God bless Don Norman. I mean really, God bless him. Without the early legitimization of user centered design, rigorous research, and an occasionally irrepressible voice in the public media… well, we’d all be a little further behind in our careers. If you’re in usability in one form or another, that means you. So stop for a minute and think a nice thought for Don, no matter your denomination.
Having just returned from a great conference at Business to Buttons in Malmö, Sweden, I’m heartened by the continued expansion of the usability mantra and its introduction into common business parlance. I also credit the InUse folks who organized and led the conference (congrats, Darja on the new baby!!). They placed business strategy in direct with usability execution and on occasion there were sparks. Little did I know they’d flare up in the first 15 minutes of the conference and better yet, directly from the mouth of one god-like Don Norman.
Sean Pillot De Chenecey (don’t ask me how to pronounce it; nobody said his full name at the conference). There he was in all his British glory kicking things off with the ‘first’ keynote on business strategy, brand impact, marketing trends. You name it; we were ready for brilliance. Starting 15 minutes behind schedule, he was forced to compress his talk into the 20 remaining. And, as might be expected, strategy compressed into an unreasonable time frame sounds like a barrage of random unsubstantiated thoughts. Even poor Sean could not avoid the trap, though as usual it still sounded smarter with the accent. Dang Brits.
Scattered applause and up comes Don. A hushed tone. What will he say? Where will he lead us? First words as Sean ducked out of the room: “I didn’t understand a word of that. Did you?” The crowd looked on. “If you did, you don’t belong here…” And he was off into his presentation… a re-hash of thoughts and insights from two year-old research. Nobody seemingly notice the comments under his hushed breath. But I did, there in the front row, my subconscious mind mulling ‘what the hell.’
I parked the oddity and enjoyed the rest of the day, Twittering my ass off for the first time in my life. Conferences make that damn technology make sense. But I digress. There was breakfast to be had on Day Two…
And, thanks be to God, we were In The Same Hotel as Don Norman. Yep. And they served a great breakfast every morning that attracted the likes of me and… Don. Yep. So there we were sitting a mere feet from each other and I could hear the hushed whispers around the room (as must he): “It’s –Don– Norman.” A grandfatherly rock star. He stuck close to a co-presenter for the most part, though he graciously accepted conversation when those around presented themselves almost as something to endure. He played with the salt shakers. Asked those around which was pepper and which was salt by the holes in each. He took pictures of them and complimented their European styling. Much better than those in his upcoming presentation. ‘Fans’ awkwardly held up napkins to help even the light around his photo-shoot. (We were treated to photos of the bathroom stall from his flight over as a highlight of usability… and slight social awkwardness later on.)
But we’re not there yet. Breakfast still. Focus. He took up the topic of marketers and reflected back on yesterday’s ‘Sean.’ “They wreck it all,” said attendee nearby. “They come in with their pretty pictures and usurp the process,” said another. “It’s just not fair. We can’t defend against their pretty pictures.” Don advised sagely, “You have to put them in their place. They’ll always have their pretty pictures and big ideas, these marketers.” Blech. The last word a derision spat on the table between two elegant shakers. “You have to hold onto your client and keep them on task. Make them follow the process. Marketers will destroy that.” How do we do it, Don? came the requests. The crowd gathered slightly, leaning over muslix and smoked salmon. “Oh, they have their place. If you have to, give them a role on the project making pretty pictures of the designs. Just don’t let them get ahead of you. If they do, all is lost.” An ‘us or them’ strategy. A woman nearby questioned the plausibility. “They’re too big for us. They take over when they show up.” His response: “Don’t over think it. They are the enemy and you have to keep them in their place.”
I damn near dropped my spoon.
His keynote later that morning dropped the same ‘enemy’ comment, again under his breath. My thinking went from subconscious to roiling. Sean is the enemy and Don is the purest savior? What was this? Where was I?
InUse has stepped into something here. They’re very smart people and this isn’t by accident. They just didn’t force us together hard enough. I say, Let’s throw down. Let’s go cage-match. Let’s co-present. Let’s debate. And for those who want to inherit the earth, two philosophies will enter… one will leave. Those who survive won’t have the better philosophy, they’ll have a merged process and an embraced acceptance of one another. I eagerly await next year’s conference and the chance to speak on this in coming months no matter the venue.
Where will Don stand? Either at the sunset of a brilliant career or the dawning of a revolution. I like the man and I’m hoping for the best from our great leader. Meanwhile, I’m on the lookout for an articulate twenty-something to throw history out the window and shock us in the coming year’s keynotes.