What a Week
This week brought an incredible opportunity at work - one that challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. But first, let me explain the context.
I work for a large bank in my country. My role isn’t your typical “Business As Usual” (BAU) position within a dedicated team. BAU refers to the day-to-day tasks that keep a corporation running smoothly: HR, accounting, customer service, branch operations - you get the idea.
On the other hand, there are projects, which are quite different from BAU. Here’s how they compare:
- Projects focus on transforming an entire business, while BAU ensures ongoing operations.
- Projects have deadlines, whereas BAU is continuous and repetitive.
- Projects are unique, while BAU activities follow established routines.
From what I’ve observed, there are generally two types of people in the workplace: those who thrive in BAU and those who thrive in projects. I am definitely part of the second group. The idea of doing the same thing every day would bore me out of my mind. I also enjoy collaborating with different people, which projects often require since they involve individuals from various departments. Sure, working on projects comes with its fair share of stress - at least for me - but I’m learning how to manage it. And honestly? It’s absolutely worth it.
Currently, I’m working on the second-biggest program an my bank, which is incredibly exciting. I’m part of an amazing team of around eight people who directly support our program manager and carry out his vision. Every day brings a new challenge for us, but that’s exactly what makes it so interesting.
Now, about this amazing opportunity I mentioned earlier - it’s all thanks to my fantastic team. Some of my teammates have been with the bank for over 15 years, so they’ve built strong connections with some very interesting people. These connections often lead to great opportunities for our team members. This happened to me last year (maybe I'll write about that experience one day), and now it’s happening again.
This time, I was invited to join a team outside of my usual program to help design a prototype for a new webpage for their business - in just one week! Yes, you read that right - one week.
A Quick Note on Prototypes
A prototype is an early version of a product (in this case, a website) used to simulate its functionality before development begins. It’s a tool for testing concepts and gathering feedback to improve the design in subsequent iterations. Prototyping saves time and money by detecting problems before coding starts or the product is launched - a win-win!
The Plan for the Week
The team planned a full design sprint: three days of workshops followed by two days of design and testing. Here’s how it unfolded:
- Monday: Workshop kickoff - introducing the assignment, evaluating the existing website, analyzing feedback from a questionnaire sent out earlier, and hearing insights from guest speakers with experience in similar projects (I missed this day due to vacation).
- Tuesday: Workshop continuation - confirming direction, drawing inspiration from market examples, and creating initial designs (another guest speaker joined us).
- Wednesday: Final day of workshop - making decisions and refining designs based on group input.
- Thursday: Dedicated design day (my role!) - creating a fully functional prototype based on workshop outcomes.
- Friday: Prototype presentation to the group and initial user testing (which continued into Monday).
My Experience
I had just one day - Thursday - to design the website prototype after starting preliminary work late Wednesday evening following the workshop. It was intense! Wednesday ended at 5 p.m., but I dove straight into designing when I got home and worked late into the night. Thursday was entirely focused on design (aside from one meeting for my regular project), and after about 15 hours of work… we had a prototype.
Friday came quickly, and it was time to present my work to everyone who participated in the workshop. I was nervous - but surprisingly less so than I expected - and things went really well.
The group loved it! They were amazed at how much I accomplished in such a short time - and honestly? So was I. While I couldn’t include every detail we discussed during the workshops (perfectionist tendencies kicking in), it didn’t matter at all because they were thrilled with what I delivered. To be fair, I had access to another prototype as a foundation and adapted its components to fit our needs - but still, pulling everything together felt like an achievement worth celebrating.
Reflection
This week taught me so much - not just about UX design but also about myself. Despite missing Monday’s workshop due to vacation, I felt like I fit into the team seamlessly when I joined later in the week. These interactive activities where smart, creative people come together toward a shared goal are exactly what energizes me.
More importantly, I’m learning how to express myself among others - to speak my mind confidently and feel like my voice matters (after all, that’s why they invited me!). It feels great to see growth in myself - not just professionally but personally too.
I’m proud of what I accomplished this week - not just because of what others said but because I know how hard I worked and how much effort went into creating something meaningful in such a short time frame.
I usually add something educational to my posts, but since I’ve explained a lot throughout the text, I feel like we’re done for today.
Comments
Post a Comment