I was meeting with a new client the other day and I was trying to figure out how to explain what User Experience(UX) is, the importance of it, and what my role as a UX Generalist is. I started with the image drawn by Jennifer Aldrich (@jma245):
They enjoyed the cute image and the explanation that went with it. It was a great introduction. But I wanted to really get the importance of hearing from the user across and I wasn’t sure that this did it.
So, I came up with what I think is a pretty good analogy. I decided that I would tell the client that the user is like the Vice President of his company. I told the client that he is the president, so what he says ultimately goes, but the user is the second most important person and her opinion should have a lot of weight. I explained that the client needs to set aside money in the budget to pay the VP so she comes to work every day. I let him know that my role is to assist the VP and relay what she’s thinking and what she wants to the team. But more importantly, I need to get the team to know what she wants before she knows she wants it so we all have a job and don’t get fired.
It seemed to work. I think I’ll use it again.