We know craft is important, but how does it fit into the ambiguity and complexity (or wickedness) of enterprise UX? What is the role and place for craft in designing enterprise software? There’s massive scales of objects, convoluted processes with buyers (not users), and politically charged organizational matters. Whew! My talk proposes shifting our notion of craft from “precious object” towards “facilitative anchor”, guiding crucial conversations about what matters most: goals, values, criteria. Thus, craft becomes a tool for the designer to achieve alignment and provoke useful dialogues.
To demonstrate, I will share 3 stories from my career at Oracle, Citrix, and CloudPhysics, of how I used craft to clarify issues and build relationships. Each offers slight variations on the “facilitative anchor.” The first is about a “reactive” model of craft. The second is what I call “interpretive” craft. And the final story involves “collaborative” making. Craft becomes a path to teamwork, and a model of design leadership through making.
Key takeaways:
