The Problem Space is where we go to learn about our users’ problems so we can design and develop meaningful and profitable solutions to solve these problems. It’s also where we go to learn about our companies, our employees/coworkers, and ourselves, so we can create the best organizational conditions for success.
Why the best outcome might be “But we already knew that!”
What's on my mind
It was a cold winter day in early 1999. I stood in an elevator with three undergraduate classmates from my Psych 225 course in Experimental Psychology.
We’d already ridden up and down several times, from the Memorial Library entrance to the top floor. We had an odd (and perhaps a bit creepy?) mission: We were waiting for a person to get on the elevator alone.
What does the bystander effect, multiple elevator rides and a love of validating theory have in common?
Head on over to Medium to read the full version of my article that dives into the joy of validating what we already know.
The Problem Space
The Problem Space is where we go to learn about our users’ problems so we can design and develop meaningful and profitable solutions to solve these problems. It’s also where we go to learn about our companies, our employees/coworkers, and ourselves, so we can create the best organizational conditions for success.
What's on my mind In this final newsletter of the year, I want to reflect a bit on my writing journey and talk about what's to come in 2024. When I announced the weekly newsletter writing challenge in January, I mentioned that someone had told me: Just write! Write weekly, for an entire year, and you’ll find your way. Some newsletters might bomb. Others might resonate. And in the process, you’ll figure out your winning format. How did it turn out? Let's start with the numbers. From late...
What's on my mind I remember my first UX research interview. I was coming straight from academia and had no on-the-job experience in applied research. The hiring manager told me I needed to show the artifacts that resulted from my research. As a pivoting academic at the time, this sounded very mysterious. What did I create with my research? What was the product that resulted from my insights? I’d never thought about it like that. I had to show the artifacts because the perception, according...
What's on my mind There's a crisis in tech roles - from product to research to design. All of these skills are essential, but how these skills are deployed in an organization - as roles, as parts of roles, and as complimentary with other skills and roles - are all part of a growing conversation. photo by Brendan Church I jumped in with a recent post, written in a moment of reflection on what I've been hearing from coaching clients, people in my network, and seen passing by on LinkedIn: The...