This week in UX & Product Management — 10 Apr
07 / Creating a Culture of Open Design, Prioritizing Product Opportunities, Systems Thinking at Airbnb, Research Questions Are Not Interview Questions
Welcome to Issue 07!
When I was a student at BYU, proposing my work in the Graphic Design program, I highly feared the judgments of my work. Granted, I was a crappy designer — a rough rock needing polishing. It was very stressful to put in what felt like an enormous amount of work, to feel good about a direction, and then to have it torn apart by the opinions of others. Those experiences were difficult for me and felt more dramatic than what they probably were in reality, but it strengthened my ability to receive feedback on my work.
Fast forward 15 years, and thousands of reviews later by designers and non-designers alike, and there is one important thing I’ve learned: feedback and iteration always results in better work when it comes to building products. As an individual, I went through an emotional progression about sharing my work, as I believe many do. As I matured in my ability to take feedback I found that there was a balance between vulnerability and confidence. I was able to feel confident that what I’d done was valuable work, but at the same time, vulnerable enough to listen to feedback and be open-minded to ideas I never would have thought of alone. I also learned when to show my work and to whom, at various stages of the process, to create the most effective stream of feedback possible. I refer to this process of the stages of receiving feedback as dirty laundry.
Not everyone has had the experience I’ve described, giving and receiving feedback, so creating an environment where the design process is inclusive and open can be difficult. The foundation of this kind of environment is helping people understand how to give constructive feedback. Setting those ground rules for everyone is key to making these changes a success.
I’ve experienced cultures where design was open and part of the holistic company culture (and even celebrated), ones that weren’t, and ones that I made efforts to create from scratch. I chose to spotlight Tanner’s article on how to create a culture of open design because I feel it’s great advice for anyone looking to build a better design culture at their company.
If having an open design culture isn’t top of mind check out the articles below by product leader Teresa Torres, on prioritizing opportunities over solutions; or Yujin Han & Hayley Hughes, where they share how to instill systems thinking into everything they do at scale at Airbnb; or learn from Erika Hall about how research questions aren’t interview questions and how being specific with those questions is key.
Enjoy and have a great week!
— Ben Peck
*Please let us know of anything else you think would be valuable to share in the newsletter.
// Spotlight
How to create a culture of open design
“The problem is inexperienced designers often want to feel as though their output is the result of their own genius, with no external direction having influenced them whatsoever. The problem is leaders in many organizations believe design is a fragile process that must be sheltered in order to strengthen and thrive.
Except design is something that is always strengthened against the harsh weather that is constructive feedback, not weakened by it.”
// Articles
Product ⟶
How to prioritize work.
Prioritize Opportunities, Not Solutions
“Prioritizing solutions is a left-over side effect of being output focused. When we are judged by what we deliver, the key decisions are focused on what to build when. But when we are judged by what outcomes we drive, it’s less about what solutions we deliver and more about what problems we solve for our customers.”
UX ⟶
Building an inclusive design language system.
Systems Thinking, Unlocked
“Design Language Systems are unique. Some companies create systems for efficiency and reuse, and others make them to express their look and feel. While the goal may differ, all systems have something in common — people need to be able to use and grow them. If we only spend time designing product components, we aren’t designing the invisible human components: the overall relationships between the system and the teams who adopt it.”
by Yujin Han & Hayley Hughes at Airbnb
Research ⟶
Ask better questions.
Research Questions Are Not Interview Questions
“Your research question and how you phrase it determines the success and utility of everything that follows. If you start with a bad question, or the wrong question, you won’t end up with a useful answer. We understand this in daily life, but talking about research in a business context seems to short-circuit common sense. Everyone is too worried about looking smart in front of each other.”
// Job Openings
Chatbooks // UX Intern // Lehi, UT
Apply ⟶
Workfront // UX Intern // Lehi, UT
Apply ⟶
Vivint Smart Home// User Researcher // Lehi, UT
Apply ⟶
Impartner// UX Designer // Lehi, UT
Apply ⟶
Priceline // Lead Product Designer // New York, NY
Apply ⟶
Priceline // Director, Data Product // New York, NY
Apply ⟶
Pendo // Product Manager // Raleigh, NC
Apply ⟶
Abstract // Design Advocate // US-based remote
Apply ⟶
// Annoucements
— CONFERENCE SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT
Kim Williams: Sr Director, Design Platform
Radical collaboration and trust; breaking down silos and building products at scale. Learn about the highs and lows of growing a diverse UX organization, introducing new practice areas, and building relationships to thrive.
About Kim
Kim Williams has deep roots in Creative Direction and Branded User Experience Design Leadership. She led major client work at prestigious agencies such as Ogilvy, a global advertising, marketing and public relations agency. Kim also orchestrated Design System and Rebranding teams to pioneer innovations at eBay and Indeed, two highly impactful billion dollar brands in the consumer space.
Kim currently leads a team of designers (interaction, visual, and brand), design technologists, content strategists, writers, design ops, and UX researchers. Her team is deployed across the United States (San Francisco, Seattle, and Austin) and Japan (Tokyo). She oversees Indeed’s core job search experience, shipping the company’s first design system and piloting new native apps.
Kim’s work is about leading design at scale to craft experiences that are human, empathetic, hopeful, and trusted. She aims to mold the world’s #1 job search site into an even more meaningful partner in the worklife of people everywhere. Kim’s expertise in threading together and synthesizing the vision of brand, creative, and product technologies will be just a few of the insights shared in this session.
When Kim’s not nerding out on color theory or micro-animations, she’s hopping around San Francisco and Oakland with her husband and precocious toddler for playdates and adventures.
