UX is often misunderstood - or worse, it's seen as another ambiguous buzzword. Teaching others the value of UX can be a frustrating/challenging/lonely journey. I'll share some of the experiences I've faced when posed with the challenge of building buy-in and how to help shift company attitudes and culture towards UX.

1. UX CAMBRIDGE 2017
UX Within
Design Agencies

2. 2
2

3. A’right?
I’m Aaron Humphreys.
I’m a Digital Product Designer.
I’ve been helping companies
create digital experiences and
engage with their customers
for 12+ years.
@aarhcreative / aaron@aaron-humphreys.com
👋
3
3

4. ‣ Started life as a ‘Graphic & New
Media Designer’ in 2005, quickly
becoming solely digital.
‣ Specialise in Mobile
Interaction Design.
‣ Manage a small team of Product
Designers & Visual Designers.
‣ Once described as having an
“infectious energy”.
‣ Typically, I love post-its.
4
A little more about me…

5. And here’s some logos that make me look impressive…
Intro
5
5

6. “…COLOURING-IN”
Kevin Saunders (My Step Father)
6

7. The struggle is real!
Intro
The challenges we face as UX professionals within
design agencies may seem quite different to those
client side or in-house, however some of the problems
remain the same. I’m hoping there's even a nugget
of information you can take away to help with
your own journey.
7

8. Deck Contents
Intro
8
1. Why UX Matters
2. Agency Problems
3. Processes & Deliverables
4. Team Structure
5. Workshops & Activities
6. Quick Wins
7. Final Words
8. The Takeaway

9. 9
9

10. Why UX Matters
10
10
UX is a means to drive product innovation and
differentiation, as well as to enrich workplace cultures.
UX successfully drives a number of mission-critical
business key performance indicators including
customer engagement, retention, and loyalty.
What is UX?

11. THE NORMAN DOOR
When people ask about UX, show them…
11

12. 12

13. Why UX Matters
13
13
‣ Create & validate UX strategies that target and
deliver real value to users.
‣ Learn to articulate how UX directly contributes
to making the business more successful.
‣ Teach others and help get them onboard
Your role as a UX Professional

14. UX IS BUSINESS
UX = BETTER PRODUCTS
UX = HAPPY USERS
UX = HAPPIER CLIENTS
Proving value and UX is a real thing…
14

15. “How can design—something that
companies have traditionally
assessed according to the taste of
a few important people—prove to a
company that it’s providing real,
measurable value?”
Ben Newton - Product Manager and Growth Strategist
15

16. 16
16

17. Winter’s coming…
Agency?
Is this you? You work in a design agency or similar
environment. You’re frustrated. You feel like a
conveyor belt churning out design deliverables and it
feels sh*t knowing you can add real value to the
business. Yet, CEO’s, Directors & PM’s do not
understand the need for User Experience.
17

18. Prepare for a long battle…
Agency?
‣ Introduce the right UXD processes
for the business
‣ Lead from the front... not pushing
from behind!
‣ Fight for resource & time
‣ More involvement at sale level
‣ More involvement in product
definition
18
18
‣ Introduce workshops with clients
‣ Get in-front of clients
‣ Start to change the culture
‣ Gain access to users and user data

19. “The greatest challenge I currently
face is gaining access to our users.
When a UX team is embedded within
an enterprise context, one must
work through multiple layers of
bureaucracy to get to the end-users.”
Jack Moffett - Manager of Apps Development, Inmedius
19

20. 99 PROBLEMS
20

21. 99 Problems
#1 UX?
21
Despite convincing past
conversations, you
failed to get your
company to understand
what UX is.

22. In order for your peers
and team members to
get onboard, they’ll
need to be exposed
to the value of UX.
#2 Value
22
99 Problems

23. Stakeholders or Execs
are disengaged, or
worse, they don’t care
for ‘design’. The ‘they
know best attitude’.
#3 Resistance
23
99 Problems

24. 24
Budget and resource
are not being effectively
assigned to the right
departments or teams.
4# Monies!
99 Problems

25. Jeff Gothelf - Legend, UX’er & author of Lean UX
25
“There is still a very strong
perception at the executive layer
that design makes things look
good. Even organisations that
invest in them still rarely see
Design as a strategic partner”

26. A typical product development process
99 Problems: The Conveyor Belt
Scope the project Design It Build It Hand it over
The project comes in. We spend
time scoping out costs,
timescales, project docs and
specs.
We handover the project docs
to designers, they do the
design bit. They moan a bit.
They handover the designs to
the Developers.
Developers get the designs.
They moan a lot. They feel most
of the pressure, there’s a bit of
scope creep and they churn
out code.
PM’s hand over the project. It’s
sink or swim. We drop the ball
and move onto the next
project.
26

