Things we can do or focus on during this terrible economic downturn:
1. Scenario planning through workshops/facilitation. This could be for our clients or for our own team/projects/company.
2. Collecting and interpretation of research to help companies/clients make tough decisions, and possibly help with process re-engineering.
3. Coaching our clients through stressful times.

What we do not want to do:
1. Keep harping on the ROI of UX, when companies have no money to operate, let alone money to invest.
2. Be discouraged - it shows. In fact, we need to pull out all the stops: work harder, work smarter, stay away from playing politics, etc.
3. Be in denial about the world. We need to plan accordingly.

Lastly, it was not my intention to play down on the horrifying effects of cholera, or how it is devastating countries like Zimbabwe. It is just a figure of speech based on the book Love in Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

For those in the UX community who have recently lost their jobs: I am very sorry for your loss. But I also want to encourage you to keep going, not to lose heart, and be creative in finding a solution. You know, we have always been good at that as individuals and as a community.

Posted in Opinions on January 29, 2009

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