Jared Spool

TBM 30/52: Why Don’t We Have a Strategy? The problem isn't that people can't think strategically.

Scott Berkun does a great job of collecting thoughtful questions proposed by Neil Postman that every designer needs to consider before launching a new project: https://scottberkun.com/2016/the-7-questions-for-any-technological-idea/

Is Fear a Factor? A metric to help you assess your organization’s ability to learn

Does your organization tolerate, encourage, or reward continuous learning?

This is the question that Erika Hall explores in this article:
https://medium.com/mule-design/is-fear-a-factor-37b9d8104980

The Need to Think and Talk like an Executive - UX Articles by Center Centre Here’s a hard truth user experience design leaders find themselves learning: No one will buy into your UX design ideas if they can’t see how those ideas matter to them. This is especially true for your organization’s leadership. They need t...

Once we know how UX design might benefit the organization, in terms of value that executives understand, we can communicate it clearly.

https://articles.uie.com/the-need-to-think-and-talk-like-an-executive/

Duped by the Double Diamond? | User Experience NZ

Nick Bowmast shares a detailed analysis of how organizations invest late in design to compensate for not investing at the start:

http://www.userexperience.co.nz/2017/07/duped-by-the-double-diamond/

The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations “In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is...

This is inspired: The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...

Overfitting and the problem with use cases As a Miro PM with lots of collaborators, I sit in a lot of early-stage product and design reviews (including my own). I hear a question…

A brilliant argument from Joe McLean for why we don’t want to always design by starting with use cases.

Read Joe’s article, “Overfitting and the Problem With Use Cases” here:
https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/overfitting-and-the-problem-with-use-cases-337d9f4bf4d7

Perfect Double Feature:

Melissa McCarthy’s Spy followed by
Charlise Theron’s Atomic Blonde

As designers, we have been talking a lot about strategy, maturity, and culture. All these things need to be discussed and worked but before them, we need to discuss the growth, and maturity, of the UX... Mastering UX Strategy: Insights from Jared Spool on How to Apply It

Are we showing the real impact we can deliver as designers? What is the most challenging thing for designers in companies? Listen to myself, Rodrigo Lemes & Rafael Burity as we talk about UX strategy and how to apply it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azwh3PIi-ck&ab_channel=DesignTeam

DOC • A brief history of the numeric keypad Picture the keypad of a telephone and calculator side by side. Can you see the subtle difference between the two without resorting to your smartphone? Don’t worry if you can’t recall the design. Most of us are so used to accepting the common interfaces that we tend to overlook the calculator’s inverted key sequence.

The numeric keypad as we know it has come quite a long way – in fact, you might be surprised that its journey has not been as simple as it seems.

Francesco Bertelli explains the not-so-simple history in the following article: https://www.doc.cc/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-numeric-keypad

Only outputs can be automated By emphasizing design's role as a producer of visual outputs, our leaders have eroded the entire justification for UX as a practice.

The easiest job in the world: supervisor who asks the shop floor "how many widgets did you make?" and then goes back up to corporate to report the number.

Unfortunately, that's the level of management competence in tech.

And now they are asking, can't AI make the widgets?

Quality? Don't know her.

These are excellent points. Most organizations are not set up to think about their products in terms of the value they deliver, only in terms of being the receptacle of more work.

Just got a test result from my Doc. The document was printed from the test equipment and faxed somewhere, and then my Doc (or someone else) scanned it back into the computer to send as a PDF.

(Checks watch: Yup, it's 2025.)

Why is this the state of the art of patient info comms?

#MedicalUX

Cinnamon Bun Inspired Joe-Joe's Sandwich Creme Cookies

I have an important announcement:

Trader Joe's Cinnamon Bun inspired Jo Jos make a fine cookie.

That is all.

www.traderjoes.com/home/product...

This is how insane people sound when you tell them why A.I. is bad

Jared Spool presents "What Goes Into a Proactive UX Strategy" at UXD Chicago Meetup on 7-21-2022. Jared Spool - What Goes Into a Proactive UX Strategy

In many orgs, UX work is a never-ending stream of wireframes, tactical design decisions, & under-valued usability testing. I talked with PMX Chicago about how effective UX leaders have turned their organization from reactive to proactive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6rFBXVMBTs

Put a UX Vision Before Your UX Process - UX Articles by Center Centre Without a compelling vision, people will push back on your process. “They won’t follow the process I’ve laid out.” I had just asked a UX leader what her biggest frustrations were. She didn’t have to think hard about her answer — she already...

Give your stakeholders a clear understanding of what that improved user experience looks like with a compelling UX Vision. A UX Vision is a shared understanding of the users’ experiences once the team has improved the product.
https://articles.centercentre.com/put-a-ux-vision-before-your-ux-process/

Mastering UX Research and Metrics with Jared Spool In this episode of Writers in Tech, we're thrilled to have UX legend Jared Spool back on the show.

Dive into the importance of making organizations human-centered and how every decision within an organization impacts the user’s experience.

https://uxwritinghub.com/mastering-ux-research-and-metrics-with-jared-spool/

GSB Lecturer Matt Abrahams gives practical tips on tricks on how to make public presentations memorable, and how to get into the right mindset to be a successful communicator. Listen to Matt's podcast... Matt Abrahams: "How to Make Your Communication Memorable"

There are a ton of great presentation tips in this talk. Matt Abrahams focuses on both what you present and how you present it. Solid advice for new and seasoned presenters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fsr4yrSAIAQ&ab_channel=StanfordGraduateSchoolofBusiness

That’s precisely what an AI would say.

Minimum Viable Ethnography One question.Ten minutes. No excuses.

This article on Minimum Viable Ethnography by Erica Hall is such a treasure. She explains how simple revelatory ethnographic research can be. I highly recommend you give her approach a try.

Read Erika’s Article:
https://medium.com/mule-design/minimum-viable-ethnography-a047e9358df0

For simplicity and logic, we don’t need AI.

Yes.

Go figure.

And when they discover that the computer can’t do those things, no matter how much we hope?

Electronic airport advertising stating “Talk to a helpful human on the United App” with a picture of someone holding a phone with an image of a smiling United employee.

Last year, I predicted we’d see during the next 2 years promotions for AI-free experiences.

I just saw my first one.

United is now advertising their customer service app is a human, not an AI.

People don’t want to be handled by machines. Nobody likes being on the receiving end of AI.

Put a UX Vision Before Your UX Process - UX Articles by Center Centre Without a compelling vision, people will push back on your process. “They won’t follow the process I’ve laid out.” I had just asked a UX leader what her biggest frustrations were. She didn’t have to think hard about her answer — she already...

UX leaders need a UX Vision. The UX Vision is a shared understanding of the users’ experiences once the team has improved the product.

https://articles.centercentre.com/put-a-ux-vision-before-your-ux-process/

How the Right UX Metrics Show Game-Changing Value - UX Articles by Center Centre There’s a story I want to tell you. It’s a story that emerged out of my recent work with a UX team. They used this story to excite their executives on how recent UX improvements made a substantial business impact. Since it’s not my story to...

Not doing research is a decision that could cost an organization $100 million.

Read more on having the hard conversations around pursuing valuable research through the right metrics: https://articles.centercentre.com/how-the-right-ux-metrics-show-game-changing-value/

In the movies, spies use it to copy illegal information.

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How To Build A Product Roadmap Everyone Understands This product roadmap template gets the job done.

I like how @dreasaez.bsky.social has laid out a way to think about the roadmap that is easy for everyone to understand especially if your existing roadmap is inscrutable or overly complex.

https://medium.com/prodpad/how-to-build-a-product-roadmap-everyone-understands-522b36270e5