UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
June//18//2021
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
The 6 Levels of UX Maturity. Great article hailing from the Nielsen Norman Group, focused on the levels of UX maturity one can find across different organizations in the market. These levels include, Absent, Limited, Emergent, Structured, Integrated and Design Driven, and each one of them, has a direct association with how Design driven initiatives permeate (or not) across the living tissue of the Organization. Well worth a read. Highlight of the article includes:
“When UX is absent, there may complete ignorance about UX, apathy, or half-hearted intentions which favor the idea of UX but never follow through with actions. In some cases, there may even be hostility towards the entire concept of adopting UX practices. This stage also includes organizations where developers are aware that UX is important and attempt to create good experiences, but do not have any access to methods, resources, or organizational support. (In our original model, this ‘developer-centered’ UX was a separate, higher stage; we now group these organizations within stage 1 because even the best intentions of hard-working developers are not enough to yield meaningful results in the absence of organizational support.)”
2.
Leading at a Distance. Very interesting article from The Fast Company, focused on the challenges which lie ahead, as the general workforce has a post pandemic shift in working habits, including going back to the office, hybrid situations and how leadership deals with these new paradigms. This article looks and reflects on topics such as Gender Gap, Business Travel implications, the Acceleration of Virtual Work, to name but a few. It’s an article worth reading and reflecting upon, since it does pose pertinent questions on inclusivity, diversity, work/life balance, career paths, all of which affect us all. Highlight of the article includes:
“A McKinsey future-of-work study confirms that remote work is likely to be more prevalent in industries such as technology, finance, insurance, and professional services. People whose work involves physically touching products will mostly continue to be on-site. As Carol Tomé, CEO of UPS acknowledged, most of her company’s 500,000+ workers are front-line employees delivering packages or working in sorting facilities around the world. While there will continue to be tremendous innovation in how essential workers do their jobs, they will remain out on the world’s roads or in the air delivering the packages — and in the process, helping many of us live and work from home. Many other companies also have essential functions that can’t be done remotely.”
3.
Inclusivity on the Web. Great article from author M.k. Anderson on the topic of Gender affirmation on the web. Accessibility and inclusivity are topics that are, and rightfully so, on everyone’s mind these days. Product Design in particular needs to contemplate how to address the broad spectrum of human existence, and not have a myopic stance where distinct genders and life experiences, are fringe scenarios, as opposed to pertinent ones, much like the more commonly identified ones. It’s an article which looks at important aspects such as UX writing, and even specific tactics in gathering sensitive information from users, contemplating this wide universe of identities in which we live. Worth reading. Highlight of the article includes:
“Gender is distinct from biological sex. A gender like “man” or “woman” is a role we play in society. Some people feel profoundly uncomfortable with the role they were assigned at birth, and are happier playing another. As a nonbinary person, I’m not strictly comfortable as either a man or a woman. There are many ways to be nonbinary or gender nonconforming, and pronouns are a good example of that. There are nonbinary people who use “they/them” pronouns, but others use “she/her” or “he/him” or neopronouns (for example, “xie/xer”). There are “he/him” lesbians who were assigned female at birth and are still women. Gender is highly personal and central to who people are. An internet that’s designed for people with a broad range of gender identities and expressions would honor that.”
