The Chicken Little Designer
“You’re like Chicken Little,” my manager told me.
“What?” I was in trouble and when the insult didn’t seem to land my manager shifted their attack.
“You just make up problems to solve.” I feel like I should have been more outraged at this accusation in retrospect, but I defended my concerns under the pressure; in failing to persuade them I left the room.
You may be asking how I found myself here. We’ve all worked on projects where there is a difference between where we, as designers, see the best experience and where the company / product / dev / whoever wants to take it. Sometimes that gulf is small and we, again as designers, can accept it but sometimes that divide is large.
During the course of working on the project, I pulled back the curtain to expose a gaping chasm of unaddressed experiential needs that could drastically improve a significant amount of lives.
I validated the issue with our Principal Design Architect who was equally flabbergasted. We laughed about the situation because we were so saddened by the discovery. Design is supposed to help people.
The problem was that no one really seemed to care.
There were two types of designers at this company but I’d argue this extends to the industry as a whole:
- Those that wait for problems to come to them.
- Those that look for problems.
If not clear, I’m a ‘look for problems’ kind of person. I’ve built my career and the successes thereof on being perpetually curious.
We should be hunting for problems. We should never stop. When you’re looking for problems, you’re learning about the space you’re designing in, you’re talking and building relationships, you’re tracking the company. When you solve your problems, you’re doing it in a space with the confidence that you absolutely know it. It goes even further: could you make a change to process and save the company big money on not making software that’s unneeded? Could you find a hidden need and provide the company a new revenue stream? The possibilities are immense.
But operating in that space requires support. There are a lot of people, stakeholders, coworkers, and, importantly, bosses who can panic when an issue is presented. There’s a personal stake in matters, there’s some concrete and unflinching ‘agile’ roadmap that needs to be adhered to, perhaps in exposing the issue you’ve drawn a light on their own ignorance, or these people just don’t want us at the table. Honestly, it’s probably this and more.
I believed in this fight, I believe design should do good when we can. So I fought it up the chain and like I said, no one seemed to care. Finally, I’m talking with the last person someone of my political standing can talk to and they acknowledge the problem. They agree it’s an issue. ‘But you see, there’s the roadmap. We’ve gone this long without it, what’s another year?’
So there’s that.
I don’t believe the sky is falling, I don’t make up problems to solve. I listen to users, subject matter experts, product owners, and more to suggest solutions that improve lives.
A user once told me they loved me for making their job easier.
I’d rather frame that on my wall than insults from someone too scared to try.
~Aeryn
