What inspired or motivated you to give this talk at WordCamp?
We enter into many of our web projects by focusing on budget, schedule, and technical requests from our clients and then later evaluate our designs with end users to find they either aren’t usable or they don’t solve actual needs. No matter how technically great the site is, if it we’ve failed at giving it usefulness, convenience, and/or enjoyment, people simply won’t use it. I wanted to share some of the tools and techniques I’ve had success building into early client and team conversations to make sure we’re thinking about our websites in the right way, even if ultimately we have to weigh pros and cons of implementing specific against scopes and budgets.
Do you have any advice or words of encouragement for those who are thinking about getting involved in the WordPress community?
Attend many meetups, request to give a lightning talk if you’re nervous about speaking for the first time, and volunteer at local WordCamps. Not only does volunteering get you a free ticket at the WordCamp, but it’s the no.1 best way to meet new people even if you’re shy.
If you could make one improvement to WordPress today, what would it be?
I think we’re driving toward this today, but a higher percentage of .org themes and plugins should be graded for accessibility (including multilingual).
Who do you most admire and why?
Out of anyone? My father. I always felt I knew him, but in adulthood I feel like I’ve started to understand him more and admire his life and his accomplishments. at times, his life is a bit Big Fish.
What’s your favorite quote from a book or movie?
“Come with me if you want to live.” As a UXer, this is what I feel like I’m saying when trying to convince team members and clients to listen to my suggestions.