Ego, ergo, let go

Right after my time at Mizzou, I landed a job on a communications team for an IT department. My job was translate 'techno-speak' into layman's terms and disseminate that information through mass communications (think emails, social media posts, and technical writing).

One of my first major projects involved redesigning a website. As an alumnus who bleeds my school colors (black and gold forever, don't @ me), I took inspiration from my alma mater's website. In my mind, their site was the epitome of design greatness.

But here's the kicker: their site was tailored for a completely different audience. My "research" was essentially an exercise in bias and opinion, making it irrelevant for the work I was doing.

The Power of Objective Research

Now, my dive into UX lessons has clarified something: objective research is essential for effective user experience design. Here's what matters:

To accomplish this, you'll need to focus on:

• Interviews: Direct conversations with users.

• Observations: Watch how people interact with your product.

• Focus Groups: Assembled groups to discuss specific issues or features.

• Survey Data: Collected responses from a broader audience.

• Card Sorting: Understanding how users categorize information.

And by the way: Document everything. Don’t rely on your memory or it becomes subjective.

My first card-sorting exercise. Doodles encouraged.

Get Your Ego Out of the Equation

This isn't about you. It's about understanding and meeting the needs of the people who are using your product or service. Your role is to guide them to their goals, effectively and efficiently.

In my case, we ended up creating a wall of sticky notes and invited users to organize them into categories that made sense to them (a card sort exercise).

So remember kids: No matter how passionately you can belt out your fight song, it won't help you understand your users. Well, maybe at a tailgate.