Doc Wheeler

Worth revisiting this article on the importance of Labels in Forms, from an accessibility perspective and overall product experience. https://lnkd.in/eSyAwf48 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Worth revisiting this article on the topic of Design Audits. https://lnkd.in/e7t4FUV #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Does your software team speak the same language? Aligning on what basic UI elements are called is a great starting point. It doesn’t even matter what name your team chooses as long as everyone agrees on it. Names should hint at purpose. #productdesign #designsystems

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The Jobs to Be Done framework is crucial for product designers, especially as the line between product managers and designers continues to blur. This article can revolutionize how we approach problem discovery and opportunity identification, offering deeper insights during the design phase. It's a must-read for anyone looking to elevate their design process and deliver exceptional results.

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Worth reading through this article on the ever important topic of Accessibility. https://lnkd.in/e8JamZSS #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Are you ready for the rise of fractional design leadership? Here's my prediction: 👉 By the end of 2024, companies will commonly engage design leaders in a fractional capacity. 👉 This could either look like... A. Design leaders engaging in contract roles to strategize and lead specific product initiatives supported by in-house teams. or B. Design leaders joining agencies specializing in fractional leadership, creating a leadership-as-a-service model. This could include additional support from teams sourced from either the agency or the client. 👉 Companies right now are balancing cash flow with growth and innovation. The increasing risk of disruption in every industry underscores the need to adapt to survive. Fractional leadership can jump-start areas where product teams feel 'stuck.' Moreover, fractional opportunities can unlock significant career-growth opportunities for designers, a path that is traditionally more scarce and has lower turnover than IC roles. What's your take on this? Is fractional design leadership the future, or am I completely off? 🤔 #management #technology #careers #leanstartups #future

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Highlighting my article on Holistic Product Design and building Omnichannel Product experiences. https://lnkd.in/ewtEpgW #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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I recently wrote about design system metrics, including adoption. Adoption can be pushed as a mandate. Having seen hundreds of design systems up close Dan Mall points out that there is no definitive evidence that high adoption doesn’t hurt. But, it certainly doesn’t differentiate between useful design systems and that frankenstack monster that has documentation in Excel with hundreds of links to a private Git repo along with multiple swim lanes with infinite scroll. The only reason why adoption persists as a common metric is because even really bad design systems have the ability to generate significant value. Full article in the comments.

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Interesting article on the topic of System Thinking in the Design Process. https://lnkd.in/e5JnJsm2 #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Inspiring thoughts one "How Design Leads Organizations through Five Urgent Challenges" by Institute of Design (ID) Design is still often seen just as an add-on, let's change that. 1. Organizations need to work at speed ➡ Design makes speed possible. 2. Organizations need systems thinkers ➡ Design thinks in systems. 3. Organizations need facilitators ➡ Design translates, facilitates, collaborates. 4. Organizations need new metrics ➡ Design balances quantitative and qualitative measures 5. Organizations need to demonstrate their values ➡ Design leads with purpose. At #icon we #design brand / product / user / customer #experiences shaping the future of #mobility with our clients and partners, including organizations and processes. ➡ read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eAqfa-r3 icon group icon incar icon impact #AI #innovation #design #strategy #experience #experiencedesign #strategicdesign CHRISTIAN ECKERT Anijo Mathew Institute of Design (ID)

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Very interesting article on the process of showcasing the results of research to stakeholders. https://lnkd.in/eyzx_4Sg #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Worth revisiting this article on the topic of Product Adoption and what drives clients to do so. https://lnkd.in/eEmWv7x #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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Lucy Woodcock spends much of her time at work 'doing' diverse usability testing. She has recently blogged "#UserTesting Unveiled: A Step-by-Step Exploration" and aims to demystify the process. Here are #KeyTakeaways from her blog: 1. Importance of #InclusiveDesign and #Accessibility: Inclusive design and accessibility are crucial factors in shaping user experiences. User testing with people with disabilities can help reach a broader audience and cater to diverse needs. 2. Meticulous Planning: User testing begins with meticulous planning, including setting dates, arranging calls, and recruiting diverse participants. A clear research plan aligned with client objectives ensures a valuable and inclusive testing project. 3. Remote Usability Testing: Remote usability testing provides flexibility for testers and clients alike. It gives clients the opportunity to observe sessions first-hand, turning the testing day into a collaborative experience. 4. Analysis of Results: Analysis of user testing results is a crucial part of the process, highlighting key issues and forming recommendations. Different tools and methods may be used for analysis, but the goal remains insightful insights and recommendations. 5. Comprehensive User Testing Report: The user testing report is the end deliverable for clients, containing evidenced insights and relevant recommendations closely linked to client objectives. A clear, justified, and measurable report increases implementation and improves accessibility. 6. Continuous Improvement: A #retrospective allows the team to review successes and identify areas for improvement, ensuring #adaptability to evolving client needs and making each project a stepping stone to future success. 7. Enquiring about User Testing Service: User testing services with companies like Accessible Me Ltd, eLaHub Ltd, or AbilityNet ensure you asking the right people the right questions at the right time and making the best use of their feedback. 8. Self-Conducting User Testing: Learning how to conduct user testing can provide reassurance in making accessibility improvements and focusing resources in the right areas. Like AbilityNet, Accessible Me Ltd offers training courses (both online and offline) for those interested in starting their own #AccessibilityTesting. Accessible Me Ltd's focus is in the #eLearning, #LearningAndDevelopment, and #BrandMarketing areas; helping to make learning accessible to everyone. These takeaways highlight the importance of meticulous planning, remote usability testing, thorough analysis, and continuous improvement in creating inclusive and accessible user experiences through user testing.

