[Sigia-l] My Toolbox is full...now what?

[Welie, Martijn van]

We discuss a lot, often about processes and techniques, tools and job
titles, and even about the definition of our field. In the mean time, life
goes on. A lot of these discussions are not directly helpful in every day
life, not in mine and probably not in the lives of others. I have more than
enough tools and process diagrams, but I am still facing a world that looks
different.

The world is not ideal and as a designer I have to deal with tight budgets,
chaotic clients, impossible/unclear requirements, engineers who preach RUP
or XP, marketeers that seem to know what people need, managers who just care
about budgets and so on. So how do I use my Toolbox under those
circumstances?

I'd be interested in peoples experiences with:
- How to 'play' with clients and how to push them into directions you want
them to go?
- How to use my tools in varying circumstances: 2 week project, 6 week
project or 15 week projects? Depending on the circumstances, the tools have
more/less value in a project.
- How to bend a project 'doomed to fail' into a 'slightly succesful
project'?
- How to speed up the design process? How to cut corners? Otherwise we are
loosing money...
- How to do the impossible? E.g. write useful persona's in one day, do a
usability test in 2 days, create a styleguide in 3 days.....I am convinced
it is possible
- How can you avoid getting into expensive and timeconsuming evaluation with
end-users, without compromising the product's usability?
- Which tools are nice but not really necessary? E.g. Do I really need card
sorting or will persona's and a bit of common sense do the job as well?
- ...and so on....please add your own frustrations....:-)

My point is that tools don't create great products, designers do. I see many
designers over-rely on tools and processes while the final product remains
mediocre at best. Of course, that is not always the designer's fault but it
shows that there is more to it than just knowing your tools and
processes....

So what are the secrets of creating good/great stuff under real life
circumstances?

Regards,

Martijn van Welie