UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
September//12 & 19//2025
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the past two weeks!
1.
Layoffs Consequences. This article from Chris Martin for the Glassdoor blog, is one of the most interesting and revealing articles I’ve read on the topic of Layoffs and the impacts that it has for Organizations and team members. The article lists the key findings of the research, and then provides details on how those conclusions and assessments were done. Some of the Key Findings include Layoffs negatively impacting Glassdoor ratings for organizations, the time it takes for ratings to recover from layoffs, and even aspects as culture shock that occurs as a result of that practice. Layoffs have become a bigger staple and much more of a visible action since 2022, namely when the platform formerly known as Twitter went under new management. Since then organizations such as Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and many others, have openly gone through constant rounds of layoffs, without seemingly much consequence to those actions. As world economies turn, influenced by geo-politics and various other factors, it will be interesting to witness if the new tides coming will hold any consequences for these actions. Highlight of the article includes:
“These companies lost $20.8 billion in the first year after their layoffs due to post-layoff disengagement and increased voluntary turnover. Layoffs trigger a 26% increase in active disengagement, and a 40% increase in the number of current job holders looking for jobs on Glassdoor, and those job seekers are disproportionately key talent. We estimate these costs at 5.2% of payroll in the first year after a layoff. Additionally, anxiety keywords appear 67% more often in Glassdoor reviews in the first year of a layoff vs. the pre-layoff benchmark, and 90% more in the second year.”
2.
Is Product Management an Art or a Science. Interesting article that documents research that was performed with Product Managers regarding their craft, and what they think is the essence of what they do. The article written by Imane Rharbi, is at its best when it quotes what Product Leaders think about their craft, and what informs their decisions. At its worst, it pegs the concept of Art to this discipline (Product Management), which once again much like with Design, aims to strip away credibility at Product Management, since as most people will always state “art is subjective”, and therefore, it’s something that is less valuable, admirable, or even respected. Everything has its place, Art is a well respected discipline, and just because it’s easy to fall prey to ridiculing it, it should not become a metaphor for when people are trying to illustrate something that’s less credible, particularly in the Technology world. Product Management is indeed built on the capability of managing a variety of data sources, and much like Designers, and other professionals in the Tech field, leverage those data points to establish strategies, outline roads that will lead organizations on the path to success. It’s worth reading through the statements some of the professionals interviewed for this study have stated. Highlight of the article includes:
“Then, over time, you start to develop what many call a “product sense,” an intuition shaped by tears of firsthand experience with successful (and unsuccessful) products and strategies. With a good foundation, you gain the confidence to challenge standards, experiment with new approaches, and rely on instinct when data alone might not be enough. If there’s one takeaway from our product leaders’ answers, it’s that great PMs train both their logical and creative muscles. To be an effective product manager, you need to develop hard skills like data analysis and experimentation, and soft skills like empathy and storytelling. You need to navigate ambiguity while grounding your decisions in evidence, user research, feedback, and reviews. Over time, you build product intuition and then apply that intuition into effective action.”
3.
Surveys. Very pertinent article from the user interviews team on the topic of Surveys. The article covers a lot of ground on this research method, including when to use Surveys, examples of effective Survey questions, Tools for conducting them, and what to do with the results gathered from them. Since it’s a method so easy to leverage, it’s also one that can be at times weaponized to push certain agendas, particularly when the questions and their responses are massaged to support/endorse a certain message. Well worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“A better use of a survey is as a qualitative tool that helps you explore and define the area of investigation. Using open-ended survey questions as a starting point can help you gain a much deeper understanding about the subject at hand and the end users you’re surveying. And that understanding is invaluable for mitigating the risk of designing subpar solutions as well as increasing your ability to design better products more efficiently.”