27. 27
LAUNCH

28. The product ‘on brief’ but it flops…
99 Problems
28
28
‣ The product launch was dubbed
unsuccessful
‣ The product did not attract mass
audience
‣ Customer retention plummets
‣ Acquisition rates remain low
despite marketing efforts
‣ The client is now worried
‣ Wasted marketing spend
‣ The team spends hours on
superficial fixes
‣ Marketing scratching their heads
‣ Stakeholders considering pulling
the plug

29. FAILED TO ADDRESS
ACTUAL USER PROBLEMS
Why did the product fail?
29

30. “Every time there is disagreement
about the best approach, suggest
testing. Testing is a great way of
resolving disagreement. It also
establishes a user centric culture. If you
suggest it often enough, it will become
a mantra that others also adopt.”
Paul Boag - User Experience Designer and expert in Digital Transformation
30

31. 99 Problems
Show them the failures
31
31
Stakeholders and Executives can’t argue with a video
of a user struggling to complete a ‘simple’ task.

32. 32

33. 33
33

34. Processes & Deliverables
Our Product Development Process
34
34
UX STRATEGY
USER RESEARCH
INTERACTION DESIGN
VISUAL DESIGN
BUILD

35. Processes & Deliverables
The Iterative Design Methodology
35
35
1. RESEARCH
2. DESIGN
3. BUILD
4. TEST
5. LAUNCH
‣ It’s an iterative cycle!
‣ Works in Agile environments
‣ Repeat until desired outcome
‣ Great for prototyping, testing,
analysing, and refining a product
‣ Not always feasible with Waterfall

36. Product Development Deliverables
36
UX STRATEGY
‣ Vision & Objectives
‣ Process, Tools & Methods
‣ Touchpoint Design
‣ Service Design
‣ Gap Analysis
‣ UX Deliverables
‣ Roadmaps
USER RESEARCH
‣ Surveys
‣ Field Studies
‣ Competitive Analysis
‣ User Testing
‣ Usability Studies
‣ Behavioural Studies
‣ User Personas
INTERACTION DESIGN
‣ User Journey Mapping
‣ User Flows
‣ Information Architecture
‣ Sketches
‣ Wireframes
‣ Interactive Prototypes
‣ Wireflows
‣ Sitemaps
VISUAL DESIGN
‣ Brand Application
‣ Typography
‣ Colour Palettes
‣ Iconography
‣ UI Components
‣ Style Guides
‣ Image Style
Processes & Deliverables

37. Our UXD Process
Client Deliverable or Sign Off
Internal
Iterative UXD Review
Development
Discovery User Research User Journey
2. Client Sign Off 3. Final Content 4. Client Sign Off1. Client Sign Off
UXD ReviewClient Involvement
Wireframes
Wireframe
Wireflow
Low-Fidelity
Prototype
Iterative UXD Review
Dev Review
Handover
Dev Kick Off
VIsual Design (UI)
High-Fidelity
Prototype
Iterative UXD Review
37
Processes & Deliverables

38. 38
A document, presentation, artifact, or diagram that is
shared with an audience for the purpose of
communicating UX. The deliverable itself is the
method of documenting UX work that has been done.
Processes & Deliverables
What is a UX Deliverable?

39. 39
Convincing Prescriptive
Understandable
3 key factors for successful
UX Deliverables
Processes & Deliverables

40. User Flows (Flow Charts, Task Flows, User Journeys)
40
Processes & Deliverables
‣ Top-level navigation
‣ Helps define logical tasks
‣ Detail interaction points and
functionality
‣ Overview of complex journeys
‣ Conceptualise user model
‣ Validate design decisions

41. Wireframing
41
Processes & Deliverables
‣ Skeletal framework of a product
‣ Consider information hierarchy
‣ Arrangement of UI elements
‣ Outline top-level navigation
‣ Detail expected functionality

42. Prototyping
42
Processes & Deliverables
‣ Paper, low, high-fidelity &
Interactive
‣ Tangible representation of the
final product
‣ Validate your design decisions
‣ Good to get stakeholder buy-in
‣ Usability Testing (remote or lab)

