This year, we launched a Marketing Calendar. This was one of the most surprising designs I have ever been involved with. I thought (in the beginning) the calendars were easy. Just copy Outlook, how hard can it be?! It turns out that Calendars are extremely nuanced and complicated. They have been honed over the past…
Here are a couple of categories that will help you get recognition, raises, promotions, monetary rewards and all your dreams come true. Technical Skill For whatever you do, there are specific technical aspects to it. There is craft in every job. If you know your craft better, if you are more technically skilled, it will contribute…
I had previously posted my UX Designer interview challenge. I just wrote a new version, so I figured I could post the one I was using here. It is a continuation of the previous challenge. Scenario A famous comedian is the sponsor of the project. He is working with 4 other comedians to rate and…
For my whole life, I have been nearly immune to the common cold. I might get a headache or a runny nose, but I don’t ever remember running a fever or being bedridden. This sounds good, but I think being sick once in a while is a good thing. An excuse to take the day off…
Here are all the names of the Android Operating system up until now AND what I predict they will be in the future. Alpha (1.0) Beta (1.1) Cupcake (1.5) Donut (1.6) Eclair (2.0–2.1) Froyo (2.2–2.2.3) Gingerbread (2.3–2.3.7) Honeycomb (3.0–3.2.6) Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0–4.0.4) Jelly Bean (4.1–4.3.1) KitKat (4.4–4.4.4) Lollipop (5.0) Marshmellow Nutella Oreo Popcorn Quaker…
A certification is a promise from the company to the management of the customer. It means that if you (the customer) hires someone who passes the certification that we (the company) promise that they will be competent and even skilled at working the product. Certifications are sometimes done well and sometimes done poorly. One way…
Nothing ruins Halloween like rain. Trick or treating becomes a major hassle. It’s just a downer. We need the rain in California, but still, couldn’t it have started tomorrow? Who is running this thing? It’s also bummer when you dress up and 95% of your company doesn’t participate. Like it’s some sort of ridiculous thing. Halloween…
It’s important to try things. I don’t mean try them for 10 seconds. I mean give it an honest chance at success. I see it all the time, projects start with no real commitment and therefore no chance of success. It’s all about having a positive mental attitude. I remember many years ago, I saw a…
I’ve heard this many a time from an emotional child (or adult), “It’s not fair!” This got me thinking. What is fair? Where does this idea come from? Clearly even animals can sense when something isn’t fair. Check out this video showing what I mean. (1 min) Where does this feeling come from? Why do we…
Salesforce.com has been a big part of my thinking over the past 7 years. They were one of the first SaaS B2B companies to get super big. (12,000+ employees) Additionally, they were one of the first B2B systems to have an app store and platform. I am a serious admirer of what they have accomplished. The…
We are tantalizingly close to having a car experience that is more akin to a train, bus or plane. We get in, we sit and read and when we arrive we get out. All we need is self-driving cars. I really want this world to exist, but there are many hurdles to work through. For…
In the corporate body, there are pressure points. These pressure points can yield disproportionate gain (or pain) throughout the enterprise. Corporate Acupuncture is the art of finding those pressure points and applying some UX love to generate big results. Sometimes, the pressure points are due to individuals. A great individual contributor can be leveraged on…
I was at an enterprise designer meetup last night. An interesting topic came up which was, “What are your enterprise design principles?” I thought I had collected quite a few over the years that have helped me design. Here they are with very short explanations. 1. Don’t move the cheese If a user knows how to…
I just finished reading Practical Wisdom by Barry Schwartz. (Author of the great book The Paradox of Choice. – not to be confused with The Wisdom of Crowds, also a great book.) Practical Wisdom is a decent book, but more importantly, it points the way to design our ideal civilization. The book points out how incentives are…