On My Shelf with Josh Morales— Senior User Researcher at Hotjar
About me
Josh spends most of his time satisfying his persistent curiosity by travelling, writing and, above all, reading. He’s got an Instagram account for book reviews (@joshdixit). Professionally speaking, nowadays he’s a senior user researcher at Hotjar and formerly he’s been leading design research as a team and culture at N26 and HP. He also teaches and speaks in various organisations and events.
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On my shelf
Behave
The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
by Robert Sapolsky
My opinion
An absolute must for those willing to understand humans. An evidence-based discussion about nature vs nurture in a cleverly built structure that keeps the reader engaged while providing an explanation of complex facts, all in an easy-to-digest format. I could not recommend a better book for researchers.
800 pages, Penguin Books 2018
Good Strategy Bad Strategy
The Difference and Why It Matters
by Richard Rumelt
My opinion
These days it feels like nothing is important if we don’t add a strategic flavour to it. Even though strategic design specifically and strategy, in general, have become buzz words and fluffy discussions are made around the topic, Richard Rumelt brings the receipt to get what really makes what he calls a good strategy. This is one of the best books I’ve read about the topic, together with ‘The connected company’ and ‘Dark Matter and Trojan Horses’. Give it a try!
322 pages, Profile Books 2017
Emergence
The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software
by Steven Johnson
My opinion
This book is about how simple and independent actions can eventually turn into a complex (and impressive) whole. The topic might seem, at first glance, unrelated to the design discipline. But it’s when you read it that you realise its potential in terms of organisations structures affecting the way we ultimately shape our work. Amazing work worth the time and money.
288 pages, Scribner 2002
Irresistible
The rise of addiction technology and the business of keeping us hooked
by Adam Alter
My opinion
We as designers and researchers of the online world might end up creating products that people love to use to the extent that might be harmful to them, or even worse, addictive. I’ve personally attended congresses where people are paying more attention to mobile phones than to the speakers themselves. That’s not because speakers are boring (at least, not all of them) but because we are hooked to the same products we have designed under a user-centred approach. An insightful reflection of the future of our discipline.
368 pages, Penguin Books 2018
Just Enough Research
by Erika Hall
My opinion
Last but not least, what I consider the most modern reference book for researchers. It covers a wide range of topics: from the arguments to do research to the answer for the endless discussion about quantitative vs qualitative methods. Plus, the author’s sense of humour is absolutely delicious. A book anybody interested in understanding research should read, no excuses.
368 pages, Penguin Books 2018
The PM Library series “On my shelf” features Product Leaders from all over the world who are passionate about reading and sharing with the community. If you want to join the movement and share your reading list with others send us a message or fill out the following form. Let’s get better together 📚.
