Book Review 2: The User Experience Team of One by Leah Buley

The User Experience Team of One, by Leah Buley

Most of the smaller software vendors I work with struggle with UX. It is really difficult for them to find the talent, the resources and the time to do the design work they really want to. Even as they make uncomfortable compromises (engineering mostly wins) they know they are also making mistakes.

Most of the larger software vendors I work with struggle with UX. They have a team in place and in theory they have resources. But in a large engineering team, UX can be a thankless task. Few people think themselves experts in AI, or in highly optimised coding, but everyone - everyone! - has an opinion about UX. They may not know much about it, but they know what they like. Engineering mostly wins; if not engineering, then marketing.

Let’s talk about the second problem another day. Big vendors can wait. Today, I want to tell you about a book that has been around for about 10 years and which is tremendously practical and helpful for small UX teams: including very small UX teams.

The User Experience Team of One, by Leah Buley is published by Rosenfeld Media. I’ll write about them in the future too, because their booklist builds into an outstanding library of design reference and guidance. This book is a model of how to build a practice from the principles of research, collaboration and attentive work.

Leah Buley started out as a front-end engineer - an HTML hack as she puts it. But her work led her more and more into the UX design space and this is her speciality. Her pragmatic background helps to keep this book well grounded.

Defining User Experience

The first task of this book is to set out what UX is - and is not. Here’s an example of Buley’s approach:

To be a user experience designer means to practice a set of methods and techniques for researching what users want and need, and to design products and services for them.

My favourite working word is there … practice! Research is also critical to Buley’s approach and equally, techniques for research. It’s not just asking around for ideas.

If you are looking for techniques to develop a practice of research and design and find yourself limited in resources and time, this book really will be invaluable.

In a team of one you’re not alone

Another principal of Buley’s approach is perhaps paradoxical. A critical component of success as a team of one is … collaboration.

There’s a great emphasis here on listening, on building support and building visibility. The key is that even when alone in your organization you are part of a dynamic community that you can engage with.

Many - most - of the research and design techniques suggested are engaging and collaborative. They are organised, facilitated and analysed by the team of one, but their success involves a community of users, product people and marketers who are brought together for research and design by this dynamic soloist.

The importance of getting started

To end with the beginning. Each major section of the book ends with a callout: If you only do one thing … These callouts make the book immediately practical and its goals very achievable.

The first one thing to do?

… establish a point of view on where to start. Then figure out a sensible process with an appropriate balance between user research and design. However, the most important concept here - and indeed, the most important concept in the whole field - is to actually talk to users.

If these were not the author’s own words, I would feel in danger of oversimplifying my summary by quoting just this. But really, this is the heart of the practice. This, and practice.

An excellent guide and companion in your design work, however many are in your team.