Main conference presentation

Becoming an IA/UX coach: Proving success one champion at a time

Yvonne Shek

Monday April 14 2008, 10:45 - 11:30AM

Information Architects often feel that their practice needs to go further, in order to deliver greater value and impact. However, we are stumped and frustrated when we see that things are slow to change or do not change at all -- within our organizations or that of our clients’. We are surprised when asked to cost-justify our approach, with business partners whom we have worked with for many years. We feel discouraged when colleagues with high business fluency fail as change agents within their organizations.

To address this need, we will explore coaching as a mindset and practice, drawing from the field of professional coaching. This session will help the advanced IA/UX professional to think like a coach, be a coach, and to select IA/UX tools to use as a coach. I will talk about the personal characteristics of the UX Champion that the Coach will need to look for. We will also explore the right time and place to introduce this practice.

To illustrate the idea of blending coaching with IA, I have developed a model that combines the five levels of UX Coaching with Jesse James Garrett’s Elements of User Experience. I will also talk about the heart of coaching and some of the softer skills required for this approach. Lastly, I will present a short case study.