Client Care 101: When I learned how to approach my clients with reverence to prevent clashing with them
How I learned my biggest lesson in Ironhack Bootcamp
"Creativity and ego can’t live in the same space.. and that goes beyond our process and if the stakeholders don’t leave ego at the door there is nothing that you can do." — A wise man with a hat
But the stakeholders aren't the only ones with ego here are they? My ego is on the table as well.
This is the story of a Product Designer in training and how I learned the importance of making alliances and being humble when approaching new projects (yes, the Product Designer is me. No, I don't usually speak in 3rd person).
Last week I finished and delivered one of my Bootcamp projects for Ironhack's UI/UX Bootcamp. It was a 2-week sprint and the objective was to create a Wellness App that had onboarding, setting a goal, tracking goals, and chatting with wellness specialist features. This was the second to last project, and the chosen client was a company picked by the instructor.
Because my spouse works in a Wellness company, I asked if it would be possible to work with them. This way I would have both experiences with a real company before the final project AND I would be able to help my partner's company for free. Win, win (oh god, how I was wrong).
Because I did not have direct access to the users, I interviewed stakeholders and sent a survey to the available users at the time. The survey gave me insight into one of their products, but not the other (which I was focused on). This company offers wellness services and courses online and here in New England, and the students that answered the survey were all enrolled in a course that was different from the one I was researching.
First mistake/ learning: Even though the course I was doing the project on worked as a pre-requisite for the course survey responders were enrolled, they used different platforms. Clearly, I did not do well enough work to figure this out, so my case study missed a BIG mark.
Second mistake/ learning: During the interviews, I saw there was some resistance from one of the stakeholders. I figured it was because most of the issues or mistakes being made within their business were directly under their supervision and I did tell them my findings would be published. So, nothing I can do, right? I am nothing but a messenger.
Wrong.
That was a lost opportunity to make an ally.
I understand that the whole purpose of user-centered design is to uncover problems and issues that can be fixed. Awesome. But where empathy (so important for a UX process), when I see myself starting to picture one of the company members as a villain?
I surely would NOT like to have someone going through my hard work and pointing all the flaws to my boss. Don't get me wrong, I'm not just open to, but I love criticism. I love improving. But if a young woman who is still in the middle of a Bootcamp comes to me and just starts asking all the things I am doing wrong, I could feel a little defensive as well.
Many times our customers aren't prepared for what happens when we actually talk to the users. It can be eye-opening, or it can be a punch on the stomach. I suggest you go with the first one.
You want to make sure they know you know they know (I love it too much to rephrase it) more about their business than you. And you want to make sure you are not writing your case study showing yourself as the savior and solver of all mankind's problems, while the company is just a bunch of folks who are not getting it.
I'm sure my case study wasn't this bad, and I try to be more critical of myself than of others when writing (not that hard, ask my therapist). I also know that the person I am referring to has some stuff to work on when it comes to ego and managing her personnel. There were many complaints regarding specifically their behavior and authoritarianism.
But the point is in the end, it comes to:
- What could have I done better?
- And how can I avoid situations like this in the future?
The person sent me an email asking me to not post my case study. It is very well hidden from the general public and only them and my instructor had access to it. It's a bummer. I really liked working on that project. But I did not want to further the issues, especially for my spouse.
So here are some of the things I would do differently:
- MAKE SURE I am surveying the right people (really Isa, after all the research you've done…)
- Make my stakeholders allies, not enemies
- Understand that Design Thinking culture is not part of most companies and not everyone is happy about it. So make the case. Explain why it's important, how can it help, and what may be uncovered in the process
- Be more careful about how I write my case studies. Am I trying to show myself as a hero? Shouldn't my clients be the heroes? What have they done right? What are their decisions on the next steps? How did they right the wrongs?
I am sure I am not the only one who went through something like that. I did some research before writing this text and asked people for advice before answering the company.
One other thing the wise man with a hat said that stuck with me: "what we learn in a Bootcamp is a utopic process".
Yes, there are many intricacies beyond the tools. And I am excited to learn those too. Stumble fast, get back up fast. That's not just lean UX.
That's doing Smart Design.
Thanks for your time.
