Wyrwane z kontekstu – Social Skills for UX Consultants

W najnowszym User Experience warty uwagi artykuł Social Skills for UX Consultants -Communication on the Job. Tradycyjnie – wyrwana z kontekstu najciekawsza myśl:

Use a Guerrilla Communication Strategy to Overcome Information Entropy

Problem: Three weeks ago, the project manager decided to abandon the use of AJAX components because of security considerations. In the meantime, the UX consultant was preparing a supplementary document for the user interface style guide, describing the specifications of the AJAX UI-controls. In the next status meeting the UX consultant hears that the supplementary document will no longer be necessary. Two weeks of work for nothing.

Theory: There are three negative effects in project communication:

• The CIO (Communication Inhibition Officer) Effect: Don’t count on the official communication of really important meeting results or decisions. Relevant information is sometimes held back for “tactical” reasons.
• The Whisper Down the Lane Effect: The communication of facts, especially concerns, to the next higher decision-making level, will likely be downgraded. A red flag often changes into a yellow one.
• The Black Hole Effect: Sometimes you have to communicate via a proxy (your sub-project manager, for example). Often it takes a long time to get feedback from the person to whom you originally addressed your inquiry.

Large projects generally have strong communication rules and processes. On the one hand, that helps when you need to escalate issues. On the other hand, it inhibits the flow of information when you depend on decisions for your daily work.

Solution: Staying informed sometimes requires breaking formalized communication rules. Even though you will have to abide by project communication processes, lobby for forms of direct communication. Sources may include group calendars, meeting minutes on file shares, and directly asking your boss about the outcomes of meetings. Also use more informal communication channels-pick up the phone, ask questions in one-on-one conversations.

Źródło: Social Skills for UX Consultants
Communication on the Job, Michael Bechinie, Markus Murtinger, and Manfred Tscheligi, User Experience magazine (dostęp ograniczony)