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UX Manifesto

This manifesto is a declaration of principals curated by UX Designers around the globe. We should hold them dear in order to champion the needs of the user.

Speed over accuracy

By borrowing from the principle of bidirectional search we can achieve a higher quality product in a shorter period of time if we test broadly and refine our solution rather than trying to solve the problem first time of asking.

Hypothesis over assumptions

Assumptions lack a falsifiable test that you can use to demonstrate it's value. Always add rigour to your ideas through experimentation. 

Small over large

We can solve big complex problems by breaking it down into smaller working systems. By using Gall's Law we're able to deliver small continous improvements.

Collaboration over Specification

A team that has a shared understanding through strong collaboration trumps siloed individuals handing detailed specifications to one another.

Learning over delivery

Borrowing Lean Startup's 'validated learning' we can master the art of work not done, only building outcomes that deliver for the user.

Share early and often

Just as shipping early and brings a tight feedback loop between the business and the customer so too should your work between UX and the rest of the organisation.

Everyone does design

Even when your not in a cross-functional team people are making design decisions that ultimately impact the user's experience. Embrace it and evangelise the user's needs to help everyone make better decisions.

Test the riskiest assumptions first

Assumptions are the mother of all fuck ups, the riskier the assumption the more testing you should endevour to undertake and the sooner you should do it.

  • Conversations are expensive, keep them short, do them often

    Some organisations spend so much time talking they never start building. By bringing insight to a conversation and ending a conversation when you need insight you will stop talking around the thing and move towards building the thing.

    Remotely co-locate

    Having face to face conversations create meaningful connections between people but only between those present for as long as they can recall. Create records of your interactions as if you were in a remote team to reference and build a shared understanding across your team.

    (in)validated learning is our primary measure of success

    As the owners of the discovery track we should celebrate the failures that we save the business from. Only when the best solutions pass our rigorous testing can we be satisfied that we have reduced the risk of failing to meet the desired user outcomes.

    Simplicity is the mastery of complexity

    We don't make things simple for simple's sake, instead we look to master the complexity by making a product that make the user feel awesome.

    Fall in love with the problem not your solution

    The innovator's bias is well documented, it impacts how we value ideas we've curated much like the Ikea effect. By using first principles we can temper our ideas against objective measures. By testing our ideas with users we can retrain ourselves to serve the user and not our own mental model of their problems.