A few weeks ago I spoke at the WebApp Summit in San Diego. This was a UIE (User Interface Engineering) event. It was the first one I’ve spoken at, and the first time I met the folks in charge of UIE, but they made me feel as if I’ve known them for years.
Jared Spool, the guy in charge, and Christine Perfetti, the VP & Managing Director, are solid people. Engaged, interesting, kind, friendly, down-to-earth, and curious. They took great care of the speakers, put on a nice show, and Jared broke the ice with his magic (literally — he’s an aspiring magician and did tricks on stage between presenters).
But the one thing that really sold me on these folks is why they invited me to speak in the first place.
UIE professes a user testing and research driven methodology. We have a different point of view on how to build usable and useful products. Most folks who make their living on testing and research would not invite someone with a significantly different approach to speak directly to their customers. But UIE knows that different perspectives are ultimately good things for their customers.
Just like how Amazon lets their competitors sell against them on Amazon’s product pages, or how Progressive Insurance gives you the quotes for their competitors, UIE is a purveyor of valuable information, not just their information. I think that shows the mark of confidence and a genuine interest in helping people make good decisions. Shielding people from opinion because it’s not your opinion is petty and shallow. UIE is smart to avoid that tack. They know well rounded customers, a.k.a. informed shoppers, are ultimately better customers.
So big thanks to Jared and Christine for being good people. We wish you continued success.
Jared M. Spool
on 16 Apr 08Wow. I only have one word to say:
FIRST!No, wait. That wasn’t it. It was:
Thanks!That was a mighty-kind thing to say about us.
Jared
Keith
on 16 Apr 08It’s so true. Good commentary and solid props to good people who deserve it.
JF
on 16 Apr 08Keith, it was real nice chatting with you too.
zeldman
on 16 Apr 08I’ll take some of that milkshake (with a side of fries).
Keith (Instone)
on 16 Apr 08I have known Jared (and other UIE folks) professionally for over a decade. I concur: class acts. Jared and I do not always agree on things (like the value of World Usability Day as 1 small example), but he is always open to talk about our differences. Jared and UIE have a history of treating people from all points of view well. So I am glad that they made you feel special – they make us all feel special.
Shane
on 16 Apr 08Progressive Insurance gives you three year old quotes from their competitors and always makes sure that their own insurance wins.
Brian Christiansen (~bc)
on 16 Apr 08JF, it was nice to finally meet you in person, and I look forward to seeing you again at one of our future events!
JF
on 16 Apr 08Brian, it was a blast finally meeting you too. Thanks for letting me use your computer as well. It all went smoothly thanks to you.
Christine Perfetti
on 16 Apr 08Jason, thanks so much for the kind words! I heard from many attendees that your session was the highlight of our event. I hope we have a chance to work with you again soon.
Garrett Nafzinger
on 16 Apr 08Jason, I really enjoyed your presentation at the Summit. It’s great to see even without using traditional methodologies 37signals can end up with an awesome user experience. There were many great take aways, even for those of us who do employ more traditional methodologies.
Keith
on 16 Apr 08Jason – was a great event and really good to catch up a bit. Can’t wait for SEED.
Edward Atkinson
on 16 Apr 08Freedom of thought is the easiest test of the viability of your work: business, art, anything.
The reason people can trust you is because, as principle, you invite commentary and thoughtful discussion in an open forum. Seeing others of a similar mindset, and being successful at it, is encouraging.
George
on 17 Apr 08Are you sure their philosophy is that different from yours? User testing and Getting Real both boil down to “don’t waste time arguing about it on paper, build it and try it”, right?
JF
on 17 Apr 08George, deep down it may not ultimately be that different, but the execution is quite different. They make decisions based on data in a testing environment, we make decisions based on data in the real environment. We also factor a fair bit of intuition into our decisions.
This discussion is closed.