Author: walkerux

I'm a UX professional who's always looking to learn more and be better at my job! Visit my sites at johnwalkerux.com (UX-focused) and johnwalkerdesigner.com (generalist).
Product DevelopmentLeave a comment

Notes on Jared Spool’s “What Goes Into Proactive UX Strategy”

walkerux

Link here. UXD Chicago Meetup presented this talk on 7/21/22 Too much effort today is Reactive UX–putting out fires with tactics (interviews, usability tests, wires, Figma files) but not strategy–the world of outputs/delivery that follows intentions previously set by someone else To create strategies/outcomes, we need: A UX outcome is heavy on the X: How do we improve the overall customer experience, which may currently fluctuate in satisfaction, to achieve the more aspirational experience: In a proactive approach, we recognize that key decisions are made throughout the product development lifecycle and that UX must be at the table for all … Continue reading Notes on Jared Spool’s “What Goes Into Proactive UX Strategy”

Product DevelopmentLeave a comment

6 Tips to Build Better Products

walkerux

From Game Thinking TV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx7UAOK2prI Laura Klein, who wrote Build Better Products, gives these tips Don’t get stuck on 1 idea Start from the customer’s “jobs to be done” point of view Solve the right problem Test your idea with small experiments Initially focus on a small audience–don’t try to build for everybody from the start. Get it right for a small group first and expand Think about marketing, not just the product. Have a strategy for growing the product Continue reading 6 Tips to Build Better Products

Product DevelopmentLeave a comment

Product Design and the Scientific Method

walkerux

via the Game Thinking Academy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6rDUmpCO-o 5 steps to the scientific method: Hypothesis Subjects Experiment Data Conclusions Write a testable hypothesis Have clear, concrete assumptions Take a skeptical view of your hypothesis–you’re looking for a market truth, not to prove out a previously held narrative of what the product should be Choose the right subjects Talk to the specific folks who will be the first ones to use your product–they might be a subset of your eventual audience, but start with them as your “beachhead” on the way to your destination Run the right experiments You need to run experiments … Continue reading Product Design and the Scientific Method

Application MapLeave a comment

Notes on The Many Uses of Application Maps

walkerux

(From uie.com’s All You Can Learn video library, subscription required. Posted in 2011 hence the image quality isn’t great) Application maps help you visualize a site’s architecture Applications maps vary from site maps: They aren’t hierarchical They don’t map out the existing nav structure They avoid all the messiness of connecting lines that cross over etc They are easier to read at a glance Color/shape can visually call out actions or functionalities: create, edit etc Application maps help you: Quickly become familiar w app Find missing screens Locate inconsistencies Capture task flows, not nav flows Hagan used the WordPress CMS c. … Continue reading Notes on The Many Uses of Application Maps

Service DesignLeave a comment

Notes on Chris Govias’ Service Design for the Public Sector

walkerux

(from uie.com’s All You Can Learn library, highly-recommended subscription required) Service Design isn’t about the double diamond we all know and love: or affinity diagrams or post its or co-creation sessions etc—those are all great tools but not SD SD is the design of service, the end-to-end experience for a customer,  every single part of the process that we can help design, from call center scripts through kiosk UI and everything in-between SD is about achieving the best delivery possible Chris takes us through the example of the British justice system, which is extraordinarily complex: And the image above is … Continue reading Notes on Chris Govias’ Service Design for the Public Sector

IA, Priority Guides, Product DevelopmentLeave a comment

Notes on Priority Guides: A Content-First Alternative to Wireframes

walkerux

By Heleen van Nues and Lennard Overcame, posted on alistapart.com on 5/3/18 UXers have gotten a little complacent about creating wireframes in all instances for all things! They can be great—but they can also give the illusion of final design, kill creativity and engagement, undermine user-centricity, are static and not responsive, and are inconvenient for devs for testers What are priority guides? Drew Clemens seems to have introduced the concept in 2012 but it hasn’t received much traction Priority guidelines contain content and elements for a mobile screen, sorted by hierarchy and without layout specificity Hierarchy based on relevance to users from most … Continue reading Notes on Priority Guides: A Content-First Alternative to Wireframes

Collaboration, Product DevelopmentLeave a comment

Notes on Winning UX Workshops with Austin Novella

walkerux

(From uie.com’s All You Can Learn library, requires highly-recommended subscription.) Frame the Question 4 things frame collaboration: What you’re doing What you’ll end up with when you’re done Why it’s important How you’ll do it This sets up 3 important expectations: Makes others feel like participators and shifts them from observer to collaborator mode Knowing what they’ll end up with and why it’s important encourages them to invest in the discussion and pay attention Explaining what you’re doing and what to expect allows the team to trust you while you work towards your goal Plan the workshop so that you … Continue reading Notes on Winning UX Workshops with Austin Novella

Roadmaps, Uncategorized1 Comment

Notes on Bruce McCarthy’s Roadmaps Relaunched

walkerux

(From uie.com’s All You Can Learn library, requires highly-recommended subscription) In running international seminars, Bruce McCarthy asked attendees to write break-up letters with their current roadmapping process, which highlighted many real-world current issues: No defined process Not tied to business strategy Not enough customer input Lack of stakeholder alignment Unclear prioritization Broken promises Overly incremental Shiny object syndrome No clearly defined target Poor use of data Groundhog Day phenomena Roadmapping 6 months out doesn’t sync well with Agile processes and can be a no-win scenario Yet roadmaps are a way of clearly expressing a product strategy and setting a budget … Continue reading Notes on Bruce McCarthy’s Roadmaps Relaunched

Surveys1 Comment

Notes on Caroline Jarrett’s Design Tips for Surveys

walkerux

(Posted on uie.com’s All You Can Learn video subscription site, link here) In this triangle, trust is probably the hardest thing to establish For mailed surveys, small payments work best to establish trust: But money is more of a hassle to deliver online and didn’t move the needle much: Tip 1: Offer a meaningful, immediate reward to help build trust Give users immediate access to results and explain how the info is going to be used Consider embedding a link to highly-related, good quality content Tip 2: Be trustworthy and look trustworthy Check out Stanford’s Guidelines for Web Credibility here … Continue reading Notes on Caroline Jarrett’s Design Tips for Surveys