ConveyUX 2018 — Day 3 (Talks and Conference Showcase)

Today is the last day of ConveyUX — a conference for user experience practitioners to discuss, present and reflect on the on-goings in the profession.

In this post, I share the insights I gained from the morning’s talks and my favorite project in the afternoon’s showcase.

How to Hire and Manage Consulting Firms and Freelancers

Presented by: Cory Lebson

Leverage the expertise and knowledge of your contractors… Do not dictate — instead, ask “what would you suggest?”

• You want your contractors to be specialists because you have a specific problem you want to solve.
• Contractors are expensive because you’re paying to eliminate risk, if you decide to “pull the plug” on a project as well as for times when they are not busy.
• The best way to find a contractor is to reach out to your network, use the #UX hashtag, and ask internally/externally for referrals. Be wary of RFPs as it will limit bids to larger companies with the resources to respond.
• To assess a contractor’s credibility, compare what they say with what you find about them on the internet or through your network.
• Agree on a method and approach to communication. Your company’s standard way of communicating (like Slack) may not be the best way to work with an outside consultant.

It’s very difficult to contract out management due to a lack of vested interest in the long term success of your company

Inclusion Starts With “I”

Presented by: Jessica Eggert

We couldn’t force diversity because we had to start with inclusion

• Inclusion means accepting that being different is a good thing… and that you don’t (and can’t) have all the answers
• Inclusion = Emotional intelligence + Cultural Awareness
• Emotional intelligence is built with self-awareness, self-regulation and motivation. Each one, when acquired and engaged, informs and strengthens the next.
• Flip the hierarchy of needs so self-awareness becomes the core. From here, you can look inside and apply learnings outward.
• To be more self-aware ask yourself:

What are your personal values?

What are your privileges

What are your biases?

What it looks like when our needs are not hierarchical — because when are they ever?

Simplified UI GIFs as Procedural User Assistance

Presented by: Steve Stegelin

To avoid distraction by showing the user too much detail of an interface during on-boarding, Blackbaud presents users with a series of simplified GIFs to explain key interface elements.

For more, see the Quick Start page on Blackbaud’s website: https://host.nxt.blackbaud.com/sky-reporting-overview/quick-start

I’ll definitely be taking these thoughts and techniques back with me to my work and look forward to sharing them with my colleagues.

Did I miss something? Have a comment or insights you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Until next time,
Dani