It is easy to underestimate how complicated our field is sometimes. No, I am not talking about the complexity of technology or even the vast breadth of expertise it takes to launch an effective website. I am talking about the tough choices associated with running our digital presence.
Choices about how much time and energy we can put into making our websites accessible or the balance between getting to market fast, but also creating a robust platform that will stand the test of time. Or, as I have been recently agonising over, where the line is between making a compelling website and dark patterns.
These (and many others) are hard decisions and to make matters worse; there are a plethora of people online telling us what ‘the right thing to do’ is in each of these circumstances.
However, things appear a lot more black and white in a blog post, webinar or online course than they are in the real world. Things are rarely as clear cut in practice as in theory.
Prespective Matters More Than We Believe
For example, perspective can make an enormous difference in how you see things. If you work in accessibility, you will unsurprisingly put a higher weighting on the need for accessibility than the developer who has to do extra work as a result of your recommendations.
This fact was driven home to me as I embarked on selling online courses. That has meant I have been approaching things more from a marketing perspective than a pure user experience one, and that has altered my approach to certain subjects.
I have felt my attitudes towards things like creating a sense of urgency or pricing adjust as my perspective changes.
It is something that some have challenged me over and I have been forced to defend my approach more than once.
Some of you will see this shift as me turning to the dark side! Others will think I am finally more pragmatic and less idealistic. Whatever the case, the fascinating thing is how much perspective and context matters.
We Are Too Quick to Dismiss the Perspective of Others
The reason I raise this as an issue is that we can be quick to judge others who do not share our perspective on these challenging issues.
Maybe we feel our client or boss just don’t get it. Perhaps we get frustrated by those pedantic developers or ‘airy-fairy’ designers. Sometimes it can feel like nobody knows what is right except us.
However, I would argue that for many of these issues, there is no wrong or right answer. There are merely different approaches.
Yes, there are blatant examples of unethical behaviour. However, there is a lot of nuance too. We need to try our best to see the situation from the perspective of our colleagues and clients before making any sweeping judgements.
Of course, you might disagree… in which case you are wrong! ;-)
But in all seriousness, I am interested in how you see things. Am I being too forgiving or making excuses for bad decisions? I would be fascinated to hear your perspective so I have opened up comments below.
