Wrap-up Rap: Susan Dray, CHI 2014
(Student Volunteers and Audience in red)
From down
Panama way
Where I
live today
Comes
another visit
From the
Other Dr. Dray.
Last time
I rapped
‘twas
‘bout ethnography
but this
time is different
as you
shall soon see.
To tell
you again ‘bout my favorite lessons
Things I
have learned about our profession
Things
learned from life and not just CHI sessions
This
rap’s a wrap up of this expression.
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
You and
me, we translate
This is
lesson number one
‘Tween
many different people
and it’s
often very fun
But it
also takes
Quite a
lot of skill
At least
if we’re going
To
translate well.
It takes
quite a lot
Of
intelligence BUT
Not just
the head kind
But both
head and gut.
So we
need to be sure to
Take care
and help each other
‘coz we
all need support
and it’s
really not a bother
(some of
my rhymes
may seem
a tad cheesy
but
please forgive me,
coz this
rappin’, it ain’t easy!)
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
We must
learn from the world
That’s
lesson number two
Which
means that you can learn from me
And I can
learn from you
And too
from places far away
Tho’
sometimes that is harder
But if we
learn from everything
It’s
bound to make us smarter.
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
Number
three is ‘bout our thinking.
Black and
white will just not do.
For the
world is more complex
and more
nuanced and so you
must find
ways to make things clear
yes, that
certainly is true,
but over
simplying? that we must not do.
To take
complexity and tame it
And to
make it understood
Is a
skill that’s not the same as
Simply
stating that it’s good.
For,
though pundits may not see it,
When they
oversimplify
Our
profession is diminished
In their
audiences’ eyes
Which can
make it that much harder
To make
traction in places where they’ve been
So I
cannot state it stronger:
this kind
of thinking is a sin!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
And now
for the next
In the
process we must trust
For with
people at the center
And our
teams onboard we must
Stay
focused on the process
For we
know that when we’re through
Our
product will be better
Because
that is what we do.
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
Our final
lesson’s easy
For when
all is said and done
We work
and learn much better
When we
are having fun
This goes
as much for us
As it
does for our teams
And our
students and all others
Including
bosses and deans.
Indeed,
this rap’s an expression of this thought
For
though some think a woman of my years should not be caught
A’
rappin’ to an audience of younger folks, it’s true
That this
rap’s a wrap that’s been a lot of fun for me – for you?
I hope
you will take these lessons all to heart
And put
them into practice so that you can play your part
So I
leave with one last thought I hope will help you to recall.
If the
users, they can’t use your stuff, it does not work at
all.
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
If the user can’t use it, then it doesn’t work at all!
