The words both start with L-E-A, but can leadership really be learned? As a consultant, I have the pleasure and challenge to work with a variety of different teams. I am a team of one, but I collaborate with agency teams (such as Happy Cog, whom I’m working with on the US Holocaust Memorial Museum [Keep Reading…]
Client Matters: Ironclad Contracts: Tougher Than a Pinky Swear
UXmatters just published the fourth article in my bimonthly column, Client Matters, where I give UX professionals an honest look at initiating and managing relationships with clients. The latest article is titled, Ironclad Contracts: Tougher Than a Pinky Swear. In it I expound on how to determine the nuts and bolts of your client contract: [Keep Reading…]
Client Matters: Needs + Resources + Location + Schedule + Budget = Scope
This post is two months overdue. Somehow I never linked to the third article in Client Matters, my bimonthly column in UXmatters, where I give UX professionals an honest look at initiating and managing relationships with clients. Published in December 2009, the article is titled, Needs + Resources + Location + Schedule + Budget = [Keep Reading…]
The UX Design Process for the Boxee Beta
More than a year ago I very proudly announced that Boxee, the much-loved social media center software company, had hired me as the user experience designer for their beta. In the five months that I worked with them, I conducted user interviews and usability testing to identify people’s needs, behaviors and frustrations, and redesigned the [Keep Reading…]
Client Matters: Process, Not Portfolio
UXmatters, a web magazine about user experience, just published the second article in my new bimonthly column, Client Matters, where I give UX professionals an honest look at initiating and managing relationships with clients. The latest article is titled, Process, Not Portfolio. In it I argue that showing your previous work in a portfolio isn’t [Keep Reading…]
I wish I knew how to quit you
I have a problem: I don’t know how to say No. As a result, I bury myself in obligations I can never fulfill. I’m sure this has a negative effect on a lot of my relationships, but the most important relationship it’s hurting is the one I have with myself. When I quit my job [Keep Reading…]
Seeking All Independent User Experience Professionals in NYC
Yesterday Lis Hubert and I got together at New Work City to talk about the ins and outs of being self-employed user experience designers. We realized that between the two of us we can count the number of indie UXers we know in NYC on one hand. Given how much networking we both do, it [Keep Reading…]
Client Matters: Does Your Client Need a Consultant or an Agency?
I’ve started a new column called Client Matters on UXmatters, a web magazine about user experience. Every other month I’ll give UX professionals an honest look at managing relationships with clients and provide some tips on how to turn unpleasant situations into winning ones. The first article in the column starts at the beginning: first [Keep Reading…]
Finding a day and time for Whit Hour
Given that I’m a user experience practitioner and consultant who is active on Twitter, it’s not surprising that I have a lot of folks coming to me with questions. Unfortunately it’s gotten to a point where I can no longer answer each person individually. In an effort to keep my sanity while still being as [Keep Reading…]
City Trails: May 25-29
This is part of a series called “City Trails” to track my daily treks around NYC Here’s what I put myself through this week: Monday, May 25 Tuesday, May 26 Wednesday, May 27 Thursday, May 28 Friday, May 29 The maps include distance traveled by walking, subway and cab. What did your week look like? [Keep Reading…]