Food For Thought #22: Agile Imposters (Free PDF), Agile UX, Double Sales, Tech 2016
Age of Product’s of Food for Thought of January 3rd, 2016 covers:
How Product Hunt really works, how to avoid hiring agile imposters as Scrum masters, Fred Wilson on technology trends in 2016, China becoming a hub of innovation, the demise of Sidecar: the competition in Silicon Valley getting tougher, Agle UX for product teams, the psychology of sales, UX: dark design patterns, and how to avoid six common product strategy mistakes.
Ben Wheeler (via Medium): How Product Hunt really works
The official FAQ is vague on the process. So I reached out at first to one Product Hunt employee. As I learned more, I contacted its founder, Ryan Hoover, and several longtime Product Hunt employees and insiders. Not everyone would answer every question, but I was able to piece together many things that the FAQ skips over. Most importantly, I learned that by submitting my app to Product Hunt, I had made a grave error.
Source: Medium: How Product Hunt really works
Author: Ben Wheeler
Stefan Wolpers (via Age of Product): 38 Scrum Master Interview Questions To Avoid Imposters
If you are looking to fill a position for a Scrum master (or agile coach) in your organization, you may find the following 38 interview questions useful to identify the right candidate. There are derived from my ten years of practical experience with XP as well as Scrum, serving both as Product owner and Scrum master as well as interviewing dozens of Scrum master candidates on behalf of my clients.
Source: Age of Product: 38 Scrum Master Interview Questions To Avoid Imposters
Author: Stefan Wolpers
Fred Wilson: What Is Going To Happen In 2016
But what will happen this year that we are now in? That’s a bit trickier. But I will take some shots this morning.
Source: What Is Going To Happen In 2016
Author: Fred Wilson
Clive Thompson (via Wired): How a Nation of Tech Copycats Transformed Into a Hub for Innovation
Western entrepreneurs now flock to hardware and software accelerators in China’s coastal cities.
Source: Wired: How a Nation of Tech Copycats Transformed Into a Hub for Innovation
Author: Clive Thompson
Om Malik (via The New Yorker): In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
The failure of Sidecar, a ride-sharing venture backed by Richard Branson, illustrates that today’s tech-business ecosystem isn’t structured to foster multi-company competition.
Source: The New Yorker: In Silicon Valley Now, It’s Almost Always Winner Takes All
Author: Om Malik
Germaine Satia (via UXPin): Agile UX for Product Teams (Part One): Getting Started
An emphasis on UX allows product teams to be truly collaborative, self-organizing and focused on the customer experience. For those teams that want to move fast, UX has to be at the heart of the process.
Source: UXPin: Agile UX for Product Teams (Part One): Getting Started
Author: Germaine Satia
Neil Patel (via Quicksprout): 8 Psychological Principles That’ll Double Your Sales
Behind all great marketing, there is one thing: Understanding. When you understand your customer, you can understand how to create a great product for them and the best way to present it to them.
Source: Quicksprout: 8 Psychological Principles That’ll Double Your Sales
Author: Neil Patel
Benedict Evans: 16 mobile theses
We’re now coming up to 9 years since the launch of the iPhone kicked off the smartphone revolution, and some of the first phases are over — Apple and Google both won the platform war, mostly, Facebook made the transition, mostly, and it’s now perfectly clear that mobile is the future of technology and of the internet. But within that, there’s a huge range of different themes and issues, many of which are still pretty unsettled.
Source: 16 mobile theses
Author: Benedict Evans
dan turner (via A List Apart): Design, White Lies & Ethics
Unless you’re a fan of dark or shady patterns, you probably struggle occasionally with integrity in your design practice: balancing stakeholder wishes against user needs, for example, or guiding users to hero paths while also granting them freedom to explore.
Source: A List Apart: Design, White Lies & Ethics
Author: Dan Turner
(via Clearbridge Mobile): 6 Common Product Strategy Mistakes & How To Avoid Them
Products fail for a variety of reasons. Poor UX, poor functionality, no real value, etc. But often, the failure of a product can be attributed to mistakes made during the product definition stage — prior to development even beginning.
Source: Clearbridge Mobile: 6 Common Product Strategy Mistakes & How To Avoid Them
