My plenary speech at the inaugural UX Live London conference on October 26, 2017. Eric Reiss CEO and Author 4.30pm-5.15pm Innovation vs. Best Practice – Conflict or Opportunity? “Best practice” implies doing things in the best possible manner, based on past experience. But we like to think of ourselves as innovators in a dynamic industry – we want to go where no one has gone before. Thus, “best practice” and “innovation” are like oil and water – they don’t easily mix. How can we, as UX professionals, balance the need for consistency that “best practice” provides, with our on-going mission to improve the quality of our products? How can we create genuine improvements – and when have we been seduced by the evil twins, Fad and Fashion? “Innovation vs. Best Practice” explores the elements that make up these two ends of the UX spectrum. We’ll take a closer look at the popular definitions of both innovation and best practice – and discover why these are frequently inadequate, misleading, or both. Why is a “standard” not always a “best practice”? And if “invention” can be spontaneous, why is “innovation” always planned? We’ll also examine some of the worst reasons to innovate, which are also some of the most common, plus the Japanese concept of “chindogu” – “useless innovation.” Perhaps most important of all, we’ll see how User Driven Design helps us avoid harmful innovation in comparison to the more common User Centered Design methodology.