Comments for Allaland

Comment on Improving Twitter Email Notifications by Andy Palmer

Andy Palmer — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:05:54 +0000

This is exactly my issue with Twitter notifications.
It would probably be fairly straight forward to implement a work around. I’ll let you know if I make anything :-)

Comment on What is User Experience Design? by user experience research

user experience research — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:05:34 +0000

This is really nice to read. Its giving good explanation about user experience research.

Comment on What is User Experience Design? by Twitter Trackbacks for What is User Experience Design? « Allaland [allaland.wordpress.com] on Topsy.com

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:41:48 +0000

[...] What is User Experience Design? « Allaland allaland.wordpress.com/2009/08/21/what-is-user-experience-design – view page – cached #Allaland RSS Feed Allaland » What is User Experience Design? Comments Feed Allaland Douglas Adams Trust and Client Relationships — From the page [...]

Comment on IA Summit: Managing Difficult Conversations by Trust and Client Relationships « Allaland

Trust and Client Relationships « Allaland — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 15:26:15 +0000

[...] Although any job will always have times when you might manage difficult conversations, many difficult conversations with clients can be avoided all together if there is a healthy amount [...]

Comment on Josh Porter at Refresh Boston by Valeska O'Leary

Valeska O'Leary — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:29:15 +0000

Thanks for the sharing, Alla. I wasn’t able to attend but your post “brought me” there (virtually speaking). It never ceases to amaze me how much I personally need to work on. Lots of room for improvement.

Comment on On Being A Generalist by azollers

azollers — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:40:37 +0000

Hi Lisa,

It was really great meeting you as well!

I am glad that you have found your focus, as I know many people struggle with that for a long time. Plus, you have many additional skills that will come in handy when needed.

I got myself off focus for about 2 years doing academia, and have only recently re-discovered my absolute love and passion for UX. I am so happy to be doing that again, and after Josh’s talk even know where I want to focus in my own field.

Hope to see you again soon at another event, and have a bit more time to chat :)

Comment on On Being A Generalist by Lisa Rex

Lisa Rex — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:31:59 +0000

Alla, great summary, and your comments strike a nerve with me (in a good way). I’ve struggled to find a direction in my career because I’ve done it all (marketing, sales, web graphic design, XHTML, CSS, IA, QA, accessibility, usability, WordPress) and now I know where I’d like to focus, it’s very difficult to translate my experience into reasons why I’d be good in a job.

I think it comes down to where you’d like to work. Small companies need people who can wear many hats. Larger companies can tolerate people with more focus. And if you’re independent, well, that’s where it becomes muddy again.

My strategy at the present (after talking to my North Shore Web Geek buddies) is to focus, but make it known that I can do other things too.

Nice meeting you last night, by the way!

Comment on On Being A Generalist by azollers

azollers — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:07:27 +0000

I completely agree with you that the business need dictates the type of UX designer that they will hire. My only concern (especially in the given economy) is that businesses would rather not hire lots of people to do various parts of the job, but rather have a generalist that can wear many hats, and potentially save them money. Additionally, unless a specialized individual is a lifer at a company, I am not sure they would be able to find a job once they leave the very specialized role. Having said that, if people out there are finding work in a specialty and are quite happy, I say more power to them. Personally, I just prefer to stay more of a generalist, and would count it as a bonus if I get the opportunity to dig deep into a specific skill set.

Comment on On Being A Generalist by Jason Robb

Jason Robb — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:44:29 +0000

Great write-up, Alla! You cover a lot of ground and did so in an interesting way. I can dig it.

One thing that has come to mind, as I’ve been mulling over this topic, is that the question of “Is a generalist or specialist better” is a flawed approach to the problem.

The problem, as I see it, is that there are businesses. These businesses need great UX design. They need someone capable of UX design to deliver. The nitty-gritty is, what skills are necessary for the role?

For instance, in my post about this very subject: http://jasonrobb.com/2009/05/22/ux-generalists-specialists/ I approach the problem from the viewpoint of the employer. What type of UX designer do they need to get the job done? If they need someone with a vast array of skills, then a generalist is far better for the business. If the biz needs a UX designer, but already has a visual designer and front-end coder, then someone with a leaner but deeper skill set is going to be better for the business.

Thanks for sharing you point of view. You’re wise and brave to take on the task of learning more about visual design. I ought to do the same with user research! =)

Cheers!

Comment on UX and Agile by azollers

azollers — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:32:16 +0000

I have been keeping my eye out for discussions about this topic, but nothing substantial has come up recently. You might want to dig through the archives of ixda.org to see what other people think.

If you let me know about your specific situation/problem, I might be able to dig up a few more resources for you, or at least give my 2 cents :)