On a recent project, I had the opportunity to formalize design standards for a web application. The application was designed “organically”… Which basically means it was designed by committee by multiple developers with very little user testing and UX forethought.…
Category: UX Articles
UX Articles
Creating a #UX Action Plan
I was recently tasked with creating an Action Plan on how UX can best support a product that needed a lot of TLC. While I had done planning activities like this in the past, this was the first time I…
UX 101, UX Articles
Book Updates: #UX101 and Experience (Still) Matters
Happy to announce that I have completed a major revision of my book UX 101. I have added more content on Service Design, Design Thinking, and Agile, as well as deprecated some older content. Links to buy the Kindle and…
UX Articles
Lessons in #UX: Managing UX work using OKRs and Kanban boards
Something that’s top of mind for me, when it comes to establishing a mature UX team, is traceability: How is the team doing? Who is doing what? Is the team’s output’s at the quality it needs to be? The challenge…
Featured Articles, UX Articles
Lessons in UX: Building a research plan
Planning and executing effective user research is sometimes a challenge. The value of research is obviously to UX people, but less so to those decisionmakers and stakeholders – who usually control the budget for such things. I’ve had to build…
UX Articles
Gartner’s 2020 Technology Trends: How they impact UX
Recently Gartner revealed their predictions regarding the top 10 technology trends for 2020. I welcome the opportunity such predictions give me to think around how UX practitioners will have to adapt to such change, and what new types of project…
UX Articles
Lessons in UX: How to get a 360-degree view of your users
I’m a passionate advocate of user research, not just as a practical matter but also from a strategic viewpoint – The more you know about the people that engage with the solution or product you produce the better you can…
UX Articles
A modest #UX request: STOP WITH ALL THE UPDATES!
Warning: This is a rant. I have multiple hobbies, things I enjoy doing either on my own or with my family. I write, I love to travel, I collect ephemera, and I like cooking. These things bring me pleasure. But…
UX Articles
30, 60, 90: Doing #UX product design the smart way
When it comes to filling key leadership roles, many large companies are asking candidates to detail their plan for the 30, 60 and 90 day on the job during the interview process. What is the new hire going to do…
Featured Articles, UX Articles
Finding the right balance: How UX and Agile can partner for the best results
I’ve worked on many projects and several different software development teams in the past, and these teams have had great success in applying Agile best practices in their work. Unfortunately, the integration of UX processes into the Agile methodology is…
UX Articles
#UX Fail: Lessons from my horrible experience with AT&T
A few weeks ago I noticed that the bill for my DirectV service had become “unbundled” from our AT&T bill, which was set to auto-debit from one of our credit cards. This was not done by my wife or I,…
UX Articles
Lessons in #UX: Designing in an industry you don’t know
I have worked with clients around the world, in multiple industries. When I was been brought in varied, depending on the project. Sometimes I came in before the project started and was tasked with planning out the UX approach and…
Featured Articles, Technology, UX Articles
Why UX is more than “making something pretty”
I’ve seen a frustrating trend lately regarding how many outside of user experience teams think of the discipline. Their opinion may be simply ignorance, or may have been influenced by how UX folks on our side “sold” themselves (or the…
My Quora answers, UX Articles
How can one apply design thinking to develop a good mobile app?
Some suggestions: Identify the problem you are trying to solve in the design. Is it to accomplish a task, to enjoy a free moment, to communicate or capture a moment? Have a clear-cut problem statement and direction for what you…
UX Articles
Why AI and UX projects have a lot in common
As I work on more and more Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning engagements, I’m seeing more similarities to UX engagements than differences. Compare and contrast: User Experience design is an iterative process. UX practitioners learn, define a candidate experience, test…
Apple, Technology, UX Articles
The commoditization of UX
Let’s go back in time a bit – over a decade ago. Macworld, 2007. Steve Jobs stood before a crowd of True Believers and revealed not just one, but THREE revolutionary new products. A new, Innovative widescreen iPod. A next-generation…