Leah Buley gave the first iteration of this talk at the 2008 IA Summit. I had the pleasure of recording a follow-up interview about her presentation from UX Week over on Boxes and Arrows.

She kicks off her presentation showing videos of colleagues at Adaptive Path and how each got started into the field of User Experience, from meager beginnings:

We all come from humble origins. I think there is a tendency in this field…to hold them [well known UX designers] up as shining stars…I think if I never hear the phrase “Rock Star Designer” I think that might be OK…each and every one of us are standing at the cross roads of what we have done before and what we will do in the future.

Leah shares 5 tips about how to gain support from your organization as a UX Designer:

1. Get comfortable with pen and paper. The form signals to other people that they are allowed to share their opinions and ideas with you. It’s ultimately a facilitation tool.

2. Think “Big Picture”. Everyone should understand the decisions we make at the point at which we are making them; sharing your vision of the big picture allows for this to happen.

3. Be a good host. Start hosting workshops and open design sessions that are outside of the design process and use pen and paper to start sharing.

4. Decorate your space. People think of design as a finished state. Teams outside of design need to see there is an involved process that requires their input and ideas.

5. Illustrate what we are trying to achieve through UX. Nobody has ever created a great UX by meeting just the business requirements. A great UX is tangible and has a personality; we need to be able to express that to ourselves and others on our teams.

A must watch presentation for anyone new to the field of User Experience or those thinking about striking out on their own; brilliant ideas and insight.

Leah Buley | UX Week 2008 | Adaptive Path from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.