Note: I read all comments and respond to most. --- New posts every 10 to 15 days...except when life decides to get in my way by dropping a log into my pond.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Who Thinks These Things Up!?

Recently I came across a term/job title I wasn't familiar with - User Experience (UX) Designer - so I checked it out in Wikipedia (of course):

     User experience design most frequently defines a sequence of interactions
     between a user (individual person) and a system, virtual or physical,
     designed to meet or support user needs and goals, primarily, while also
     satisfying system requirements and organizational objectives.

Among my too-many-to-name jobs that I've had over the years, User Experience Designer was never one of my position titles... as far as I know.  And when it comes to writing, I would suppose that a technical or How-to book might qualify for such an entitlement, but I have written neither.  In some of my employment, I've been a waitress, an accountant, and even a retail salesperson.  When I "ponder deeply," I begin to realize that I actually have been what I never knew I was: a User Experience Designer.
  • A waitress/food server is the liaison between the guest (user) and the cook (system designed to meet needs), primarily taking care of the customer while, at the same time, satisfying the manager/owner's (organizational) objectives.
  • An accountant - a good one - defines the transactions made by an individual/company with a program designed to primarily support their needs and goals, while still satisfying IRS (organizational) requirements and objectives.
  • A retail salesperson - again, a good one - is defining for the customer (user) a system (perhaps a 3-step skin care/makeup regimen) that is designed to primarily meet the individual's needs/goals, while still satisfying the quotas/demands (organizational objectives) of management or a company.
Guess I'm not as out of touch with today's hi-tech as I thought, and certainly more than I ever would've  given myself credit for.  But I do have a question: Who in the world has the time to sit around thinking these things up?  (And probably even gets paid for it nonetheless!)

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