43. 43
43

44. Team Structure
Main Responsibilities
UI/UX DESIGNER PRODUCT DESIGNER
44
VISUAL DESIGNER
‣ Branding
‣ Brand Appliance
‣ Interface Design
‣ Iconography
‣ Layout
‣ Typography
‣ Colour Palettes
‣ Hybrid role
‣ IA & Wireframes
‣ Flowcharts & Wireflows
‣ Sketching & Prototypes
‣ User Personas
‣ Style Guides
‣ Component Libraries
‣ Design Patterns
‣ Frameworks
‣ Micro-interactions
UX DESIGNER
‣ Stakeholder Interviews
‣ Customer Analysis
‣ User Journeys
‣ Flowcharts & Wireflows
‣ User Personas
‣ IA & Wireframes
‣ Sketching & Prototypes
‣ Surveys & Field Studies
‣ User Testing
‣ Data Analysis
‣ Hybrid role
‣ Branding
‣ Visual Design
‣ Interaction Design
‣ Style Guides
‣ Component Libraries
‣ Design Patterns
‣ Frameworks
‣ Micro-interactions

45. Team Structure
Popular Job Titles
45
45

46. The Success Framework
Team Structure
46
46
Product
Strategy
UX
Strategy
UX
Design

47. Internal Structure & Positions
Team Structure
Junior Product Designer
Middleweight UX Designer
Senior UX Design Lead
Head of UX
47
47

48. 48
48

49. Design Reviews
Workshops & Activities
49
‣ Iterative process
‣ Evaluate existing content or
user flows with user needs
‣ Discuss design patterns and
UI components
‣ Brand & UI consistency
‣ Rapidly identify quick fixes
‣ Make notes for actioning

50. Namestorming
Workshops & Activities
50
‣ Generate a wide-set of ideas
‣ Get the team involved
‣ Team building exercise
‣ Throw nothing out!
‣ Try word association
‣ Make it fun!

51. Post ups
Workshops & Activities
51
‣ Great for clients to get
involved
‣ Customer & user insights
‣ Greater understanding for the
users’ journey
‣ Detail top-level tasks
‣ Discuss and detail web
services and data

52. 52
52

53. Some Senior Account Director, Global ad agency
“In our agency, we used what was known
as the ‘blue boat’ method to deal with
clients who had an ego-driven-need to
make changes to any work presented to
them. The ‘blue boat’ was code for
something superfluous inserted into a
design, in the full knowledge and
expectation that it will be removed.”
Quick Wins
53
The Blue Boat

54. Identify who out of your team needs to
be involved in a project during design.
Whether that’s internal design reviews,
discovery sessions or meetings with
clients.
Organising meetings without certain
people can be a good thing, just keep
them in the loop and report back.
Quick Wins
54
Too many chefs spoil the broth

55. Even the most structured design
departments and stringent processes
won’t stop a ‘Clive’, a Senior Manager
derailing a project or throwing in their
two cents.
Identify who the real decision makers are
at the start of the process and get them
engaged.
Quick Wins
55
Talk to the real decision maker

56. My Groups - No Content
No groups - CTA to create a new group
1.0 My Groups > Add Group - Select
Users select members from a list of their
followers.
2.0
Members List
Users are presented with a list of current
members.
1.0
My Groups > Add Group - Selected
Once selected, members are added to a
new cell above the list. More than 5+
members will cause the cell to be
scrollable.
2.1
Members List - Options
Members of a group are able to leave a
group via the 'more' button option.
1.1
My Groups > Add Group - Search
Users are able to search for members
either by first/last name or username.
2.2
Members List - Admin
Admin users have extended group
functionality.
1.2
N
As
ad
1
NEW GROUP
MANAGE / EDIT GROUP
Close Close CloseClose
Close
Close
Ask user
to confirm action
via actionsheet
Manage
Members
Group
Name
When meeting with difficult clients or
Project Managers who have their own
ideas over design or UX take some
time to prepare both design solutions
and back it up with data or rationale
as to the reasons why your solution is
more efficient or user-centred.
Quick Wins
56
Prove why your the expert…

57. UX & Design is serious business,
but that doesn’t mean it needn’t
be fun.
By injecting humour you’ll not only
win over your peers and the client
but you’ll also improve your users’
experience greatly!
Quick Wins
57
Have it fun!

58. 58
58

59. YOU ARE NOT
A LONE WOLF
59

60. STOP…
…collaborate and listen!
60

61. “82% of UX professionals
collaborate with other team
members on the deliverables they
produce.”
NN/g Group
61

62. RALLY THE TROOPS
62

63. LEARN TO NOD
63

64. ARM YOURSELF
64

65. DEPLOY ‘FOMO’
65

66. PAY ATTENTION TO
WHAT USERS DO, NOT JUST
WHAT THEY SAY
66

67. IDEAS & BRAINSTORMS
ARE NOT ENOUGH!
67

68. DIVIDE & CONQUER
68

69. YOU ARE THE NEW
SUPERHEROES
69
Legend - Neil DeGrass Tyson

70. Need help with your project? Get in touch!
@aarhcreative / hey@aaron-humphreys.com
Thank you!
🤘