UI/UX Articles And Interesting Tidbits Of The Week
December//18//2020
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Leadership in Uncertainty. Article from Fast Company, detailing the challenges leadership has faced in times of uncertainty such as the ones we are currently living. The article is written in the first person, by author Aytekin Tank, the founder and CEO of JotForm, and includes insights on topics such as continuous reassessment of how work gets done and embracing change, to name but a few but powerful reflections he puts forth. Worth reading. Highlight of the article includes:
“But they taught me something equally valuable: Joy and hardship will eventually pass — it’s what we learn in the process that defines us. Spending three years working with a great team and building something to help many people gives me meaning. Similarly, spending my time at the hospital reflecting on what’s most important is something I’ve found meaning in as well. Like most people, I’ve done a lot of soul-searching this past year. Embracing change has been the hardest yet most necessary lesson of them all, because it’s taught me to look beyond my immediate circumstances. It’s also taught me to seek out something far more essential: fulfillment.”
2.
https://searchengineland.com/what-would-it-take-for-new-search-engines-to-succeed-344822
Succeeding with New Search Engines. The topic of search engines, personalization and customization are ever trending, always drawing considerable amounts of attention, since they are after all the direction in which technology and product experiences are moving into. This article is an interesting reflection on building a search experience that primes for robustness, credibility and personalization, something that can rival the experience that Google provides, even if not at the same scale or initial impact. Well worth a read and reflection. Highlight of the article includes:
““I don’t think, realistically, anyone can build a search engine close to Google’s quality without their years of data on what people searched for, clicked, and found valuable vs. not (via measuring things like bounces-back-to-the-SERPs, query modifications, regularly choosing result #8 over #1, etc). That’s Google’s real secret sauce — the ace no one can touch. Tragically, I don’t think many folks in search (including these two new companies [Neeva and You.com]) realize how impossible a hurdle that is to overcome.” While the bar is high, these two potential rivals presumably believe there are areas of opportunity that Google has yet to claim, and have been able to attract investment towards that cause. As of June, 2020, Neeva had already raised $37.5 million and employed 25 individuals, and You.com is being backed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and venture capitalist Jim Breyer. Funding, however, is unlikely to level the playing field — even with Microsoft’s massive resources, Bing has largely been unable to sway users or digital marketers away from Google.”
3.
Systems Thinking and Problem Solving. Another interesting article from The Fast Company, this time around focusing its attention in solving problems from a systemic perspective. The article and its author anchor this approach in three pillars: Identifying Points of Change, Finding Patterns and Clarifying Issues. Understanding the structure that sustains a lot of issues, and finding solutions by clarifying the different implications of what is being sorted through, are but a few of the aftermath realizations the author (Aytekin Tank) showcases. Highlight of the article includes:
“There’s a difference between “people problems” and “systems problems.” A bad hire that’s gossiping and distracting your team from work is a people problem. Therefore, replacing that person is a leverage point. But that doesn’t mean your people problem is not still related to a system, somehow. Maybe there’s a flaw in your interview process that allowed the bad hire to be made. In that case, the leverage point would be tweaking your hiring process. Thinking back to the traffic jam, a potential system-based solution might be installing traffic lights, better enforcing traffic laws, or changing construction hours to a time when less people are commuting.”
