Contextual inquiry is a semi-structured observational and interview (inquiry) method to understand how and why a prospect or customers uses (existing) or may use (prototype) your solution in the environment that they use it (context). This could be using an appliance in a kitchen, a tool on the shop floor, a device in a lab, … Read more
You can now listen to the Easy to Use 2.0 audiobook! Here are few things that folks have been saying about Easy to Use 2.0: “It’s refreshing to see the thoughtfulness and design expertise Sean Van Tyne brings to the enterprise software space. It is a technology category that’s ripe for design-led disruption, and this … Read more
How do you know you’re making the right bets with your ideas? Which bets do your ideas hinge on? These are our riskiest assumptions. They need to be tested before you spend your valuable time and money. With the ‘problem’ in mind, map out the customer journey to identify the riskiest assumption. Armed with a … Read more
A common misconception is that a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) consists of the minimum set of features deemed necessary for a working software product, with the goal of bringing it to market quickly. This is incorrect as there is an over-emphasis on speedy delivery and time to market, as opposed to focusing on customer and … Read more
In Agile Development, a “sprint” is one iteration of a continuous development cycle. Within a sprint, planned amount of work has to be completed by the team and made ready for review. During the sprint: No changes are made that would endanger the sprint goal Quality goals do not decrease Sprints are limited to a … Read more
Information architecture (IA) focuses on organizing, structuring, and labeling content in an effective and sustainable way. The goal is to help users find information and complete tasks. The Information Architecture Institute defines information architecture simply: “Information architecture is the practice of deciding how to arrange the parts of something to be understandable.” The purpose of … Read more
Lately, I have been hearing a lot talk about design thinking and human-centered design. What are they? How are they different? Are they the same? It reminds me of the old debate around user experience and “usability. You may have missed that one… The usability folks felt that “usability” was a hard science with an … Read more
Design Thinking is a discipline – a mindset. A way of thinking – not a process. Thinking like a designer, Design Thinking applies the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and a viable business strategy. The process follows the designer’s methodology from vision to implementation. Starting with understanding … Read more
In Agile, user story maps are a holistic view of your product backlog. A product backlog is a repository of requirements for the releases of the product. The user story map is focused on the user experience target outcomes and identifying the best way to ‘slice’ your product releases by minimal viable product (MVP). A … Read more
How do you win the attention of your audience and create content they actually care about? It happens when you take the time to understand and take on their thoughts, feelings and motivations as your own; it happens through empathy. Empathy mapping is an effective way to tap into the head and heart of your … Read more
In today’s experience economy, successful companies don’t stand out because of their efficient production or their better engineering. It is their dedication to understanding their customers and their strong commitment to solving customers’ problems and servicing their needs. In the article, Why Design Thinking is the Future of Management, Stefan Link shares: “Design Thinking helps … Read more
We are now living in the ‘Age of the Customer’ where the pace of technologic advancement and customer empowerment continues to disrupt today’s business models. The key to competitive survival is data and insights-driven customer obsession. Customer obsession means constantly listening to customers and continuously testing, enhancing, and personalizing the customer experience. According to The … Read more