet Clothes (yes, a company does actually sell space pet clothes (why do you not believe me – I’ve not steered you wrong yet, have I?) then by gosh use your usability talents to help them sell more space pet clothes.

And speaking of space pet clothes, yes, the Picard shirt (Best Captain – other than Kirk of course) would look GREAT on Jake, my Chihuahua.

Jake would look good in space pet clothes

Anyway, be like a zombie, focus 100% of your usability energy on improving your (or your client’s) organization’s ability to sell or deliver whatever they make, sell or service.

2. Zombies are slow but steady

Zombies are slow, but they never stop. This makes them excellent at staying the course and getting things done.

Usability practitioners who maintain a slow but steady pace can accomplish huge amounts of work. Like the story of the Turtle and the Hare, sometimes being too fast, not paying attention to detail and not staying steady will hurt you.

The latest fads are great and all, but the best way to be productive and accomplish usability improvements is by focusing on doing the things that matter, and ignoring the temptation to be thrown off course by some new fangled gadget or idea.

Be like a zombie, slow and steady. You’ll get that living human flesh usability improvement done and make a difference for your firm before you know it.

3. Zombies “live for” human flesh

OK, this one is a bit of a stretch but stay with me. Zombies live for (so to speak) and love eating human flesh, it’s pretty much what they excel at and what they know really, really well. They are experts at finding and devouring flesh.

Likewise, you should be an expert at usability, it should be your love. This means studying up on usability, talking about it with others and generally staying current with usability information and education.

Like loving human flesh, loving usability and taking opportunities to stay informed about it is a great way to improve your usability skills. Reading blogs (such as this one), books and using other resources like the Usability Professional’s Association (UPA) is an excellent way to continuously educate yourself about usability and our industry. The UPA has some excellent newsletters and magazines. If you’re not a member, it’s easy to join the UPA, and the education and information you will have access to will be very helpful.

4. Zombies don’t quit

One of the most redeeming qualities of a zombie is the fact that they will not stop, nor be persuaded to quit or give up. From a management standpoint this means when the going gets tough, the tough get (and keep) going.

For usability practitioners, there may be difficulties or seemingly impossible situations to deal with, but don’t give up.

Keep on trying, and don’t be at all afraid to do what zombies do and go up, around, over, under or across obstacles. Zombies don’t quit with their mission, neither should you.

5. Zombies have no politics

Zombies do not form groups or cliques, and zombies don’t spend time politically maneuvering themselves to corporate advantage. Neither should you.
Like a good zombie, you must refrain from the usual office politics, gossiping or other political forms of energy-drain, and instead stay true to usability and your purpose. I’m not advising you to hide from your peers, but if someone starts in on rumors or other company gossip, find a reason to politely excuse yourself and exit gracefully. No need to participate in time wasting bashing of others. Instead, focus on bashing some usability problems out of existence.

A good user experience is not just about web sites or applications, it’s about the quality of your time with your co-workers and peers. Make it a good experience and don’t participate in negative company politics.

Conclusion: Zombies and Usability

So now that you’ve had a chance to “digest” all this excellent living human flesh usability information I think you’ll agree with me that zombies and usability go together like Halloween and candy corn.

Usability work, if practiced with a zombie-like determination, will have an impact on your organization, and on you!

So now that we both agree that being a usability zombie is a good thing, what’s YOUR favorite zombie movie?

There are 6 Easy but Powerful Tips for Job Seekers to Research a Company’s User Experience Culture. Prospective full-time or consultant applicants can use these tips to be better prepared when contacting a company.

I had recently asked on Twitter what usability topics I should blog about next. This reply from Jonathan Hung seems to me very timely, because I actually am investigating companies and their corporate user experience cultures right now.

I have been working in marketing, branding and user experience with large and small corporations since 1982, and during that time I’ve seen quite a few examples of how companies incorporate user experience in their culture.

I have grouped them into 5 models of corporate user experience cultures. These 5 models are based on where in the corporation the user experience practice resides, and what types of interactions the user experience practice has with the rest of the organization.

In Part I of this article, I reviewed the 5 corporate user experience cultures and provided a brief description of each. I included the pros and cons of the 5 models, as based on how the culture could best provide a business value to the company.

In this article, which I’ve decided to cleverly call “Part II,” I’ll explain the 6 tips I use to learn and research which of the user experience cultures a company may have – based from a the perspective of either a prospective consultant looking for a gig, or a job hunter looking for a full-time position.

For this article, I’ll use an example of a job that was recently posted on Yahoo’s HotJobs for a User Experience leader. This job posting, which was recently posted by Verizon Wireless, is a typical example of how I use the 6 tips to research the user experience culture.

The 6 easy but powerful tips to research a company’s user experience culture.

Tip 1 – Carefully Read the Job Posting Title & Reporting Division

In this example, we can see that the title is “Executive Director – User Experience” implying that this will be mostly a managerial position, with direct reports and responsibility to oversee the management of projects. Most likely, a good fit for this position is someone with prior experience managing user experience teams, which may mean little or no hands-on work. In addition, the reporting division is “Marketing.” This implies that the user experience group is the third of the five models, the UX in Marketing model. There are pros and cons to this model, note especially that political skills will be crucial, as often other divisions in a corporation may feel “Marketing” has little or no bearing on operations or I.T. UX projects.

