client involvement in the design process?
personally, i think this is pretty much rubbish. of course it depends on the project, the exact requirements, and the nature of the specific relationship with the client, but for most agencies, the idea sounds disastrous.
personally, i prefer the agile UCD approach: lots of little design "sprints", where the client (and client services!) only get involved at the start and end of a sprint to review the outcomes and reprioritise the next sprint's goals.
this leaves the design experts to do what they do best, with a clear understanding of the sprint and over-arching goals... and leaves the client free to get on with running their business.
anyone else got an opinion?
this leaves the design experts to do what they do best, with a clear understanding of the sprint and over-arching goals... and leaves the client free to get on with running their business.
anyone else got an opinion?
posted by sam court at 6:09 pm
10 Comments:
Yeah kinda - though I think it depends on both the client's ability to brief accurately and the agency's ability to understand the brief (or recognise when a brief isn't adequate, and push back or possibly assist with writing the brief). You also need to ensure that the "experts" who are actually going to design/build the product have an equal understanding of the brief. If all that can be done properly, then client involvement should be minimal, assuming the experts do their job well.
Having said that, subjective client opinions during development (on both aesthetic and function) can kiss my ass.
i do agree with you to a point, but also at the same time i think the more client involvement there is then the more ownership they have of a project, after all it is their project too. i think they are very happy to leave the professionals to it, aslong as they feel like they are actively participating in it. the more ta-da moments that you have, the more they will change things just to have their input, as you know, so i think in terms of client involvement, its more like challenge annika or the crystal maze - constant updates. rather than sitting sharing your felt pens with em over a coffee
or something
surely it really depends on the client? Who is to say your client isn’t a designer themselves? You would hope they have a better understanding of their product than someone that has just done a couple of days researching them and their competitors?
However, not all clients (most that I have had experience with) have a clue about what they are trying to achieve anyway, and yes they should leave it to the experts.
youse is all a pack of flamin' gallahs, innit?!
anyways. alls i was saying' was, get clients involved... but at the start and the end of the sprint. and then the length of the sprint can be tailored to how frequent they need to occur.
werd.
I call bullshid on you, Court. I view design as problem solving; it doesn't much matter who solves the problem, as long as it gets solved, so why not involve the client in the process?
why not involve the client? well as i said, it depends on the client. but generally speaking, clients don't know jack about the
so i'm not actually saying don't involve them ever. i'm saying involve them at specific points: the start/end of each sprint.
der.
*clients don't know jack about the design process, is what i meant to say.
so in my experience, the problem doesn't get solved when the client is too involved. they need to be managed, and the problems & solutions need to be framed to get the most out of their input.
anyways, i think people are misinterpretting. so i'm gunna drop it.
during any implementation phase, we should stick fingers in our ears, and go "nah nah nah nah" whenever we speak to the client. In fact, who needs a client?
unfortunately, they are a tricky part of the project life cycle, and they should be made aware of how to work in the most effective way.
as with any stakeholder in a project, they are entitled to make comments and suggestions, but this is how it should stay. It should be left to 'the professionals' to discuss and decide on the merits of one approach over another, and to make the decisions they are paid to make.
as with any job when you are paid to do something, sometimes, you need to bite the bullet and do something you don't want to, but that is the nature of compromise
Ask a client what percentage of their day is spent worrying about what you are making?
It will be very small.
Manage the process properly - sprints and information relay.
Do a good job on brief - do what you are asked and remember to a client you are a service industry first and a creative industry second.
Behave like an adult - challenge when necessary, listen when not.
Be nice and don't slag them off when you put the phone down.
B - A - L - A - N - C - E.
Anyone seen the milk, want to make some porridge?
Ask a client what percentage of their day is spent worrying about what you are making?
It will be very small.
Manage the process properly - sprints and information relay.
Do a good job on brief - do what you are asked and remember to a client you are a service industry first and a creative industry second.
Behave like an adult - challenge when necessary, listen when not.
Be nice and don't slag them off when you put the phone down.
B - A - L - A - N - C - E.
Anyone seen the milk, want to make some porridge?
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