Halftank Fuel: Why OOUX? How it’s changed my working life for the better 💪


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OOUX changed my life, for real.

The most common reaction when I talk about Object-Oriented UX (OOUX) to someone is a puzzled look.

I get these looks most often from fellow UX and product designers, which still surprises me.

By the excited way I talk about OOUX, they may even think that I am part of some cult.

I’ve been a designer for so long and you might wonder why I am so committed to using OOUX with every client I have. After all, OOUX is the foundation of my business. So I wanted to share a bit about how I discovered OOUX and why it impacted me so much.

I am committed to making OOUX a pillar of my process because when I first learned it, I knew instinctively that it was a smoother and more efficient way to work. I’ve been a designer for long enough that I have seen all types of frameworks and processes. All of those frameworks and processes have one thing in common: none of them address the main issue I see in the UX and product design process, which is a lack of quality communication.

Every UX and product journey I had been on until that time was fraught with conflict. I’ve been in so many meetings that ended up in shouting matches. Not even co-collaboration and design thinking workshops prevented squabbles.

I was a lead designer among a group of 15 UX designers, each one embedded on separate agile teams, all responsible for a multiyear digital transformation at a financial company you all know. It was very difficult to get 15 separate teams aligned on anything. All 15 UX designers would meet for critique sessions once a week. Critique sessions with such a large group of opinionated people got very draining after a while. It seemed to me that bickering was a part of the process, if not all-out brawling. Right before I learned about OOUX, I was exhausted to the point of burnout. The pandemic didn’t help, of course.

Right before Christmas 2020, I had the good fortune of participating in an OOUX workshop led by Sophia Prater, who created the ORCA framework (Objects, Relationships, Calls-to-Action, and Attributes) based on object-oriented practices that have been around in some form since the 1990s. I’ve been around since the 90s too, but I had never heard of object-oriented UX before. Programming, sure, but an object-oriented approach to design? I was intrigued.

What I learned in a relatively short amount of time was that OOUX can serve as a communication tool to get everyone on an agile team - designers, engineers, stakeholders, everyone - on the same page quickly. The ORCA process presents complex concepts and explains systems in a visual way that helps everyone understand what is going on with these crazy, complex systems that they are all responsible for building.

And these concepts are not just theoretical: I have used this framework for many types of clients since I became a certified OOUX strategist three years ago. I have used this process with big companies and small companies to create new and existing digital products. By using OOUX to start my discovery processes and to document my results, I have been able to get from idea to prototype in weeks, not months. It’s visual and it has the necessary level of detail that promotes understanding and prevents re-work. This process is truly a game-changer!

This fall, I will get re-certified as an OOUX strategist as my original certification expires. I am just as excited now as I was then to learn new ways to get ideas out of people’s heads and onto roadmaps and launched products. Let’s chat if you are interested in learning more, too.

Interested in getting #PoweredByORCA?

Start by downloading my free eBook to learn more about the 4 mistakes every product designer makes.

Learn how ORCA can help you correct common mistakes today, smooth conflict within your teams, and ultimately make your customers happy!

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