Tip 2 – Read – In Order – The Job Duties
From years of experience creating job postings, I can tell you that almost always, the “critical” duties will be listed at the top, and the less critical duties will be listed in rank order underneath. Focus on the top 3 duties especially, as this is most likely where the company really needs help, and where you will be spending the majority of your time. Usually, the other duties are nice-to-haves or less important functions that occupy less focus, thus less time.

It’s very important to compare these top 3 job duties, and especially their order, with any Annual Report or other type of CEO communication which spells out the major goals for the Company. Misalignment between these top duties, and the Executive vision for future projects for the company spell trouble. I’ll review this in more detail below, but for now make sure you note the order of the duties.

In this example, note that the applicant will be required to have experience with mobile applications and devices. For the mentioned responsibilities, the top 3 in order are:

1. Building a UX team
2. Creating a unifying vision for UX
3. Driving research, analysis, conceptual and detailed design

Note that the 2nd to last item is Identifying and driving cross-division synergies (this will be important later, after we review the CEO’s vision).

From the sound of the top 3 duties, it would appear that there is heavy need for team-building, unifying and only then researching and designing. From a user experience management perspective, it appears there are multiple areas in the company that must be aligned into a centralized user experience vision and team.

Tip 3 – Research Company News
Now that you have a better understanding of the job and the top 3 duties, it’s time to research the context into which this job fits. Be sure to use Google or Yahoo News search to read news stories about the company, and also visit the Investor Relations or About Us section of the company’s website to see what news has been important to the company.

In this example, a recent merger of Verizon Wireless and Alltel as was announced in 2008 would seem to fit the pattern of the duties noted above, which were to build a centralized UX team and create a unifying vision of UX in the organization. After a merger, unifying diverse teams is very important if a centralized user experience team is going to be successful.

Tip 4 – Research the Annual Report
For public companies, such as Verizon, the Annual Report is a goldmine of information. In it, the executives clearly define their vision or road-map for success.

Carefully note what the executives are defining as being critical to corporate success. If the job duties and descriptions align, then the user experience culture is in step with management and the potential for growth is there.

If however the duties and job description do not align with the executive vision, then proceed with caution. Misalignment of the user experience model with corporate vision spells an uncertain long-term future for the UX team.

In this example, the 2008 Verizon Annual Report has several statements that clearly define what the corporate vision is:

1. Move from voice and data to content & applications
2. Move from separate platforms to unified platforms
3. Build an application once then deliver it anytime, anywhere on any device

And later on in the Annual Report, the method for how the above strategic vision is to be accomplished is spelled out:

1. Increase efficiency through self-service initiatives
2. Centralize I.T. and Marketing efforts

The good news here is these executive visions and methods closely align with the top 3 duties as mentioned in the job description.

More good news, notice that the executive vision includes “superior customer service experiences as a competitive differentiator.” Clearly, user (in this case customer) experience will have high visibility in the organization, and usability projects designed to improve the customer experience should have an executive champion, and thus executive support.

The only potential bad news, if any, is that there might not be the ability for the user experience team in this particular model to work with other divisions in the corporation on an equal footing. Referring back to the above job duties (noted by the arrow), note that the 2nd to last job duty is:

“Identifying and driving cross division, and product group, product design synergies”

The fact that it’s 2nd to last might mean that it’s not very likely the user experience team will be conducting cross-division synergies, meaning the user experience model of user experience in Marketing might be somewhat of an island.

Tip 5 – Identify Compensation Criteria
It seems more often than not that compensation is left off of many job postings. As a user experience professional, you must try to identify what compensation is available, to try to estimate if the job is a level on par with your experience.

In this case, it would appear from the above Annual Report that a bonus structure may be in place for this position that provides additional compensation besides just salary and benefits.

“Key objectives of our compensation programs are pay-for-performance and the alignment of executives and shareowners long-term interests.”

We could assume this means a bonus plus stock options / awards are part of the user experience compensation for this job posting.

Tip 6 – Use Your Network
It’s helpful now that you’ve done your homework about the position and company to use your network to try to establish contact with someone who works inside the company, preferably in the same division as the job.

Use LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and your other social media channels to try to contact an employee of the company. Often the employees may be able to provide you with much more information about the culture, the overall job expectations and importantly the stability of the company (especially in these trying times) than you can learn from other sources.

In addition, the internal contact might be able to put you in contact with the hiring manager, so that any general job questions you may have can be answered.

A word of caution here, resist the urge to contact the hiring manager and request an interview or meeting prior to the proper channels being used. It’s enough to gently probe about the position, not make a full frontal assault!

Conclusion – 6 Tips to Research a Corporate User Experience Department

This overview of the 6 tips I use to try to identify the model of the user experience culture is not all-encompassing. There are plenty of other ways to learn more about a user experience model at a company. However, these are the 6 that I use most often, and hopefully they will help if you are in the position of researching a company, either for a consultant or full-time position.

If you have other tips that you use please post a comment below, that way we can all learn and grow smarter together!