15 Insights from a trailblazing UXer — IBM’s UX Director Melanie Butcher.

Tobias Robinson
Jul 30, 2017 · 5 min read

I recently had the privilege of joining a small group to engage with IBM’s Director of UX, Melanie Butcher. She was in town for a conference about IBM’s AI “Watson”— watch one of Melanie’s keynote presentation on IBM’s AI Watson and UX here.

Read the LinkedIn conversation here.

Here’s what she had to say…

1. On the Future of IBM’s product development —

Documentation Design.

A report from a professional is the deliverable, but the advice they provide is the service. The next wave of software tools will make it much easier for professionals to produce and manage their documents and deliverables. What will a deliverable report for a UX designer, architect or lawyer look like in the future?

It will make it easier to deliver the advice, the focus will be taken off the report.

2. On the ongoing formula for Watson —

U — Understanding — what does the data say? What is it actually saying, is it based upon the right parameters?

R — Reason — what are the underlying patterns? How do we understand all this information in context to everything else that we are looking at? It needs to be articulated succinctly, otherwise, we don’t really understand it.

L — Learn — what can we learn? That is, how can Watson take these new reasonings and conclusions and apply it to future projects and questions.

I — Interaction — how do we understand what we’re getting from Watson? IBM needs to ensure the way we interact with Watson feels natural.

3. On how to make sure it will work —

IBM’s basic strategy for products across its entire software range.

Works together — it must be able to interact with the other products and all our people

Works the same — got to have the same basic usable features, got to be based on the same language as all the other programs. This principle ensures that the new product is discoverable and feels natural.

Works for me — it has to be usable, you have to be able to accomplish what you set out to do.

4. On where innovation really comes from.

Never the UXer.

IBM has a particular way of putting teams together, and the best ideas are rarely from the people who are the most creative. The best ideas come about when people in other roles are truly immersed in the design thinking methodology.

5. On what’s important.

If you’re not an active advocate of design thinking you’re not a real UXer, refer to the previous point.

6. On what’s fundamental — Contextual Inquiry —

You need to see what people really do.

What do you do? I’m an architect

What do you actually do? I design and document buildings

What do you really do? I answer the phone 100 times a day, review emails before morning break, respond to questions from juniors all the time, check in with my director when needed, sketch on trace paper, markup drawings …

It’s amazing how many people constantly get interrupted.

7. On maturity —

Mature Organisations let the data drive.

A mature group will respond to the understanding of what the data is saying. Data should be the key element in a company’s next move — and that means data scientists and UX researchers are crucial to driving quality change.

The ground breakers of the future are those that not only value research, but are able to see the underlying trends as well.

8. On people and innovation —

People respond to innovation in two ways;

1 — It makes sense. Changes that have anticipated a desire just below the surface. In this case normally only a little different to what was being delivered already — people get it.

2 — Greater changes, the kind that companies and people in a different direction. These need everyone on board, and as UXers it’s up to us to make sure you bring them along. In order to do that you’ve got to tell a good story and back it up with the data. Make sure that your whole company understands the language you speak, and if they don’t, learn theirs’ because they all form part of your “coalition of the willing”.

9. On who else can join in —

“Sponsored Users” defined; a key customer who has a vested interest in the project. Get them on early, get them involved along the way — making sure their input is balanced against objective research findings.

Include them in stakeholder presentations, nothing will convince an investor or your managers like seeing the customer use the prototype and telling them how it solves their problem.

10. On the future —

It’s only 2 years.

Look what’s happened, look at what’s happening — anyone with a vision or plan for longer in this industry is either fooling you or themselves.

11. On decisions —

Don’t let stakeholders make decisions in meetings

Meet with them all, and make sure they’re on the right page beforehand — so, when the decision is made it’s informed by the right information. It’s important for decision makers to know what data or story is driving the investigation and development process.

Meetings can be unpredictable — you don’t want conversation skewed by their lack of experience or how bad their morning coffee was — these things happen in meetings.

12. On driving real change —

If you’ve got an idea take laterally.

If you want something done in a company bring your colleagues on board, rally the troops and then get them all to convince your seniors that it’s worth doing.

It’s hard to dismiss a group of smart people that you’ve hired.

13. On products underperforming —

Research and Marketing need to tell the same story.

In bad situations research says “you’re not selling,” and marketing says “your product isn’t worth it”. They need to have a good relationship. They need to speak the same language so that the product can be sold with the same understanding as its developed.

More importantly — they need to know they’re on the same team, so if there is a problem it can be aired and explored, rather than taken personally.

14. On the essence of what UXers need to do —

Talking, listening and understanding language — Are you catching on yet?

The most important thing you need to be able to do is a good story — then the feature or product, if it’s any good, will speak for itself. In my experience, there are two important elements to add here

1 — Tell the story in your own voice, anything else will seem inauthentic.

2 — Make sure you understand how everyone else helped you come to that conclusion so that in turn you can speak directly to them — it’s never a one-way street, and you’ve never done it alone.

15. On the best advice for fresh UXers in 2017

Get your head around finances.

You’ve got to understand numbers, money and the way it’s applied to your products and industry. You’ve got to speak their language. You need to be able to succinctly tell people what value you are bringing to the table.

Tobias Robinson

Written by

Service Designer, Strategist, former Architect. Sydney, AUS.

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