According to Greg Chapman, Founder and CEO of The Pocket CMO, ‘customer segmentation provides a comprehensive understanding of your current and potential consumers that produces a variety of rich data including identifying the financially-optimal targets for your brand.’ Greg shares that: “Profiles are built from data. Personas are built from insights. You don’t market to … Read more
Mental models are psychological representations of real, hypothetical, or imaginary situations. They were first postulated in the late 1800’s by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce but it was the Scottish psychologist, Kenneth Craik, in 1943, who describes mental models as the mind constructs “small-scale models” of reality that it uses to anticipate events, to … Read more
My wife called from the garden to my daughter asking for the time. My daughter replied three fifty (3:50). I immediately thought “why didn’t she say ten to four?” Then I realized that she rarely looks at an analog clock – she probably doesn’t even know what “ten to four” means. Or how about “half … Read more
As was the case with the mobile revolution, and the web before that, machine learning is causing us to rethink, restructure, and reconsider what’s possible in virtually every experience we build. At Google, they call this Human-Centered Machine Learning – staying grounded in human needs while solving for them—in ways that are uniquely possible through … Read more
Design Thinking is a discipline – a mindset. A way of thinking – not a process. Thinking like a designer, Design Thinking applies the designer’s sensibility and methods to match people’s needs with what is technologically feasible and a viable business strategy. The process follows the designer’s methodology from vision to implementation. Starting with understanding … Read more
One question I consistently get is “Are all Designers like this?” This is usually in the context of the challenge to management them. The answer is, “only the good ones.” The Designer’s job is to make things better… better for the people that experience what they design. To do this well, they must be adept … Read more
In UX Stories Communicate Designs, Sarah Gibbons shares with us: Stories are a natural part of our lives. We tell, read, and listen to stories every day — from listening to the news to recounting the events of the day. These stories are our way of remembering and communicating experiences. Studies have shown that people’s … Read more
To innovate, you must observe and talk to the people for whom you are designing your solution. Observe them in the place that they will using your solution and hear from them in their own words. The goal of an Interview is to really understand their experiences, needs, and desires. Here are few tips for … Read more
Ethnography is the branch of anthropology that involves trying to understand how people live their lives. Unlike traditional market researchers, who ask specific, highly practical questions, anthropological researchers visit consumers in their homes or offices to observe and listen in a non directed way. In the HBR article, Ethnographic Research: A Key to Strategy, Ken … Read more
Interviews are one of the basic methods of requirements gathering, usability testing, and task analysis. In order to remove our personal biases, expectations and opinions from the questions asked, one of the questioning technique is non directed interview, sometimes called unstructured interview. Mike Kuniavsky, author and a twenty-year veteran of digital product development shares in … Read more
From the article,”To Understand Consumer Data, Think Like an Anthropologist” in From Data to Action: a Harvard Business Review Insight Center Report, Susan Fournier and Bob Rietveld share: “Corporate social-listening efforts are typically driven by econometricians, computer scientists, and IT technicians—the people who are experts in database management. They understand digital information, but they don’t always … Read more
It is crucial to ensure that your products and services meets the needs and capabilities of your customers, particularly in terms of the experience you deliver meets your brand promise. Today’s rapidly changing markets requires a more lean and agile approach towards understanding your target audience earlier and reviewing your designs more often with them … Read more