The Secret Ingredient in WordPress Development, Work, and

Success

EMPATHY

JASON CLARKE WordCamp Maine • August 16, 2014

Jason Clarke Senior Web Strategist

@jgclarke

10up.com

The Secret Ingredient in WordPress Development, Work, and

Success

EMPATHY

Magic?

Bad news.

Good news.

So… what is empathy?(in web projects)

One way to view empathy.

Putting aside our ego

tools projects

plans biases fears

To adopt the perspective of

another

So we can solve real problems

for people.

206%

A shift in focus.

“Don’t worry, we know how to build WordPress

sites.”

USES WORDPRESS EXPERTISE (+ NEWEST JS FRAMEWORK ) “We made you a site!”

“Let’s see what’s between you and more success.”

USES WORDPRESS EXPERTISE + THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB

“We helped improve success using

WordPress.”

It’s not an either or.

How do creatives fit in?

We choose the how when we know the why.

It makes a real difference.

/?p=123 vs

/local-support-groups

Search traffic

117%

206%Forum posts

1 - http://www.usabilityfirst.com/documents/U1st_BCO_CaseStudy.pdf

breastcancer.org Redesign Project

Interviews, testing, semantic code

This isn’t just about feeling good!

5% now Increase in retention rate

25% Increase in long-term

profits

2 - http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/1590.html1 - adaptivepath.com/uploads/documents/apr-005_businessvalue.pdf

45%From 4 steps

to 1

What makes it a secret ingredient?

It’s far away.We’re busy.It’s hard.

Now, how do we get there?(in one piece)

It’s a process.

Discovery is not a

line item.

Make goals when it’s

easy.

Establish regular

feedback.

money in wallet

Feedback goes beyond launch.

It’s everyone’s job.

More thoughts here and here

We need it with each other as well.

Developer

Blog daily/weekly

Designer

Experiment with plugin or feature development

Leader/PM

Respect the overall goals

What if we don’t know our customer?

What do we know?

!• ~5+ plugins • Varying technical skill • Focused on publishing,

not buying

We can still create thoughtful experiences.

NOTIFICATIONS?!

We can still create thoughtful experiences.

What can we do?

!• Make it invisible • “What Would Core Do?” • Play the long game

Image of PushUp code snippet from VIP talk

We can still create thoughtful experiences.

What can we do?

!• Make it “invisible” from

WordPress core • Respect the visitor and

publisher • Play the long game

Get out of your comfort zone.

Provide the win, if not the product.

Why does it matter?

PIXEL PUSHERS NEED NOT APPLY.

NOTHING AGAINST SCRATCHING YOUR

OWN ITCH.

“WE ARE BUILDING

MICROPHONES.”-Paul Clark,

How WordPress Saves Lives and Moves Governments

Thanks to: Paul Clark

John Eckman Taylor Aldridge

Matt James Jake Goldman Heidi Clarke

10up

Thank You! Questions/Feedback?

SLIDES & NOTES AT: http://jgclarke.org/empathy-wordpress