User Story Mapping is a simple yet powerful and flexible tool that combines the visualization of software systems and user needs. While not the only tool you need, it is a powerful one to learn and keep in your toolkit. Learn to go from user stories to better conversations while increasing shared understanding.
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Why Design Thinking Works
Whether you are experienced with design thinking or have only just heard of it—strap in because we are kicking off a series covering many aspects of design thinking.
Today, many designers are identifying as design thinkers, consultancies are selling design thinking facilitation and training workshops, a growing number of corporations are seeking to infuse their organizations with design thinking, and media from Fast Company to the Harvard Business Review are writing about it.
If you have not yet heard of design thinking, it is a framework that allows non-designers to think like a designer by using a human-centered design process that transforms how we create products and services, how teams work and how entire corporations operate.
If you are not a designer, you may be wondering what is so special about the way designers think, or how is that going to have results that are better than anything taught in an MBA or engineering program? When done well, design thinking causes six almost magical things to happen, creating conditions that significantly increase the chances for radical innovation or powerful new solutions to occur.
Explaining the Law of Conservation of Complexity
Working in both user experience and product management, we see patterns form around our work and interactions with others. One such pattern is that simplifying a system for users often means moving the complexity to another part of the system. When removing user complexity, that complexity will not be removed from the system but will move from users to the development team.
As a product manager, this becomes crystal clear when you are standing between a user experience designer and an engineer, both looking to you to decide if moving complexity from the user to the system is worth a week or more of the development team’s time. Continue reading “Explaining the Law of Conservation of Complexity”
The Benefits of Sweating the Details in Enterprise Applications
Ease of use has become the hallmark of a well-designed app. Whether a consumer mobile app or a SaaS product targeted at businesses, we expect our software to be easy to use—with one possible exception. Some believe the enterprise applications that many businesses run on are exempt, not requiring a strong user experience.
Many companies today still run on legacy software, with old and outdated interfaces and user experiences that are lacking, to say the least.
Continue reading “The Benefits of Sweating the Details in Enterprise Applications”
Reframing Little Bets as Little Informed Bets
We’ve all heard the phrase “little bets.” But without context, a catchy name for a concept can be misinterpreted.
We’ve all heard the phrase “little bets.” But without context, a catchy name for a concept can be misinterpreted.
Let’s take a look at what “little bets” really means and how it allows us to stack the deck in our favor.
Continue reading “Reframing Little Bets as Little Informed Bets”
Announcing Humanist
I am very excited to announce that I launched a new digital product and brand strategy/design practice called Humanist.
Humanist is a strategy and design practice born in Brooklyn with a focus on building awesome digital products and branding. Humanist is passionate about building products people want and brands they connect with.
You can find my newest posts on Humanist.co/blog
The Importance of Learning Diversified Skillsets
There is no denying it, in recent years the trend has been towards specialization. While specialist can command a higher price from a select audience for the short-term, this is not a great way to build a long-term career. Let’s look at what some of the challenges are of specialization and just how much should you diversify your skills.
Continue reading “The Importance of Learning Diversified Skillsets”
You’re Doing it Wrong if You Don’t Go and See For Yourself
There is nothing truer than Genchi Genbutsu (the Lean concept of “go and see” or “go and see for yourself”) and GOOB (Steve Blank’s wisdom to “Get Out of the Building,” and echoed in Lean Startup methodology).
Taiichi Ohno, one of the creators of the Toyota Production System, is credited as the originator of the concept of Genchi Genbutsu. According to Eric Ries in Lean Startup, when Lean practitioners in Japan were asked what was the most important principle of Lean, Genchi Genbutsu was cited over and over. Genchi Genbutsu is sometimes Westernized to “Get your boots on.”
Continue reading “You’re Doing it Wrong if You Don’t Go and See For Yourself”
The Cost of Context Switching
During a recent workshop with the awesome Rich Mironov (author of The Art of Product Management), Rich had everyone at the workshop do a simple and quick exercise that clearly shows the cost of context switching.
It is amazing, but there are still people who believe they can do it all by multitasking, even though multiple studies show this is not the case. Humans simply do not multitask well.
I knew a designer that complained about a developer who focused on tasks in a linear order. The designer wanted the developer to multitask. The problem is that constantly context switching as the designer wanted would have slowed the developer down, but seeing smaller bits of progress across a portfolio of tasks gave the designer a sense that more work was being accomplished.
Unfortunately, the designer had it wrong. Psychiatrist Edward M. Hallowell even goes so far as to describe multitasking as a “mythical activity in which people believe they can perform two or more tasks simultaneously as effectively as one.” Worse, our work days are now a constant stream of interruption, and it takes the brain about 10 to 15 minutes to recover from interruptions. That is a lot of lost productivity. This one reason why some believe open floor plans are detrimental to productivity.
Don’t believe it? Think you can truly multitask? Take the challenge and find out.
Making Magic: Aligning Design and Engineering
When engineers and designers team up, magic can happen. Everyone on the team is more engaged. User research findings and usability testing results are shared with everyone. Engineers are invited to walk-throughs of early designs and asked for feedback and input. Designers become aware of technology constraints and the structure of data that can be surfaced from the system to users. And a whole lot more—meaning good ideas and thinking are spreading throughout the team to help build an awesome product for users.
Unfortunately, in some companies, the engineering and design teams are siloed from each other. Whether the separation was planned or occurred organically, the consequences are the same. Morale, efficiency, and in the end, the product will suffer. How do you align design and engineering teams into a unified product team?
Continue reading “Making Magic: Aligning Design and Engineering”