UX Insights - User Experience Leadership and Strategy

Creating a great user experience does not stop at the edge of the screen. It is fundamentally linked to the products and services we offer. https://boagworld.com/usability/product-experience/

There is no doubt that our website is a powerful marketing tool. But if we approach it with that attitude in mind we can do more harm than good. - https://boagworld.com/news/stop-thinking-marketing/

Recently on Twitter I shared some comments about the selection of speakers at conferences. These comments polarised opinion and caused a lot of hurt. In this post, I want to apologise and share some of the things I learned. https://boagworld.com/working-in-web/diversity-equality-apology/

How often do you think about your career path? Do you ever consider where you want to end up? Do you wonder whether retirement will be an option? No matter how early you are in your career, now is the time to start thinking about these things. https://boagworld.com/working-in-web/retirement/

To create better user experiences or encourage digital adoption, we need to bring change. But getting colleagues to change is hard. Here are four things you need to be doing right now. http://boag.me/2gInNVd

High quality bespoke design can generate return on investment. But custom design is not always the right solution. Sometimes design assets you buy-in are the most appropriate solution. https://boagworld.com/design/tell-design-snob/

One of the most quoted barriers within organisations is a lack of time. But is that justified and if it is what can we do about it? http://boag.me/2dopYYO

Getting management support to improve the user experience can be hard. That is why I dedicate an entire chapter of my upcoming book to the subject. Here is a small extract. https://boagworld.com/news/get-managerial-support/

We create most of the content on our websites with only a passing thought to the user. But what if we could involve the user in the production of our content? Just think how much more effective it could be. http://boag.me/2exqoT1

Digital transformation and user experience design are about modernising businesses. Modernising them to better perform in today’s market. But what does that mean in practice? What goes into modernising a business?

As web designers we think our skills lie in the code we write or the interfaces we build. In truth that is not where our real value lies and if we don’t grasp that soon we could become obsolete. https://boagworld.com/working-in-web/know-real-value/

As digital professionals we should be blogging. Yet regularly blogging is tough. But after 10 years of blogging almost every week, I have discovered a few tips that will help you find your blogging rhythm. https://boagworld.com/marketing/blogging-success/

When most of us think about content, we are thinking copy. But today compelling content goes way beyond text. You can no longer stick to the written word. http://boag.me/2cV76G0

Many of us know that the organisations we work for provide a terrible user experience. But we believe we are powerless to bring about change. Nothing could be further from the truth. https://boagworld.com/usability/ux-revolution/

We all know prototyping is a great tool for developing user interfaces. But that is just the tip of the iceberg. They have so much more potential. http://boag.me/2bOpTgQ

We cannot design the user experience alone. We need the help of our colleagues. That means we have to become advocates for the user experience. http://boag.me/2b9CCjs

As entrepreneurs we need to step back from day-to-day operations. We need to explore what would happen if we approached our business in a different way. http://boag.me/2bv8YSa

Our job as designers isn’t to convince people to do things they do not want to do. It is to persuade them to act now and act with our clients rather than the competition. http://boag.me/2aNDeuT

In today's knowledge economy digital professionals are the most valuable commodity organisations have. Don't stay somewhere that doesn't appreciate that. Full blog post available here

Many I.T. departments are under impossible pressure. With ever more demanding needs and years of legacy and new tech, I.T. teams are looking for ways to keep up. http://boag.world/lHYuO

The chances are you are making mistakes in how you recruit digital staff. The result is you aren't getting the best people possible.

We seem preoccupied with the question of where digital should sit in our company structures. But that isn’t the question we should be asking.

Writing proposals are a necessary evil of selling digital services. But even when we win projects, our proposals often fail us. Fortunately there is a better way.

Our mission as user experience champions is to save people from death by a thousand cuts. Small, but significant irritants that add up to be something more serious. A full transcript is available here: http://boag.me/275jEwY

The about us page is where irrelevant content goes to die. Often it shouldn't exist at all. But when it does, let's at least make it useful. Full written post here: http://boag.me/1W84DGP

A minimum viable product is a great way of building user centric digital services in a fraction of the time. It will also lead to big cost savings.

Software company Nuance shows us a terrifying fact. That a lack of focus on customers feelings and needs can destroy brand perceptions. A mistake we all make.

If there is one phrase that fills me with dread it is "content migration". The idea that you might want to migrate all the content from an old site to a new one boggles my mind. To refresh an entire website, but ignore the content, has to be a sign of madness! A transcript is available here: http://boag.me/1UnKImV

The mistakes of the iPad Pro provides some valuable lessons on user experience and product design. The full blog post is available here: http://boag.me/1RZPNeW

No sector is safe from the disruption brought by the digital revolution. In a talk given at the British Legal Technology Forum, I use the legal sector as an example of the sweeping changes threatening us all. I outline some steps we might take to adapt to this new landscape and the opportunities just waiting for us to grasp.

Is it a bad thing that many websites are looking the same? Or are we seeing a maturing of our design patterns and improving of the user experience.

Users will always choose the easiest option, so if we want a competitive advantage we must focus on simplicity.

Clients and colleagues can misunderstand the nature of a prototype. It falls to us to explain its role.

Let's be honest, we often know the objections we will hear from stakeholders before they say them. Yet instead of getting ahead of the issues we hope they don't raise them. That is a recipe for disaster.

Many of the changes you need to make as a digital team are outside of your control. But there is one thing you can do; sort your working environment.

In-house digital teams face a host of challenges. But creating a service manual is a great start to addressing many of them.

2016 is almost upon you. It is time to take control of your business. Time to decide exactly what it is you want and how to get it.

If your organisation does not value digital and its digital team as it should, 2016 offers you an opportunity to change that.

If those who control the purse strings of digital continue to think of it as a capital cost they will kill it’s effectiveness.

We cannot do away with meetings. I know that. But I am done with attending badly run meetings and if you have any sense so should you be.

Are you seeing a decline in people engaging with your online content? If so, you are not alone. You are suffering from content saturation.

If you want to secure your future as a developer, become one of the new generation of user experience developers.

Empathy maps are a powerful tool for helping teams better understand users. But that doesn’t mean they are perfect. You should feel free to adapt them to your circumstances.

Many executive teams are throwing around phrases like ‘digital first’ or ‘digital by default’. But you need to be the one who turns those phrases into reality.

When it comes to content management organisations have the wrong priorities. They spend millions on a content management system when they should be focusing their investment on the content itself. Open source helps do that.

Proposing a new digital strategy involves change. People dislike change and so you will meet resistance. Handling that resistance can be painful if you are not prepared.

With most web teams under-resourced and at the whims of management, it is time to introduce a triage system.

Many organisations fail to succeed in digital. They fail not because of underinvestment, vision or any one of the normal culprits. Rather, it is the fear factor that causes them to fail.

We are at a tipping point which will redefine the world of digital marketing. It is time to leave behind the legacy of the pre-digital era. Embrace a marketing strategy built on improving the users experience. For a complete transcript visit: https://boagworld.com/marketing/the-fall-of-ma…erience-design/

When seeking to improve the experience of users it is easy to stop at the superficial. But that will not lead to long term success.