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Empathy & Ethics in a Post UX era

Empathy & Ethics in a Post UX era

I presented this as part of a Pecha Kucha themed UX Auckland Meet-up on the State of UX in 2017.

Slide notes

1- Intro

2- When I was first asked to speak about the state of UX in 2017, I did what any savvy tech person would do- I googled it. What interested me about the articles I read was not the themes they spoke about, but one in particular that didn’t seem to feature at all- evangelism.

3- We’ve had to fight for the voice of the user, argue the value of UX, convince the world that it needs us. We have been on the forefront of the fight for better experiences and better design for years.

4- Perhaps the reason evangelism didn’t come up in any of those articles, it’s finally starting to work. Businesses are starting to listen- they’re bringing in design experts, they’re creating design teams. Hell they’re even buying design teams. So where does that leave us in 2017?

5- I believe that we’re entering a new era in the history of UX, one I’ve chosen to label “Post UX” Much like the term “post digital” that’s been bandied around a lot lately, Post UX represents a state where UX practices and methodologies have become a normal and expected part of the tech industry.

6- The post UX era is one where UX is commonly accepted and valued. We no longer need to argue its importance, but instead, turn our attention to the broader impact and responsibility that comes with designing experiences

7- We’re entering a new world, where technology and our interactions with it will move well beyond the screen and become more intimately embedded into our daily lives, giving us the power to shape lives in a way we’ve not been able to before.

8- So yes, we’ll be designing some cool shit- there will be robots, conversational UIs, chatbots, AR, VR, AI etc
But ultimately, we’ll be designing people’s lives, and with that come a lot of important considerations.

9- In this new Post UX world, we are empowered. We are free of our evangelical obligations and able to focus all of our attention on the experiences we create and the world that emerges from them. So the question we all need to ask ourselves, is what kind of world we want to create.

10- If the theme of our efforts to date has been Evangelism, I believe that looking forward into 2017 and beyond, our focus will be on Empathy and Ethics

11- Let’s talk about Empathy- many of you are probably thinking “Empathy is already a fundamental theme in the UX world” and you may be right. But what does it mean to be truly empathetic? I’d argue that the fact that UX has largely been a screen-based pursuit has allowed us to get away with lazy empathy.

12- We confuse consideration and an understanding of how users interact with screens and pixels, for true empathy- the ability to really feel what our users feel, to understand their lives in almost as rich detail as we understand our own.

13- What happens when the experience is no longer contained within a screen? What happens when you can converse with it? Interact with it in 3 dimensions? What happens when it needs to become a companion or a guide, when it needs to have a personality?

14- In that world, in a Post UX world, empathy is essential. And in order to empathise, we need to understand contexts, histories and beliefs.
In this world, ethnographic research will become more important than ever before.

15- Quick show of hands, how many of you have yelled this at your phone? I thought so- it’s annoying right? With tech a ubiquitous and invisible presence in our daily lives- listening, helping, interrupting...

16- understanding what is culturally appropriate or what’s considered polite, will be the difference between a natural experience and a jarring one, a helpful experience, and one that’s deemed rude or unasked for. Empathy and ethnography will create human experiences.

17- But this is a Post UX world, empathy alone is not enough- we need a wider perspective. Our impact is broader, our influence is felt more deeply. And so the question of ethics becomes a critical one.

18- As UX designers in this new era, we need to have a conscience. We need to be aware, and constantly ask ourselves if the world we are creating is the right world. We have to create consciously, and with purpose.

19- Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should. As UX designers, we will evolve to be more than just the voice of the user- we will be the tech industry’s moral compass, its advocate for what’s right and what’s fair.

20- Why us? Firstly, we care, and have done for a while. And secondly, in this Post UX world, we’re finding ourselves in positions of influence. When we couple that with true empathy, and strong ethics, we have the power to change the world.

21- So, in this brave, new, Post UX world, I challenge you to use your powers for good. While the world changes, as it has and will continue to do, use UX to shape it, to bring perspective, to show respect. Make 2017 the year of empathy, and of ethics.

Katherine Barrow

March 15, 2017
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