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Anotha' day, anotha' person discovering how OOUX (Object oriented UX) can make their lives easier... Last Friday, I spoke at 200OK Dev Conference hosted by Techlahoma Foundation with my talk "UX in a Bottle: Intro to Object Oriented UX for Web Devs. We walked about: • What OOUX is • How it works • How to apply to any project My favorite part about OOUX, which is why I shout from the roofs is that ANYONE (not just devs) can do it to better understand a problem, breakdown requirements in a thorough way, and make something easier to understand. Phenomenal job by all the speakers: Kristy K. Boone:  EI + AI = The Human Side of Tech Camille Hall: The Frontend Revolution: Building Seamless AI-Driven User Experiences with React.js Rhia Dixon, MBA: Getting Good (or Better) at Code Reviews Joel Tosi: Blending Product Thinking with Architecture If you want a copy of my talk, or any of the other speakers - comment below and I'll link you when the playlist comes out! Shout out the Techlahoma team, led by Queen Emily Harden, Geoffrey Harden, Maxx Crawford and the rest of the volunteers and Atlas School for sponsoring and hosting us. And of course, Sophia V Prater for bringing OOUX into my life. I'm ramping up my OOUX posts, so follow me so learn how to apply OOUX into your projects and life. #ooux #webdevs #ux #productdesign

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It's mind-blowing to see how companies have embraced agile product development but still lag behind in user research. Isn't it obvious that agile is about getting things done, and research points to what needs to be done? https://lnkd.in/eCNPkbAP #userresearch #uxresearch #agile

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With only 3.7% of the top 1,000,000 global home pages meeting current WCAG standards, do the 9 success criteria additions to WCAG 2.2 guidelines help or hinder? Since its inception, WCAG has undergone numerous iterations, with WCAG 2.1 serving as the prevailing standard from 2018 until the publication of WCAG 2.2 in October 2023. 👉 Let’s explore the 9 success criteria that were added to WCAG 2.2: Focus Not Obscured (AA) and Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) (AAA): A user who is tabbing through content using a keyboard needs to be able to see the focus indicator, indicating where they have moved their keyboard focus (either partially – AA, or completely – AAA). Focus Appearance (AAA) Focus indicators must, at their smallest, be as large as a 2 CSS pixel thick perimeter of the unfocused component and must have a contrast ratio of 3:1 Dragging Movements (AA) Guideline for an alternative to actions that involve holding down and dragging - reordering a list, for example. Target Size (Minimum) (AA) Targets meet a minimum area of 24 x 24 pixels, so that it’s easier for users to select the correct button or link. Consistent Help (A) Provide help action in a predictable, consistent place. Redundant Entry (A) Helps users, not to have to fill in duplicate information in a process. This could be through auto population or dropdowns, for example. Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (AA) and Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) (AAA). The AA requires alternatives to solving a cognitive test in an authentication process or having users memorize a passcode should be provided.  The AAA requires that an alternative is provided for authentication processes that use object or user-supplied images and media in the log-in process. 👉 The 9 additions to WCAG can help companies increase customer experience for users with disabilities, but more guidelines that specifically address AR and VR experiences, and more simplified guidance on ways designers can meet the requirements of WCAG would go a long way in furthering the understanding of how to make websites compliant. #a11y #Accessibility #WCAG #InclusiveUX

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I think there's a lot of smart business leaders out there that know they'll have to invest time & money & create new roles for Design x Ai in the short term before they can reap the benefits. But maybe if they stall long enough... who knows? Half the time, half the cost, half the people, same or better quality. That's how this was supposed to work, right? Well, it's not actually panning out that way. I've been noodling with the potential relationships between Ai & design for about 8 years at this point, and even I'm surprised at how much work I've had to put into building frameworks and how much pre-engineering I have to do before I have a fully operational and armed battle station. Yes, I can create a high-quality, holistic brand experience from scratch in 3 - 4 days. But I had to spend 8 months to build the system to do it. *And it's not even a very complex framework*. My lesson: Redlining the potential of Ai for design requires a significant investment. Harsh reality no. 2: You'll be committing innovation hara kiri if you try to replace too much creative talent with Ai. Relying too heavily on Ai in the place of human talent is the equivalent of relying too heavily on oversees manufacturing: 1. Amazing technical capabilities and world-class technology. 2. Cost-effective. (see: cheap) 3. Agile infrastructure. (see: dispensable) 4. Potential for high-quality output. 5. Original ideas: non-existent. 6. Legit innovation? Ha! 7. Good chance someone else is getting the same output. 7. The potential to commoditize your entire company? Magic 8 Ball says, "Signs point to yes". I try to push the creative boundaries of Ai every day. I try to break it. I try to get it to do things that people say it can't do. And the truth is, I can get it to do a lot of creative tasks at a level that surprises people. But I can't train it to live the hot mess of human life, or have a creative's feel for when to set the trend and not follow, or have a designer's intuition for when there's a need for something that isn't being verbalized or documented. Smart business leaders know this. I hope. But that dream kinda got a foot hold and it's tough to let go of, right? 99 times out of 100, that's not how its going to go. "So you're telling me there's a chance..."

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Following up on my recent post about design systems vs style guides, I've realized that understanding how these two relate makes their similarities and differences clearer for me. I like to think about the relationship of these two as a parent-child dynamic. The design system is the parent. Style guides (along with pattern and component libraries) are the children. If you missed my other post, you can check out the article on Nielsen Norman Group: https://lnkd.in/eRazWE2j #ux #designsystems #uxdesign

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