UX + Engineering: A Tale of Two Cities

Designers and engineers are often seen as complete opposites. Designers are portrayed to be sensitive creatives, and engineers as cold logisticians. But this doesn’t have to be the case. In this talk, a software engineer and a UX Designer from Best Buy will come together in order to show you practical ways that you can collaborate together better and deliver amazing and beautiful products.

Transcript

1. UX + Engineering at Best Buy Technical Lead: @JoeKarlsson1 UX Architect: @EddieEcker
2. 2 Joe Karlsson @JoeKarlsson1 My Name is @JoeKarlsson /in/JoeKarlsson joekarlsson.com
3. 3 Eddie Ecker @eddieecker My Name is /in/edwardecker
4. 4 How is this going to work?
5. 5 Table of Contents About us What Do I Look For From Jr Devs? Intros S E C T I O N O N E S E C T I O N T W O S E C T I O N F O U R Life as a UX Architect How We Work Together Keep in Touch S E C T I O N F I V E S E C T I O N S I X S E C T I O N S E V E N Our Services S E C T I O N T H R E E
6. 6 How do we work? A: Agile.
7. 7 Our Teams Consist of: 1-2 Product Owners 3-5 Engineers 1-3 UXers 1 Scrum Master 1- 2 QA 1? Business Analyst
8. 8 Just think of it like The Avengers
9. 9 Agile Development • 2 week “Sprints” • UX is baked before the sprint starts (ideally) • Sprint is broken down into dev “tickets” that align with the final UX + Product Vision that’s been pre-vetted / pointed by the Dev team. • It can take multiple sprints to complete a feature • Multiple teams can own features on the same page (ex PDP)
10. 10 What Do I Look
 For From Junior Devs?
11. 11 Q: What’s the secret to getting a job? A: There is none. You gotta work your ass off.
12. 12 Q: What’s the best programming language? A: Who gives a shit
13. 13 Java Python JavaScript But…
14. 14 Willingness to Learn
15. 15 Just BUILD STUFF and HAVE FUN
16. 16 •Always Be Learning •Don’t Be An Asshole •Have Fun
17. 17 UX at Best Buy
18. 18 Q: What’s the secret to getting a UX job?
19. 19 Let’s travel back in time…to 2011.
21. 21 HALO WAYPOINT
22. 22 First UX Job Design Challenge Make a digital turntable
25. 25 Participate in Hackathons &
 Creative Jams.
26. 26 Pro Tips: • Take full advantage of your opportunities. • Fake it till you make it! • Get out of your comfort zone. • Do design challenges and do them better than work you do in school. • Don’t settle down early on, try to move around and experiment. • Do research on who’s hiring and make sure you want to work for them.
27. 27 How Can
 UX and Engineering Work Together Better?
28. Establish a
 clear vision J
29. Get Engineers involved early and often E
30. It doesn’t have to be super formal! Standup in the morning is a great time to hash stuff out.
31. Accept Feedback J
33. 33 Remember, your co-worker isn’t the enemy, user problems are! E
34. 34 Healthy Friction Dev UX
35. Build Relationships E
39. Spec your designs The more detail the better, never leave your engineer guessing. J
41. E
42. Teach your engineer how to use design software Helps with rapid asset management J
43. Wrap your head around code. It will make your designs better. J E
44. The MOST important slide
45. COMMUNICATE!
47. 47 • Get Engineers involved early and often • Establish a clear vision • Accept Feedback • Build relationships • Spec your designs •The more detail the better, never leave your engineer guessing.
48. 48 •Teach your engineer the basics of how to use design software for rapid asset management. • Wrap your head around code. It will make you a better designer. • Communication!
49. 49 Questions & Answers
51. 51 yes, we are
52. 52 Joe Karlsson @JoeKarlsson1 Let’s stay in touch @JoeKarlsson /in/JoeKarlsson joekarlsson.com
53. 53 Eddie Ecker @eddieecker Let’s stay in touch /in/edwardecker
54. 54 Best Buy Careers Games https://www.ludo.team.com/ Additional Resources https://www.bestbuy-jobs.com/