Technology's role is not to replace human creativity but to reveal new facets of it. This understanding offers a framework for evaluating new technologies like generative AI: Do they enhance our capabilities while respecting our agency? Do they serve our creative intent or demand we serve theirs? Do they allow our authentic voice to flow through them, or do they try to replace that voice with their own? How we answer these questions has everything to do with whether we encounter gen AI in a spirit of anxiety and skepticism or one of creativity and play.
TL;DR: Tools that “come easily to hand” disappear into their work while today's apps demand our constant attention. This piece explores how “customer delight” originated in Taiichi Ohno's worker empowerment vision but has often devolved into today's manipulative design patterns. Is it time to reclaim “delight”? What if software empowered us like a master craftsperson's tools? What if apps faded into transparency, letting us experience not the shallow ping of notifications, but the deep satisfaction of creation and genuine accomplishment?
As a neurodivergent professional, I've discovered that working with AI assistants offers unique advantages that complement and enhance our natural cognitive styles. While there are many benefits to this collaboration, one of the most powerful is how it supports self-awareness and metacognition – the ability to observe and understand our own thought patterns.
Working with AI can help support various cognitive styles that don't always align with traditional workplace expectations. This guide offers practical prompting strategies that can benefit anyone, followed by specific guidance for those who choose to explicitly incorporate their neurodivergent identity into their AI interactions.
User experience fails aren't just inconvenient. When it comes to accessibility they're life-altering. Molly Burke's revealing demonstration in this video of an audio description device control app exposes the frustrating reality visually impaired users might face.
The accessibility improvement story, however, lies deeper. Product development processes sometimes prevent skilled people from creating good (accessible) products. This article examines how systemic, organizational, and individual factors set the stage for the success or failure of accessibility efforts before they even begin.
It's time to re-frame how we think about software problems that surface “in the wild” – that is, after the software is available and in “production” use. What if we stopped describing signals from our customers with reference to the development process, as bugs vs enhancements? What if instead we thought of all issues raised about released software from the customer perspective? Maybe it's time to shift to an insufficiency frame.
The “bug” frame centers figuring out what's wrong. The insufficiency frame directs our attention toward a better future for our customers, our products, our companies, and ourselves. If we can take something that's insufficient and make it adequate we've stepped onto a path that leads to ongoing improvement in products that will inspire customer trust, have a durable and sustainable market life, and enable users to work with confidence, efficiency, and effortless enjoyment.
One of the simplest and most useful user-facing functional structures for software, the Submit-Respond-Observe pattern often masquerades under different names. It’s ubiquitous and often hidden under layers of gold-plating, aesthetic frippery, and scaling (read: corporate/enterprise) features. Sometimes it’s camouflaged by useful, yet showier, features. It’s also susceptible to unimaginative user experience and user interface design. Let’s dive in.
That’s right. There’s a lot of time and energy spent reviewing, ranking, estimating, assessing risk, and projecting the (business, not to say revenue) benefit of ideas and feedback. In reality most of the “things” in the list are never going to happen. When we stop managing them as if they might happen we can use our limited time, money, attention, and creativity to create truly great products.
Are you hosting house guests for vacations or holidays? When I host house guests they're family or friends I care deeply about. We already enjoy a connection and familiarity with each other, and we look forward to re-connecting during their visit.
Of course I provide basics for my guests: a soft flat surface to sleep on and access to a bathroom and shower. Loving hospitality goes further, calling on me to think about what my guest’s experience in what is now my shared living space will be. What can I do beyond the basics to make the visit comfortable and relaxed for my guests and myself and my household? How can I show my care for them in my hospitality as a host?
Loving hospitality will look different based on how close or relaxed my relationship with my guests is or on what’s in my means to provide. It can also depend on whether my guests are here for activities we’re going to do together, or whether I’m hosting their stay while they do other activities.
I don’t want to turn my home into an AirBnB or VRBO when members of my close circle come to visit. I *do* want us all to enjoy our time together without worry or unnecessary friction.
Sometimes an organization needs more product management capacity. Maybe the organization is a growing startup. Maybe it's a more established company expanding its product management capability. No matter the reason, organizations often ask whether they should create new positions and if so, how to define them.
