UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
February//18//2022
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.
Global Expansion Fallacies. Really interesting article hailing from “The Next Web” focused on the topic of Globalization tactics gone wrong. When it comes to expanding a company’s worldwide footprint, there are a series of factors to consider, and this article sheds light on a few essential items to keep in mind when doing so. It specifically highlights topics such as Choosing the Right Market, Lack of understanding of the Market itself, Not Hiring in a Timely Manner, Missing Golden Opportunities, to name but a few. Ultimately, and much like long lasting brands, it’s important that these strategies are focused, adaptive, deliberate, and well informed. Jumping in the ocean without a solid notion of how unpredictable those waters are, can at times be a big risk. Well worth reading and reflecting. Highlight of the article includes:
“When you’re a startup, flexibility is often your middle name, it’s how you do business. But as you grow, it’s harder to be nimble. For example, you’re probably familiar with the sunk cost fallacy (a reluctance to abandon a project you’ve invested heavily in, even as losses are growing) but it’s much harder to see it when it’s up close. Coming from France, Company X was certain that the best new market for them was going to be the UK. They hired a country manager before establishing a good product/market fit, and invested heavily in local media. A year later, they exited the market with almost no sales and heavy losses because the market was a poor fit. Moral of the story: pace your scaling strategy and stay flexible. Treat your strategy as a living, breathing document, even as you grow.”
2.
Tips for Attracting Talent. Another relevant article from Inc. Magazine, this time around on the topic of attracting talent during what has now been labeled, “The Great Resignation”. As the competition for great talent continues to intensify, this article sheds light on important factors which can be immediately differentiating factors when attracting candidates. The article highlights factors such as Bringing Transparency to the Hiring Process, Not Asking People to Work for Free and Not Dragging the Hiring Process Unnecessarily, to name but a few. It’s an article worth reading through and keeping in mind, particularly as good hires are fundamental and many times work as catalysts which can truly empower teams to produce fantastic results. Highlight of the article includes:
“Years ago, I applied for a job only to learn, after the third interview, that the pay offered was way below my current salary. It was frustrating then and remains a waste of time today for both candidates and recruiters. That experience shaped me, so I decided to state clearly in the job announcement the position’s salary range, together with the list of limited benefits. By being transparent, I attracted candidates who were fully aware of the compensation package offered and still remained interested in pursuing the recruitment process.”
3.
Interviews and Detecting Toxic Cultures. Very pertinent article from Smashing Magazine, courtesy of authors Nick Babich and Gleb Kuznetsov, on the topic of Voice User Interfaces. Voice UI falls under the umbrella of Natural Language Processing, and manifests itself in solutions such as Automated Speech Recognition, Speech to Text applications, User Response and Semantic Analysis. This thorough article looks at the evolution of this type of product experience, but then dives into the crafting process of how to devise solid solutions in this universe, including topics such as Designing the Conversation. In this part of the experience, the authors go into details such as writing dialog flows, designing for human language, avoiding long responses, supporting repeat actions, to name but a few. It’s well worth a read. Highlight of the article includes:
“Personalization is more than just saying “Welcome back, %username%”. Personalization is about knowing genuine user needs and wants and adapting information to them. VUI gives product designers a unique opportunity to individualize the user’s entire interaction. The system should be able to recognize new and returning users, create user profiles and store the information the system collects in it. The more the system learns about users, the more personalized experience it should offer. Product designers need to decide what kinds of information to collect from users to personalize the experience.”
