[Sigia-l] IA's Responsibility

[David (Heller) Malouf]

since design is separated from other creation services by the idea of
"empathy" it would seem that we are more Dr. than Lawyer, but I gather
that is a personal decision.

-- dave


On 8/30/06, Christopher Fahey <chris.fahey at behaviordesign.com> wrote:
> Harry G. Osoff
> > Is there an IA's Oath?
>
> Gino wrote:
> > The *best* IAs create win-win situations for both the
> > client/company and the users of the product...
> >
> > To polarize the issue like this, Chris, is to beat yourself
> > down before you even get started.
>
> I didn't mean to seem that way: I wasn't trying to polarize, I wanted to
> prioritize. I agree it's a balancing act, but keeping customers happy is
> only a means to a larger, higher priority end: in this example, increasing
> page views.
>
> My question was more along the lines of Harry's question about whether any
> IAs have, like doctors, a "first do no harm"-like philosophy. Or if they see
> themselves like lawyers whose job it is to coldly advocate a position even
> if they don't necessarily believe in it in the big picture.
>
> Remember, there are plenty of online business models where usability and
> keeping customers happy is not a primary objective. Herbal supplement and
> porn sites come to mind, of course, but more mainstream businesses do it
> too. Does Amazon want to make it easy for customers to find out their phone
> number? Does AOL want to make it easy to cancel your account?
>
> Advertising is, I think, the best distillation of this question. At a very
> basic level, the idea that a news story should be broken up across two pages
> is a benchmark: It will increase page views, but there is absolutely no user
> experience excuse for it. It's a decision to *harm* the user experience in
> order to *help* the business's bottom line. If you have a "first do no harm"
> creedo, you will probably not be helpful to the business.
>
> Of course if you disagree with a company's business strategy on ethical
> grounds, you can and should find someone else to work for.
>
> -Cf
>
> Christopher Fahey
> ____________________________
> Behavior
> http://www.behaviordesign.com
> me: http://www.graphpaper.com
>
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-- 
David (Heller) Malouf
dave.ixd at gmail.com
http://synapticburn.com/