UX Knowledge Base Sketch #92

A UX research strategy is the foundation of your organization’s UX research efforts. In this guide, we’ll share practical insights on definining objectives, key questions to ask, and how to build your own UX research strategy.

UX Knowledge Base Sketch #77

When budgets, time constraints and other factors dictate, what we cannot happily and comfortably go ahead with is — ideal user research route. We have to think smarter. That’s when Lean UX comes into…

Smashing Cartoons was a regular section on Smashing Magazine in which we used to publish a new cartoon every Friday illustrated by the one and only [Ricardo Gimenes](https://ricardogimenes.com/). All of the cartoons are dedicated to design and Web development, but also have a comic twist about everything happening around the Web as well as give you some insights behind the curtains of Smashing Magazine.

Below are 43 activities that can be done in 5-minutes or less, as well as 2 design processes to facilitate workshops . They are simple but powerful for identifying values, imagining outcomes, and…

This sketch summarizes the Design Sprint method invented and popularized by Google Ventures and Jake Knapp.

This is a sketch of the many different tools and techniques we use at Hello in the UX team. BASIS reflects the different phases of UX work, Business intelligence, Analysis, Structure of information, Interaction design and testing (Sample). www.uxbasis.com

How to involve domain experts / subject matter experts in a meaningful way throughout the UX design process

Rapid prototyping refers to a working model of the actual product prepared in less time than it takes to do a traditional prototype.

Visualizing user attitudes and behaviors in an empathy map helps UX teams align on a deep understanding of end users.

Cuando uno se introduce en el campo del UX (Experiencia de Usuario) se ve frente a un sin fin de nuevos conceptos. Sintetizar y organizar…

Order vs. Chaos. Logic vs. Empathy. Business vs. Design? In this first post in the Design Thinking Series, inspired by a lecture by Jeanne Liedtka and her book "Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers", I'll explore the eternal tension between the opposing forces of business and design. How does Design Thinking differ from the more traditional Business Thinking that most people with a marketing and management background are used to? What can we learn from design that can help bring greater balance to how we approach our work? Read on! “Design teaches us to let go and allow more chaos into our lives. Designers lean into uncertainty, while managers often deny or fight it.” First, let's talk about business, which, for most of us, is the status quo. The traditional business approach is logical, rational, and objective. It operates in a reality that is precise, and where everything is quantifiable. It seeks the "truth" - the "right" or "wrong" action in a given situation. In order to get to that answer, business people aspire to achieve order and control. They build models, frameworks, and terminology, all to give them the feeling of being in control - the feeling that everything is in order. Organizations and processes are built in order to facilitate this need, as well - from check-ins and sign-offs to templates and hierarchies. Ambiguity and uncertainty make business people nervous and uncomfortable, because they crave predictability. In business, innovation is viewed as risky, messy, and often an inefficient use of resources. Rather than create innovations from scratch, business people prefer to set "benchmarks" based on what their competition is doing and then react accordingly. They approach problems analytically, using a decision-making process that demands "proof" along the way, often using data generated in the past. Most of all, however, business is about talk - planning, forecasting, and analysing - not necessarily action. “No amount of data about yesterday will solve the mystery of tomorrow.” Business Thinking: Rational One Best Answer Planning Logic, Numeric Pursuit of Control and Stability Abstract or Particular Focus on the present Design Thinking is different - and probably not quite what you thought. Some might equate Design Thinking with creativity, artistic genius, and even magic. But there's nothing magic or random about it: Design Thinking is a systematic process to solving problems and creating value. It always begins with the customer and works to deliver something valuable to them by creating a better future. Most of all, however, Design Thinking recognizes that you probably won't get there the first time, but after multiple tries and improvements. Interested? Then let's talk about design. The design approach is less logical and more emotional - it focuses on the human experience. It operates in a reality that is always defined subjectively by the people in it. The notion of desire - human desire - is viewed as a more powerful motivator than reason. To designers, there is no right or wrong, only "better" or "worse". To designers, ambiguity and uncertainty are "like crack cocaine". Designers approach problems by actively imagining futuristic worlds to prototype and play in. They favour trying new things and seeing what happens over extensive planning and risk mitigation. Designers are overwhelmingly experimental in their approach, and have patience when it comes to feedback and failure. Finally, Design Thinking is about second chances. They expect and plan to "iterate" their way to "better" answers. Design is about taking action - making things happen - and then responding based on how that action has affected the human experience. Hence, the data that drives the design approach is derived from real people in the real world - the here and now. Shoot first, adapt later - that is the design thinking way. “While managers are showing spreadsheets--the ultimate abstraction--designers are telling stories.” Design Thinking: Subjective Experimentation Doing Emotional Insight, Experiential Models Pursuit of novelty, dislike of the status quo Iterative Movement between Abstract and Particular Focus on the future So, what kind of thinker are you: business or design? If you're feeling like your approach tends to skew towards the business-side of the equation, then the Design Thinking Series is for you. In the next post in this series, I'll take a look at the Core Tenets of Design to better understand what makes designers tick, and in the third and final post, I'll explain one of the major activities of Design Thinking, and something rarely seen in the business world - Rapid Prototyping. Enjoy!

The CPC acts as a bridge between the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the citizens, handling requests ranging from financial aid to marriage assistance. Traditionally reliant on manual processing, these…

Termos como agile, scrum, lean e MVP se tornaram comuns no mundo dos negócios desde os anos 2000. Por outro lado, muito de nós, UXers, em algum momento já abrimos mão de etapas fundamentais no…

Lean UX has the same goal in mind as other forms of UX, it’s just that the way you work on a project is slightly different. Let’s take a look at how it works.

UX Knowledge Base Sketch #74

Towards the end of my story, I spoke about some of the practical methods I’ve personally been using to try and combat this issue. One of these suggestions was to create tangible prompts, and herein…

Find, define and promote your value for happy customers.

In this article, Stefan Klocek introduces a strategy for fixing broken experiences that start with surface improvements. By diving progressively deeper into structural issues, he explains how to achieve a more successful organizational shift.

Business intelligence, Analysis, Structure, Interaction and Sample. The BASIS model of the UX team at Hello Group. uxbasis.hellogroup.com/

Spoiler alert! UX Design doesn’t have a single defined process or workflow. There isn’t a definitive list of steps that work unchanged, each and every time (that would be boring!) Part of your job…

Design thinking is everywhere these days. Well-known field giants like Stanford’s D. School and IDEO all have their own prescription for how to approach problems with a “designerly” mindset. The mo…

UX Knowledge Base Sketch #14

Personas have been in use since the mid-’90s and since then have gained widespread awareness within the design community. Once Shlomo Goltz understood why personas were valuable and how they could be put into action, he started using them in his own work, and then his process became more efficient and fun, while the fruits of his labor became more impactful and useful to others. Personas will supercharge your work and help you take your designs to the next level.

While interviewing users may seem to be an easy task — “You are just asking some questions, and the interviewee gives some answers, and that’s it, right?” Well, not really.

This sketch summarizes the Design Sprint method invented and popularized by Google Ventures and Jake Knapp.

UX Knowledge Base Sketch #89

Following on the Empathy series, here is another technique that can help you and your team to see the world through your users’ eyes. Empathy Maps! This technique is very helpful to organize…