Things I've Learned Managing UX Designers

Samantha Starmer - @samanthastarmer
Russ Unger - @russu
| Razorﬁsh
| GE Capital Americas
An IA Summit Virtual Webinar
Great Talks Start
with
Great Proposals
Brought to you courtesy of:

• Brainstorming Ideas
• Writing Proposals
Virtual Seminar
Today’s Agenda

• Provides the foundational grounding for your presentation
• Establishes the framework and criteria for later winnowing of
examples or sub-points.
• Ensures you focus on the key learning or value you want the
audience to get out of your talk
• Helps position your presentation within the larger eventcontext
Why you need a Big Idea™

• Inspirational
• Practical
• Controversial
Types of Big Ideas

• Ideas sound different on paper or
shared with someone else than in
the quiet of your own head
• Helps determine which ideas have
the most traction
• Spark new ways of thinking that can
drive even better ideas
Brainstorming Your Big Idea

Think About...
“Jeffrey Zeldman, An Event Apart
A genuine idea. A fresh take on a serious problem,
especially if that problem is currently vexing some of the
best minds in the business.

Know your audience; make the material relevant to the people you
are presenting to, even if you have given the presentation before.
• Match language from the conference or event
• Adapt level of depth to expected level of audience
• Scope your idea to your time limit
Idea: Check.
But Wait--You’re Not Done Yet

Your Turn!
Quantity vs. Quality
• 3 minutes: Things you want to talk about
• 3 minutes: Things you are an expert at
• 3 minutes: Things you want someone else to talk about

Brainstorming
Q&A
Up Next: How to Write Your Proposal
• Writing Your Title
• Writing Your Abstract

The Composition of a Proposal
The Parts That Make it Whole Are:
• The Title
• Get ‘em Engaged and Interested
• The Write-Up
• Tell ‘em What You’re Going to Tell ‘em
• Support It with Your Story

The Composition of a Proposal
The Parts That Make it Whole Are:
• The Title
• Get ‘em Engaged and Interested
• The Write-Up
• Tell ‘em What You’re Going to Tell ‘em
• Support It with Your Story
• Your Bio
• Tell ‘em Why You’re the One to Tell ‘em

The Title
Evolution of the Title of Your Presentation
• First: What Do You Think Your Talk Will Be About? What’s the
Idea?
• Last: When You Have a Write-Up, Revisit the Title
• Final: Review It with Friends, Peers, Conference Organizers
• FinalFinal_v2: You May Change It Again (and Again), After You’ve
Presented It

The Title
What Makes a Good Title?
• Interesting: Is Your Title Good Enough to Make Someone Want
to Read the Entire Abstract?
• Targeted: Does Your Title Let People Know Who the Content is
For?
• Clear: Does Your Title Clearly Articulate the Content of Your Talk?

My Title
I'm a Good Designer and Suddenly I'm Leading People.
Now What?
• Evokes Interest; Frightening Position, Possibly Not Uncommon?
• Audience is Targeted; Designers Who Are Now Managers/
Leaders with Little Direction?
• Not Very Clear; Could Cover a Wide Variety of Topics?

“
The Title
Hugh Forrest, SXSW
A good title will spark my interest as a reviewer and make me want
to read the entire abstract.

The Title
“Jeffrey Zeldman, An Event Apart
A clear title tells you that you actually have a well-structured
presentation in mind--a presentation that makes a real and
important point (or two).

“
The Title
Andy Budd, UX London, dConstruct
I really hate titles that are clever but leave you having no idea what
the session is actually going to be about.

My (Updated) Title
Things I’ve Learned (and Am Still Learning!)
from Managing UX Designers
• Evokes Interest; What Has He Learned?
• Audience is Targeted; Presentation Should Help Someone
Managing UX Designers
• Very Clear; Tells You What the Presentation is About and What
You Can Expect to Learn

My (Updated) Title
from Managing (UX Designers)
I will probably change this at least
one more time.
At least.
See what I
did there?

The Write-up
Evolution of the Write-up
• First: Write Hard & Fast; Get Ideas Out
• Put It Down: Walk Away; Come Back Later
• Revise: Review It with Friends, Peers, Conference Organizers
• FinalFinal_v2: You May Change It Again (and Again), After You’ve
Presented It; Some Conferences Require More or Less Than
You’ve Written

The Write-up: Structure
The Three “Tell ‘em”s
• Tell ‘em What You’re Going to
Tell Them
• Tell ‘em
• Tell ‘em What You Told Them

The Write-up: Structure
Simple Structure
• Tell Them What You’re Going to Tell Them
• Be clear, concise, brief, and provide details
• Do this in a small-to-medium-sized paragraph
• Tell Them Why You’re Telling Them
• What’s your take on this? What is the story that got you to this
point? Your rationale?
• Do this in a small-to-medium-sized paragraph

“
The Write-up
Russ Unger, Hi-I’m Right Here!
I think a lot of people get shot down because they write in the
[conference submission] form.

