The centre of the world

Here are the three key things I’ve taken from it.

We too often get carried away following strict processes just because it’s what we know or because it ‘seems like’ the right thing to do. Or we worry about what our job titles are. What we should be doing is focussing on the best way to define and solve real problems for our customers, whatever that means.

It’s natural that we see our own discipline as the centre of the world – as it could well be the centre of our world. However, from a business perspective it’s important to remember how the parts all play together. UX or design is just one part of a massive machine.

This quote reflects on the fact that if we see UX as the centre of the world, all of our behaviours will follow that – we could over-prioritise our own discipline to the detriment of the business.

Or just think we are more important than everyone else.

Paul reflects on how his views have changed as he’s moved from design focussed roles into a product role. Probably the most controversial of the points that were raised in my opinion, I do agree with the underlying sentiment here.

We have a tendency as designers to want to build things through a proper process and justifiably so. However, if something is going to take say, six months to make well, that’s six months where a customer has no viable alternative.

Would it really be better to have to wait six months for something that’s great or would we better releasing something of less quality, sooner?

This one is always a balance and each case has to be taken on merit, but it’s interesting to hear how Paul’s views had changed quite radically as he’s moved into the product space.

That’s my take! Have a listen and see if there’s anything else that you can get from it. Having read Sapiens relatively recently I felt there was a lot of crossover in this talk.

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