UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
June//21//2024
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Integrated Product Discovery. This article from the Pendo Blog and author Liz Fieno is very obviously a plug for Pendo’s product solution, though promotion aside, it does surface the need to keep Product Owners constantly engaged with the trifecta of inputs that are associated with product usage: Analytics, Customer Experience Tracking, Customer Feedback. The further integration of AI features into solutions such Pendo only reinforces the available information points that can accelerate and empower sounder decisions for product experiences. Highlight of the article includes:
“You (and AI-powered analysis) surfaced 34 product ideas from your user feedback. Good job! Now, you need to decide what features to invest in. But how can you perform effective validation when your feedback, in-app communication, usage data, and users are all in different places? Because of these challenges, many teams skip validation altogether. The result? Wasting precious time and resources, while your peers are charting ahead.”
2.
Vodafone’s Scoring System. This is a great case study/interview/analysis from the dScout blog and their team, who had an opportunity to chat with the Product Design team at Vodafone, including Ashton Snook, Georgie Thompson, and Nick Lockey (their roles and functions are itemized in the article). The article focuses on everything from understanding if the teams are building the right thing, from a strategy perspective, but also how they prioritize discovery work, additional feature development, to name but a few aspects of their portmanteau of tasks. They also go into great detail on why they resorted to creating their own UX Metrics, and how they went about to implement it and track it. Fantastic case study. Highlight of the article includes:
“We’re a very customer-centric department, but what’s interesting is that at the start of the journey on my side, we have to be very sympathetic to how that aligns to the business needs. How does that align with the commercial model? How does that align with the engineering teams and what they can build? We can’t deliver value for our users if we can’t get that to market. That means that we work with our stakeholders and other people around the business to make sure that our vision for making something fantastic for the customers gets past all the stuff it has to do to make it viable as well.”
3.
Showcasing UX Research. Very interesting article from The Smashing Magazine and author Victor Yocco, who essentially details the process by which UX Research can be showcased and produce an effective impact. The author details the Hovland-Yale model of communication, which is anchored on three chapters, namely Independent Variables, Internal Mediating Processes, and Observable Communication Effects. These are then tied with aspects such as source factors, message factors, audience factors, and other aspects such as intention, comprehension and acceptance. It’s a fascinating read, which combines the more academic aspect of communication, with the process by which UX findings can and should be showcased and consumed. Highlight of the article includes:
“The Hovland-Yale model stresses that where a message comes from greatly affects how believable and effective it is. Research shows that a convincing source needs to be seen as dependable, informed, and trustworthy. In UX research, this source is usually the researcher(s) and other UX team members who present findings, suggest actions, lead workshops, and share design ideas. It’s crucial for the UX team to build trust with their audience, which often includes users, stakeholders, and designers. You can demonstrate and strengthen your credibility throughout the research process and once again when presenting your findings.”
