Notes by Axbom
Per Axbom Twitter

Tip for recruiters looking for UX consultants to hire: I will never say yes to an assignment for 100% work across 4 months or more. This does not mean I do not from time to time work 100%, but it means I do not put all my eggs in one basket (diversification of risk).

To stay on top of my game I also spend a lot of time researching, networking, teaching and learning new skills/methods. So in fact I very rarely do work 100% with client projects across a month.

When you advertise for a consultancy role at 100% you are saying that you will pay for a lot of idle hours, because few human beings have an efficient output during all hours of the week. So I'm not sure this always makes good financial sense.

Splitting my work across clients is not only a diversification of risk, it's a method of task-shifting and changing perspective that benefits creativity and problem-solving. Ideas come more easily when we are not dwelling on a problem over an extended period of time.

Also, some hours I always keep open for past clients who need help with smaller assignments like creativity workshops, coaching, tweaking designs or strategy development. In the future you will be a past client of mine and I want to be able to help when you ask for it.

If you trust that I can perform a job faster and with more relevant results than someone with a lower hourly rate going in at 100%, the hourly rate becomes less of a factor and your trust in a person getting the job done is, and should be, the critical factor.

When working with a team, presence and communication is absolutely important. Today there is a plethora of digital channels that enable this vital communication to happen. Remember that planning and documenting face-to-face sessions is also important for momentum.

But if you believe 100% is more important than having a meeting to discuss the best way to approach the goal of the assignment and work together, then by all means go for it. There are plenty of people who will jump at that. I'm just saying it won't be me filling that role. :)

🔗 Originally posted on Twitter

Per Axbom Twitter

The more I read about psychology-related studies that are considered "truths" (Heisenberg effect, ego depletion, and more) I realize how much they are all context-sensitive in a way that is never talked about.

I think we as UX practitioners need to be aware of them but stop treating them as truths to abide by, but rather as strong hypotheses that we can test in our own environment.

Effects vary in size and effect in different environments. Don't argue your case based on research conducted in completely different environments.

Really, the less time I spend on trying to influence people using any established cognitive bias, or "known mental effect", and more time on helping people understand themselves and increase their resilience to external pressure, the better I feel.

With regards to ego depletion, here's an interesting article. Don't necessarily take to heart everything it says, but allow it to open your mind. slate.com/articles/healt…

And obviously, Western college students are not the best representatives of human emotion and behavior. They are WEIRD (Western, educated, and from industrialized, rich, and democratic countries). slate.com/articles/healt…

Also from that WEIRD article: "Sixty-seven percent of American psychology studies use college students, for example. This means that many or even most of the subjects are teenagers."

And: "But do most WEIRD studies generalize to humanity as a whole? In the case of social punishment, probably not, but in the case of emotional expression, it looks like they do. It depends on what question you’re asking."

In my original tweet I meant to write Hawthorne Effect, darnit. Anyway here's more info on that criticism ("Criticism" is always a good section on WIkipedia). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne…

Further reading. The Hawthorne defect: Persistence of a flawed theory. “Like other hallowed but unproven concepts in psychology, the so-called Hawthorne effect has a life of its own.” wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/marku…

🔗 Originally posted on Twitter