The Multidisciplinary Approach for Social Interaction Design0

Posted on June 9th, 2010 in Social Web

Social media has impacted just about everything in the last 10 years. And, for those of us building digital experiences, social media has dramatically changed what we do and how we operate.

With the rise of social media there are more features, technologies, and connections (online, offline, and behind the scenes) that customer experience teams need to incorporate. While technology and development are not trivial efforts, the bigger challenge today is coming up with the right strategy and user experience design.

To do this, I believe more than ever that a multidisciplinary approach is best. Digital experiences are integral to how most companies conduct business, and just hiring a developer to throw something together no longer works. This is especially true as digital challenges get more complex and more central to business strategies (selling online, customer services, marketing, brand building, etc).

In my opinion, the right multidisciplinary team for a digital project has to include the following:

The Digital Strategist – This role requires both client-side and agency side attention. From the client’s perspective, this is often filled by a business owner or dedicated interactive/ebusiness manager. This person is responsible for the budget, setting the business objectives, and making sure the digital experience fits into a company’s broader business. This person is not always a digital resource by trade or training, but will have ownership (or decision-making authority) for the user experience.

From the agency perspective, this role should be owned by one person. It is their job to translate a client’s business needs into viable options and then work with the rest of the team to plan what is possible, spawn new ideas, and create solution sets. This person must understand the social landscape, user interface best practices, and be able to lean on the rest of the team below. This person is also responsible for creating a compelling case for how solution sets will solve problems, address audience needs, and be measured.

Going back to the opening of the article, this role, which has often been overlooked in the past, is now essential for building effective digital experiences. Don’t start a complex project without this role and its processes included. One of the most important being audience analysis and user-goal consideration.

The Information Architect -  The information architects work hand-in-glove with the digital strategist and begins to put form to ideas. In fact, this role is the linchpin of the digital experience as complex interactions need *great* organization. This is where I see most projects fail – designers make an extraordinary design, but from a bad plan.

It is important to note that the information architect does not work alone. For complex digital experiences this is likely a team of 2 that considers usability and organization challenges together.  They will constantly remind each other which users and goals they are focusing on.

The Interaction Designer – this role is the most recognizable to clients. It ends with concepts that we can imagine working (or not). The teams that produce the best work are often made up of a lead designer (or creative director) and a partner that can try different directions or behaviors for contrast. Good designs team will only show ideas that will work in reality, but give the broader team some creative control over the experience they are seeking.

Today’s interaction designer must understand how social features can become a part of an experience versus just an appendage to it.

The Technologist -  The technologist is there to make sure certain parameters are being followed and that features and experiences being proposed can be reasonably supported. Similar to the digital strategist this is often a role that has both client and agency-side attention. Also, by allowing the technology team to be involved at various key points they can begin thinking about the work that will inevitably go to them. It is important to note that technology should not dictate design, but be there to keep everyone honest at this point in the game.

To sum it up, I see projects fail because they leave out entire pieces of the above and don’t use a multidisciplinary approach. In more simple terms, there is no jack-of-all trades that can do all of the above for an industrial strength user experience. If you are planning to build a digital experience today, on any platform or device, think about these roles as you put together your team.

As usual…thoughts are open. Do we have it right? Do we think multidisciplinary approaches make sense? What is missing? What is absurd? Etc