UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
April//29//2022
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Planning for Long-Term Business Growth. Interesting and succinct article from Inc. Magazine on the topic of planning for long-term business growth. The author, Steve Chambers, rationalizes three main aspects: Technological Evolution, Spending Habits, and Consumer Trends Shifting. The convergence of these factors allows for strategies and investments to be soundly devised, even contemplating layers of unpredictability that naturally exist (which for instance the Pandemic was a good example, functioning on multiple levels as a public health care challenge, but also as a catalyst for many businesses and even working methods, to name just a few). Well worth a read and reflection. Highlight of the article includes:
“Technology is a business necessity. Businesses can use technology to engage with customers via digital marketing, analyze data to predict customer habits and spending patterns, and enhance the customer experience through online ordering and delivery capabilities. The one commonality between all these benefits is the customer. As the consumer landscape evolves, technology finds itself playing a two-pronged role. Technology first has the power to identify and captivate an audience. With technology deeply embedded within our culture, the ability to show up where consumers are and engage with them digitally is a critical component in reaching and maintaining your audience.”
2.
Enhancing UX/Product Design with Pertinent KPIs. Another great article from Vitaly Friedman published on Smashing Magazine on the topic of further substantiating Product Design decisions with clearly defined KPIs (and clarifying the ROI for these same decisions). It’s a very pertinent article, since at times when going through a Design Exploration/Incubation, many teams, and Designers in particular lose sight of the cost associated with devising these solutions, but also and just as importantly, how to measure the efficiency of what is being crafted. These multiple layers of KPIs, for the Design Process itself, for the Product Effectiveness which manifests as Business KPIs as well, are tremendously important, and this thorough article advocates quite a few KPIs to keep in mind, including top tasks completion rates, accessibility score, web performance score, to name but a few. Worth reading through. Highlight of the article includes:
“Recently I’ve started setting up dashboards of design KPIs in organizations that I work with. Together, we decide on key attributes that are important to provide a better UX, and then we track them repeatedly over time, very much like we would track other metrics in the organization. One thing that I learned quickly is that these metrics can’t exist in isolation; they need to be connected with the business goals, e.g. describe the accuracy of submitted data, or the quality of leads, or error recovery rate. While organizations often focus on end goals alone (leads, for example), we try to discover all key attributes that contribute to reaching these end goals. These, in fact, are design KPIs.”
3.
Going Back to the Office Anxieties. Interesting read from The Fast Company and author Lia Garvin on the topic of going back to the office. As many workers are transitioning to either full office situations or hybrid ones, it’s worth considering the anxieties that come with it. While the world is never going back to what it was before the Pandemic, there are different ways for us to navigate these slightly adjusted working methods. The author provides some sound advice in terms of Time Management, shifting Perspectives and Embracing the Volatility and Evolution of how we work and collaborate (and how we divide our time while doing so). Well worth a read. Highlight of the article includes:
“Think like a project manager and plan your weeks to maximize your time in each location. Are there ways to cluster meetings in the office to the morning or afternoon so you can save on commute time by driving during off-hours? Experiment with a few different plans for the week over the course of a month to see what works best, knowing your goal is to understand what your new relationship with time looks like.”