The Write-up
My First Draft
Finding top talent in the UX field has been a challenge for quite some time now. It doesn't help
matters when we hear that there are several times more jobs than there are UXers to fill the roles,
which ultimately puts the power into the hands of people looking for jobs, and they can now afford to
be choosy about who and where the work. This means that there is less tolerance for hiring a UXer
to be the UX bandaid and then have them report into marketing or some other. Sooner or later,
someone is going to need to lead and manage the UX talent pool, and that someone will need to be
someone who has been in the trenches themselves.
Through the course of my career, I've had the opportunity to lead and manage teams, and I've not
always been the best at it. I'm still learning, and I'll be the first to admit that. In many cases, my
experience has been like most of my career: trial by fire. The good news is that I've been doing what I
think you're supposed to do: get better through iteration, research, and adjustment. Much of what
I've learned applies to managing UX Designers, but also applies to managing just about anyone, and
I'll be sharing those with you. F+

The Write-up
My Second Draft
I've had the opportunity to lead and manage teams multiple times in my career, and while I may not
have always been the best a it, I have picked up and learned a few things along way that I try to put
into practice today. Many of these lessons haven't been easy to learn, and sometimes they weren't
that easy to endure, however, they've all helped me become much better at what I do, and they allow
me to have empathy for those people who either report to me or manage me in one way or another.
If you're interested in learning from some of the hard lessons I've learned, or in just laughing along at
my folly, I'll have plenty of material to provide you with that opportunity.
Most of my career has been an exercise in trial-by-fire. This process may work well when you're a
designer and you're trying to master the art of the task flow, site map, wireframe, prototype,
personas, and so on, but with leadership, the option to go back to the drawing board isn't quite as
readily available--nor as painless to your pride, and potentially your pocketbook. I'm going to share
some of things I've learned in my efforts to become a better manager of designers, and in the world
of business in general.C+

The Write-up
I Have Some Pretty Great, Honest Friends

The Write-up
My Third, Mostly-Final Draft
Most of my career has been an exercise in “trial by fire.” This process worked well when I was a
designer and was trying to master the art of the task flow, site map, wireframe, prototype, personas,
and so on. In leadership positions, the option to go back to the drawing board or to iterate hasn't
always been readily available--nor as painless to my pride and potentially my pocketbook.
Many of these lessons haven’t been easy for me to learn. It’s been tough to simultaneously remove
obstacles without becoming one, or learning how to say “no” (and the flavors of yes and no!) when
I've also wanted people to be satisfied with me and the work I'm doing. However, these lessons have
all helped me become better at managing to some degree, while instilling a strong sense of empathy
for those people who either report to me, or bless their souls, manage me in one way or another.
If you’re interested in learning from some of the hard lessons I’ve learned, or in just laughing at my
folly, I’ll have plenty of material to provide you with either opportunity.
B+

The Write-up
Most of my career has been an exercise in “trial by fire.” This process worked
well when I was a designer and was trying to master the art of the task flow,
site map, wireframe, prototype, personas, and so on. In leadership positions,
the option to go back to the drawing board or to iterate hasn't always been
readily available--nor as painless to my pride and potentially my pocketbook.
Many of these lessons haven’t been easy for me to learn. It’s been tough to
simultaneously remove obstacles without becoming one, or learning how to
say “no” (and the flavors of yes and no!) when I've also wanted people to be
satisfied with me and the work I'm doing. However, these lessons have all
helped me become better at managing to some degree, while instilling a
strong sense of empathy for those people who either report to me, or bless
their souls, manage me in one way or another.
If you’re interested in learning from some of the hard lessons I’ve learned, or
in just laughing at my folly, there will be plenty of material to provide you with
either opportunity.
This is where I’m telling them
what I’m going to tell them
about, and who should come to
the presentation.
This is where I’m supporting the
presentation with the reasons
why this talk makes sense,
coming from me.
This is a little bit of wit.

“
The Write-up
Hugh Forrest, SXSW
As detailed a plan as possible on what the presentation will be.
Don’t assume that the person reviewing the proposal understands
what you are talking about if you only explain it in one sentence.

“
The Write-up
Barak Danin, UX Israel
The value that someone would get from attending the talk. Quite
directly: In what way would someone be more knowledgeable
and / or what new tools or skills would a person have after this
presentation?

“
The Write-up
Clark Sell, That Conference
A couple of well-thought concise paragraphs. I don’t want a book,
but rather something that will draw the attendee to come and
interact with you.

“
The Write-up
Andy Budd, UX London, dConstruct
You need to paint a picture in the mind of the audience, allowing
them to imagine what the talk is going to be about, why they
should care, and what they’re going to get out of the experience.
“
There are no hard and fast rules.

