tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8619715.post5483248062368641297..comments2023-05-22T01:38:25.022-07:00Comments on Riander Blog: Does it matter where User Experience is positioned in your corporate structure?Richard I Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03669293190263591598noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8619715.post-49244337351840181312007-04-12T09:26:00.000-07:002007-04-12T09:26:00.000-07:00In the past few companies I have observed a genera...In the past few companies I have observed a general pattern:<BR/>More influence can be gained the closer one is to the exec controlling the means of production. In software this usually means engineering.<BR/><BR/>-I have been stuck in marketing, and this means that I get tapped for marcom, web site design, and icon duties. Strangely enough... being in marketing did not mean that I was involved in requirements gathering or focus groups. In most places the vision is owned by the techies and marketing tends to be reactive.<BR/><BR/>-Being stuck in doc did happen to me once, as well. This was mostly the least effective place, and most removed from influence, power, and early stages of design. We are now seeing a pattern where some orgs are putting doc inside UX organizations (more online or contextural help on the screens vs. in printed books).<BR/><BR/><BR/>-Being close to software architects was quite interesting. They own the vision, but they do not own, or have the patience for the development process. They are good agents for UCD, but not the people to ensure that is happens early in the software dev cycle. The collaboration between software architects and designers was the topic of a SPARK conference organized by MSFT at the Ritz Carlton. It was attended by a few local gurus, including Jakob Nielsen. A nice blog post comes from a colleague at frog, Adam Richardson<BR/>http://richardsona.squarespace.com/main/2006/10/4/thoughts-on-microsoft-spark-ux-summit.html<BR/><BR/>-The engineering co-location that seems to be the most effective also has its issues. If you are too far down in the hierarchy, have lousy relations with the person controlling the requirements docs and release process, or cannot speak the language, you will be just as ineffective.<BR/><BR/>Other general truths about this topic:<BR/>-Having an exec champion usually helps (Intuit)<BR/>-UX org location independent factor: People skills and a multi-disciplinary, all inclusive approach always helps. I have a Good Designer / Bad Designer blog about this:<BR/>http://blogs.oracle.com/lukekowalski/2006/07/31#a28<BR/>-UCD can be a competitive differentiator, but it needs to be translated into a business benefit or a technical argument. If it is not, it is just another faction whining about their unique and special needs...<BR/>:)<BR/><BR/>Luke Kowalski, currently in the corporate architect role at Oracle, which is more of a technology policy role for UCD.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18050653212445391860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8619715.post-87227507133935867342007-04-12T04:54:00.000-07:002007-04-12T04:54:00.000-07:00What has been your experience where you work? Has...What has been your experience where you work? Has the organizational positioning of User Experience in your corporate structure played a role in moving user experience into a position of corporate influence, or has it not played such a role? If it hasn't, could it? If it has, what role has it played?<BR/><BR/>Please share your stories here or send them to me via email.Richard I Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03669293190263591598noreply@blogger.com