One of things I’m most obsessed about is usability. Seamless, smooth user flows are like ambrosia for the brain. In contrast, friction generates frustration - which generates pain - to the point users give up and abandon the digital interface. We can achieve usability through a cocktail of design and engineering.
Sometimes, tech teams consider that launching fast a MVP which is functional, but not that UX-friendly, is an acceptable compromise. I think this is a risky decision and it would create a “make or break point” for that product. Frictionless UX represents a major competitive advantage in fostering momentum for a new or revamped product : encouraging early user adoption, conversions and ultimately steady growth. This is why usability is so important.
Most of the time, users want to get something done through their apps or web pages. Also, users want to get the job done quickly. As a result, they just don’t want to spend neither time, nor cognitive ressources in the process.
📖 Steve Krug, UX specialist and author of the well-known UX bible “Don't Make Me Think” says the answer to the question “What’s the most important thing I should do if I want to make sure my site or app is easy to use?” is simple :
It’s not “Nothing important should ever be more than two clicks away” or “Speak the user’s language” or “Be consistent.” It’s... “Don’t make me think!” For as long I can remember, I’ve been telling people that this is my first law of usability. It’s the overriding principle—the ultimate tie breaker when deciding whether a design works or it doesn’t. If you have room in your head for only one usability rule, make this the one. For instance, it means that as far as is humanly possible, when I look at a Web page it should be self-evident. Obvious. Self-explanatory. I should be able to “get it”—what it is and how to use it—without expending any effort thinking about it.
Cognitive biases are really important when thinking about usability :
🧠 Cognitive load : the mental effort of processing information and learning how to use product. Our working memory can store about 7 pieces of information at a time.
🧚🏾 Aesthetic effect : the interfaces which are pleasant for the eye are more easily adopted by users and considered easy to interact with.
🤦🏼 Curse of knowledge : this happens when we assume that users have the same background knowledge to understand our propositions. Something obvious to us may be really obscure for a potential client.
🔍 Discoverability : the ability to find quickly what we search for.
🧘🏻♀️ Flow state : users are surfing through the app / web page smoothly. No double-checking involved, or trying too hard to attain their goal.
If you are interested about cognitive biases in design and product, check out this list.
From my experience, the curse of knowledge bias might affect engineering teams because of their frameworks and quick-fire logic, while the cognitive load bias could affect founders who search exhaustivity when presenting the features of a product to the users / potential clients.
We can evaluate usability through testing user experience, but more about that in a future edition.
Everything HAS been said and done already. So what?
Speaking of UX, I had the pleasure to interview Jeff Gothelf, UX specialist and digital transformation consultant, speaker, co-author of “Lean UX” and author of “Forever Employable”.
🔮 Jeff shares valuable insights on Twitter and on LinkedIn about UX, teams, work organization, agile strategies, career building, product management.
👨🏻💻 He also writes about agility and innovation in his newsletter.
📖 In “Forever Employable”, Jeff tells the story of how he built a personal brand based on his expertise and how to become a thought leader in a particular field. Jeff gives actionable advice about how to put to work your expertise even if your field is already crowded, targeting audience and building a platform with as little risk as possible. The main questions that you should ask yourself if you want to start sharing your work experience are : “Does anyone know who I am ? Why would they look for me ? How would they find me ?”.
Any advice you would give for someone just commencing to build a personal brand based on expertise ?
There are two things you need to immediately:
Start writing. Share your experiences, expertise, knowledge, wins, losses and evertyihg in between. Keep it real and authentic. A phrase I learned from Gary Vaynerchuk which I like is, “Document, don’t create.” In other words, just capture what’s happening in whatever way is easiest for you and ship it. Don’t focus too much on ‘creating” something original.
Build an email list. I know it seems old school but email works and is explicit permission from your reader to contact them. There’s no better way to build an audience.
What are the foundations of future-proofing your career ?
Fundamentally it’s about changing the dynamics of career growth. Think of it in terms of systems. Traditional career growth is a push system. You push yourself into job postings, interviews and the market. Future-proofing your career involves turning that dynamic 180 degrees into a pull system. Your goal is to create a reality where you are pulling continuously on the system and attracting opportunities towards you. This way, no matter what happens in the market or in your industry, there are always opportunities in your vicinity to move on to.
In your book you talk about sharing expertise by creating a personal platform. Some of us may consider that "everything was said and done", because there are a lot of valuable podcasts, blogs, newsletters already available. How can we overcome this fear ?
Everything HAS been said and done already. So what? Can it not be done better? Differently? Through your lens of life experience, values and perspective each story is new and, perhaps most importantly, no one has told the story that way. It’s uniquely yours. Only you can tell your story. No one else has that.
What hard decision have you made in your career that you are most proud of?
The hardest decision I made was to quit my full-time, well-paying job at TheLadders in January 2012 and launch a new agency with Josh Seiden and Giff Constable. It was terrifying. I had a 3 month financial runway. If it fell apart I wasn’t sure how we’d pay the bills. Nothing like a finite runway to spur action though and very quickly we built up a viable business that we later sold to a slightly larger agency. I wouldn’t be where I am today without that leap of faith and experience. I proved to myself that I didn’t have to be dependent on others — employers, hiring managers, bosses, founders — for my livelihood. I could do it on my own. It’s really when I discovered I was an entrepreneur.
Can you share with us your favorite resources for design inspiration ?
My favourite source of design inspiration these days is walking around the streets of Barcelona. With the lack of tourists I’m rediscovering the city in ways not possible before. It’s been truly inspiring.
What is your favourite tech product and why ?
My favourite tech product my iPhone. I know it’s cliche. But it can do so much, so easily that I rely on it for running both my professional and personal life. It can replace nearly every device in my house — except my coffee machine :-)
Food for thought
Coinbase developed a framework to take decisions more effectively
Why Founders Fail: The Product CEO Paradox
Things to know when designing for Fintech
Smart is sexy
You can use social media to endlessly scroll, waste time and feel shitty or you can filter the nonsense and follow some clever people who will help you to improve your thinking. I worked for 7 years in digital communications and I’ve used to be more lenient about social media usage, but now I’m convinced that we should be ruthless and :
✔️cut all the noise
✔️curate carefully short lists of sharp thinkers (and doers) to follow
✔️ avoid filter bubbles by reading / watching some content produced by people with whom you don’t necessarily agree
I do think that used right, social media can be a tool for both learning and teaching, all fields included. Just cut all the crap 🤷🏼.
🔑 Some of my favorite Twitter accounts :
Estelle Metayer on tracking strategic blindspots. Kevin Yien and Lenny Rachitsky on product stories. Nathan Baschez on business. Shane Parrish on mental models. Julian Shapiro on clear thinking. Anne-Marie Le Cunff on metacognition and neuroscience.
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading this issue.
Sharing is caring, so if you found something interesting in this newsletter, don’t be shy and share it with a friend, foe, boss or colleague. That would mean a lot to me.
If you have questions and suggestions, you can write me at shetalkstech@gmail.com or simply reply to this mail. I’d love to hear your thoughts !