Björn Simonson kirjoitti 7.11.2007 kello 13:09: > My problem is that the boss is in a position to veto pretty much > everything and/or the project manger is not strong enough to stand > up to his boss in these matters. So even if I get the project group > to agree that we can't change the structure to accommodate the boss' > suggestion (which shouldn't be a problem) I'm not sure that they can > convince the boss.
Instead of arguing over the design, argue over scenarios. You probably have created believable scenarios (previously approved) where some believable actors (also previously approved) perform their tasks to achieve their goals (previously approved, right ?--). You can try to come up with a scenario that supports the stakeholder's design choice. If you can, his/her design choice was right. But if you can't come up with such scenario, or it sounds ridiculous, you can still bring your findings to the table and ask for goals/achievements/ scenarios from the stakeholder. "That sounds good to me, but what problem does it solve for the user? What kind of user?" Aim for single individual to avoid ambiguity. Don't make him/her a designer that solves the problem, but try to squeeze out the problem he/she wants to be solved. Your personal goal is to get his trust. If you solve your stakeholders' goals, they won't question your design in every turn. You've got to "ignore the designer", including yourself and the stakeholder and focus the argument on the users/actors/personas, or whatever you use in your projects. Here's a good article about that by Chris Noessel: http://www.cooper.com/insights/journal_of_design/articles/ignore_that_designer_behind_th.html (Your situation is exactly why we always try to split the design project in at least two parts: first agree on the problem (or goals), then agree on the solution (or design). In a two-month project that would be approximately 1+1 months of calendar time ~ two meetings with important stakeholders.) Hope this helps, Petteri -- Petteri Hiisilä Senior Interaction Designer iXDesign / +358505050123 / [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Simple is better than complex. Complex is better than complicated." - Tim Peters ________________________________________________________________ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.ixda.org/ ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
