UX Poland 2016 — Responsibility in Design
Last month our design team attended UX Poland conference — one of the largest UX events in Europe. “Responsibility in Design” was this year’s edition leading theme. It surely was not the easiest topic to tackle, but I’m glad it was brought up to our attention. Here’s a short recap of what we’ve learned.
The power
We’re able to define user’s problems and work on meaningful solutions. We are able to conduct research and innovate. We investigate the ways our brains work in order to develop tailored experiences. Then we test our ideas, analyse the outcomes and we come up with even better products. It’s the never ending virtuous cycle that constantly generates all sorts of new things and improves the existing ones.
With all the resources available: technology and collective knowledge about design — it is easier now than ever to create new products, services and transform the world around us. Smartphones, computers, wearables, smart cars, smart thermostats, smart door locks, smart mattresses, smart light bulbs… The list goes on. Modern technology reaches new grounds and is highly interactive. More and more inventions provide screenless solutions, where experience itself is the product clients pay for. We live in a man-made world where technology has become legitimate extension of ourselves. There’s no way to design a thing without considering the impact it’ll have on the users.
The responsibility
Designers shape new ideas and help bring them to life. We can look at design as some kind of super power. But with great power comes great responsibility.
We don’t design experiences, we design for experiences. We create user flows and anticipate certain results. But in reality we are not able to predict every possible outcome. In fact, with every launched product or service, we introduce a new kind of unintended ethical challenges.
At this point we’re able to influence user’s behaviour with ease. We’ve analysed human cognitive abilities and adjusted the UI patterns. This knowledge might be used with the best intentions to maximise performance. However in other cases the same knowledge may be used to mislead and manipulate. While it’s pretty easy to point out the wrong causes, the debate remains open: which practices are acceptable in the name of the ‘good cause’? For example: how much privacy are we able to give away for the security purpose?
Services on demand make our life easier, but the people who provide such services have become a human extension of the product. They act on behalf of others just like robots. The emotional value is reduced to the very minimum. Can such work be rewarding?
We design to enhance productivity, reduce mistakes and in general to simplify processes. Automation of once complicated systems might lead to a situation where less experienced people would take place of experts. And as long as the technology won’t let them down, they’ll do just fine. To what extent can we trust auto-pilot more than we trust a human?
The consequences
Designers should stretch their empathy in order to accurately define problems and look at them from many perspectives. This way we’ll be able not only to provide better solutions but also recognise the arising ethical issues. Our work really has an impact on other people’s life, therefore it’s our responsibility to point out these problems and start conversation about them.
While the responsibility may seem to be overwhelming, we should perceive our work as a great opportunity to bring real value into users life. We should observe the impact, talk about it and always strive to improve, make better decisions.
We’ve had a good time, met interesting people, exchanged ideas and learned a lot. We’ll make sure to post here links to our favorite talks as soon as they’re going to be available.
UX Poland, see you next year!
