It’s a recession. Things get cut, and we all try to get projects out the door faster. With that the pressure for returns is even greater. Sometimes, it feels like a lose lose situation. It can be, if you cut the wrong things.
The one thing that feels like it is getting the axe is the UX line item on a project.
Why does this happen? How can we fix it?
One: Because it is an unknown to many marketers.
CommonCraft or the slideshows posted by people like Hubspot over at Slideshare. When agencies get frustrated or don’t take the time to articulate the process, it gets cut.
Two: Improper explanation to client.
Similar to reason number one, but slightly unique. All clients have different levels of understanding, or at least claim they do. Sometimes they understand why UX is needed for a large intranet, but possibly not for their flash microsite. Find easy ways to share sample deliverables, and create analogies to support the needs of every piece of the project development process. UX is the process. It’s not just a line item. Making sure clients understand the philosophy is not so easy. Your UX or design team may “get huffy” and frustrated with the client trying to compartmentalize the process. That’s ok. You need to. Marketers are accountable, and they can’t spend a lot on brainstorming and ideation. Giving clear parameters to the UX process in terms of functional requirements, creative brief, information architecture, whitepapers and more will help them feel that they are getting a tangible ( i.e. worth money) value. I mean, just look at all the things you have to think about!
Three: Improper education of account team at agency.
This is one of the largest tensions on any project – lack of respect in understanding each others roles on a project. The CD is not always the one on the phone, especially when reviewing process or a contract. Producers and account managers need to be educated to the value of all elements on a project. In many ways, the account team should have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. If your account team does not know how to explain the discovery process, brand strategy or the user experience phases of a project – train them. Now. Many are young and come from traditional backgrounds, give them time to learn and quiz them, seriously. You are losing business and creating frustration amongst your teams. Because when they come back to the team saying “there is no UX team member, so the designer has to do double duty” or “design and ux will happen at the same time,” the project is already chalked up to a loss. And really, how could that even happen? Can you paint a house before you get the foundation?
A little education goes a long way to ensure project success, proper budget allocation and a cohesive team.
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