The Write-up
I've worked for a lot idiot managers in my career. And then, one day, after I
had become a manager, it dawned on me: I am now the idiot! Most of my
career has been an exercise in “trial by fire.” This process worked well when I
was a designer and was trying to master the art of the task flow, site map,
wireframe, prototype, personas, and so on. In leadership positions, the option
to go back to the drawing board or to iterate hasn't always been readily
available--nor as painless to my pride and potentially my pocketbook.
Many of these lessons haven’t been easy for me to learn. It’s been tough to
simultaneously remove obstacles without becoming one, or learning how to
say “no” (and the flavors of yes and no!) when I've also wanted people to be
satisfied with me and the work I'm doing. However, these lessons have all
helped me become better at managing to some degree, while instilling a
strong sense of empathy for those people who either report to me, or bless
their souls, manage me in one way or another.
If you’re interested in learning from some of the hard lessons I’ve learned, or
in just laughing at my folly, there will be plenty of material to provide you with
either opportunity.
This is where I’m telling them
what I’m going to tell them
about, and who should come to
the presentation.
This is where I’m supporting the
presentation with the reasons
why this talk makes sense,
coming from me.
This is a little bit of wit.
Got feedback; made
another change

Proposal Q&A
Up Next: The End
• Additional Materials
• Thank You

The blind reviewers feed back on and score the proposals, and recommend
the best ones to be considered for the program. This list will then be
reviewed by the curation team and the conference chairs. We will have three
themed tracks at the conference, each curated by two people. The curators
will take your identity into account. We are keen to strike a balance on all
levels, and e.g. make sure we have a mix of first-time speakers and old-
timers, talks from ‘innies’ as well as freelancers or agency folks, speakers from
different countries and continents, etc. So, when making the final call on
which sessions to put into their track, the curators will take all of these factors
into account.
What’s the curation process?
Frequently Asked Questions

Every session will be peer-reviewed. This first step is an anonymous, or ‘blind’
review. Reviewers will focus on the content of your submission, rather than
on who you are. This keeps it fair: no rockstar, colleague or friendship bonus.
When writing your submission, please make sure you don’t give clues about
your identity.
What’s a blind review?

Sessions are either 20 or 45 min long. An interactive session is just letting us
know that you would like to do more than talk. Leading a short form
workshop or a special event or discussion in your time slot. We are also open
to longer sessions but may request you are not located in the main
conference rooms, but instead in another space in the hotel.
What is meant by “interactive session”?

Workshops are not peer-reviewed. The workshop program is put together
by the curation team and conference chairs, and will include workshops
chosen from the submissions as well as invited workshops.
How are workshops reviewed?

Yes absolutely, but it isn’t like the lottery (more chances to win).
Can I submit more than once?

On average we receive 400+ submissions and will only have 60 slots to fill. Its
a hard decision every year.
How many submissions will you get? How many get in?

A ticket to the event for one speaker and a volunteer discount for any other
speakers in the same session. This is a community run volunteer conference,
as such we limit the number of free tickets we give out. Speakers also are
expected to cover their own travel expenses.
What do speakers get if they get in?

We care about our theme, this year we hope that we have cast a wide
enough net with it that you easily fit in your subject. The curation team will
take their own view on the content while considering the theme and having
an ongoing conversation with the chair committee as well.
How closely is the theme used when choosing submissions?

The flex track is an unconference that runs during the 3 days of the Summit.
If your talk doesn’t get in, you can still show up, sign up for a slot and give the
talk to whomever shows up. Its a really cool experience to consider.
What is the flex track?

If you have a topic and decide you won’t be submitting a talk this year (or
even if you are) consider submitting a poster for our annual poster night.
Think high school science fair, but with alcohol. You will get a space to hang
your poster as well as a captive audience of people getting buzzed while
talking about nerdy stuff, what’s cooler than that?
What is Poster Night?

This year, we have extended the submission form, to help you structure your
submission. Apart from a comprehensive summary, we would like you to tell
us what attendees will take away from your session, and why you are the
best person to present this topic. Do you have unique hands-on experience
or case studies to share? Is your perspective on the topic unique? Tell us
what grounds your insights.
What is the format of the submission?

We know, it’s not pretty. We are using a dedicated system, as we need
specific functionality to manage the peer review process. Thus, a more
flexible tool such as Wufoo or Google Forms was sadly not an option.
Why is the submission form so ugly?

Our Sponsors
Transcription services provided by:

Thank YOU! Samantha Starmer - @samanthastarmer
Russ Unger - @russu
| Razorﬁsh
| GE Capital Americas
November 15, 2013
35% oﬀ at
peachpit.com/speakercamp
with code: SPEAKERCAMP

Things I've Learned Managing UX Designers

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