Don't look for a UX guy, be a UX guy • Hacker News Board

Re: Don't look for a UX guy, be a UX guy

#41

Post by surement » Tue, May 22, 2012, 12:50 AM UTC

vibrunazo wrote: post #36

zavulon wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would agree with you if these were complimentary skills we're talking about. However, programming and UX design are almost contradictory. For programming, you need a mathematical inclination, attention to detail, willingness to sit down and focus on one concrete task at a time, etc. For UX (and any kind of other) design, you need more an ability to create art - paint with broad strokes, look at the big picture, etc…

> For this you need x, for that you need y My life experience has taught me this couldn't be more wrong. To be a great engineer you need to be smart. To be a great ux guy you need to be smart. To be a great product guy you need to be smart. As someone doing all these 3 and more. I live by the saying that a smart person can be anything he wants (intellectually). And the only limits I've seen in a smart person are only…

That may be, but people interested in computer science are, in my anecdotal experience, less likely to be interested in visual design (and vice versa). E.g. I can look pretty smart when talking about math or cs, but I'd look retarded if I said anything about visual arts. Sure, maybe I could try to learn a thing or two, but I've never cared because I'd rather be learning more math.

Re: Don't look for a UX guy, be a UX guy

#42

Post by emgreen » Tue, May 22, 2012, 1:56 AM UTC

I find it slightly odd when developers resist caring about UX stuff, because in lots of ways we're already doing it whenever we code. When coding we worry about how to communicate the code's behaviour well, and whether it will work intuitive for other devs. In UX's and in code we strive to build a shared, useful and elegant mental model of the world. An API is just a UX for devs.

Apart from that, the ultimate purpose of our code is to serve the people in the world. Well, kind of, often it's just for fun. But generally the aim is to have a user using something; to exist as an entity in their lives and minds. Surely this means studying the user doing their using is just inherently fascinating? (If a dev codes in a forest, and no-one is around to use it ...)

I'm all for specialist UX folk, if resources can accommodate, they've put the time into their discipline, and will obviously do a better job than those who haven't. But when resources don't stretch, developers' brains won't explode if they start thinking about UIs and UXs. There's enough transferable skills there (methodical approach based on evidence, iterations, model building, communication), that I think it's something a lot of devs could get passably good at and enjoy without diverting too much energy away from their principle specialisation. In fact I've found that my experiences with UX stuff has improved my dev work.

Re: Don't look for a UX guy, be a UX guy

#43

Post by phamilton » Tue, May 22, 2012, 5:23 AM UTC

mtjl79 wrote: post #31

zavulon wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would agree with you if these were complimentary skills we're talking about. However, programming and UX design are almost contradictory. For programming, you need a mathematical inclination, attention to detail, willingness to sit down and focus on one concrete task at a time, etc. For UX (and any kind of other) design, you need more an ability to create art - paint with broad strokes, look at the big picture, etc…

No, you're incorrect. UX (User Experience) is about designing exactly that - an experience. It's about being extremely detail oriented, mathematical inclination (sifting through metrics, a/b testing data, CTR, bounce rates, etc.), willingness to sit down and focus on one concrete task at a time, sifting through hours of user video seeing how people interact with an application and then finding solutions to make the U…

UX is about empathy. Understanding how other people think and the emotions they feel. All those tools you mention are metrics to keep score, but without an understanding of how your users think you are playing a fun game of guess and check. Sure with enough iterations and metrics you can figure out anything, but your users won't give you that many chances. Someone who can get the initial design in the right ballpark and use metrics to fine tune it is your UX guy. As I programmer I really struggle putting together a viable initial UX, and I don't think I'm unique in that struggle.

Quite frankly, it's because I think very differently from most people and have trouble understanding their thought process. I'm not introverted or especially socially awkward or any of those engineering stereotypes. Everything from my ability to creatively approach problem solving to my subtle dry sense of humor is because of my different way to think about things. But when I need to think like everybody else, I just can't do it. That's why I need a UX guy.

Re: Don't look for a UX guy, be a UX guy

#44

Post by [deleted] » Tue, May 22, 2012, 7:48 AM UTC

its_so_on wrote: post #26

So, let me quote a bit of this submission, add some facts, and then take this to its logical conclusion. > The current meme going around Silicon Valley and startup land is that any founder needs to be a technical founder and be able to program. Don’t look for a technical co-founder, be a technical co-founder. Even more, every employee at an internet startup needs to be able to program...For those who are all-in on th…

[deleted]