Steve Krug, author of Don’t Make Me Think, and Rocket Surgery Made Easy, is back for a third appearance on the Rosenfeld Review Podcast! Here, he shares some details with Lou about his book in the works, Writing Made Slightly Easier, and his perspective on the process of writing in general (and why he might advise against it!). Check our Steve’s previous two appearances: How To Get Usability Testing Right: https://soundcloud.com/rosenfeld-media/how-to-get-usability-testing-right-steve-krug Life with the Apple Watch and other wearables: https://soundcloud.com/rosenfeld-media/conversation-with-steve-krug-life-with-the-apple-watch-and-other-wearables Steve’s wise words for writers: Don’t be afraid to always start at the beginning. Always assume that your reader knows less rather than more. Steve recommends: Follow Laura Klein on Twitter https://twitter.com/lauraklein More about Steve Krug: https://sensible.com/

Etienne Fang, a human-centered research and strategy leader, discusses the role of care in user research and leadership. She emphasizes the importance of empathy and inclusivity and shares insights on creating a conducive environment. The podcast also explores the significance of caring in an organization and highlights the work of Redefining Having It All, a non-profit organization empowering women.

When stakeholders have access to real-time data about millions of user interactions, how can qualitative researchers articulate the value of small-sample studies for product and business strategy? Katy Mogal, UX Research Lead at Google Assistant, joins Lou to offer a preview of the case study she’ll share at Advancing Research 2021 (https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-research-2021/sessions/but-do-your-insights-scale/), including learnings about how human-centered researchers can effectively collaborate with functions like data science and business strategy, and how to persuade analytically-minded stakeholders to embrace rich qualitative data about people’s needs and motivations as an input to business strategy. Katy recommends: • Ideo University’s course “ Insights for Innovation” https://www.ideou.com/products/insights-for-innovation • Jump Associates’ workshop on how to move from data to insights through a synthesis process: https://www.jumpassociates.com/learning-posts/insight-action-making-connection/ Register for AR2021: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-research-2021/register/ About Katy: Katy is on a mission to help product teams develop and ship experiences that make people’s lives better, through building and leading research teams that deliver synthesized insights with a strategic point of view. While working in marketing at Warner Bros. in London, Katy became fascinated with the idea of using survey and analytics data to understand and build for human needs. After graduating from the Wharton School she joined strategic consultancy Lieberman Research Worldwide as an account manager, where she led insights-based strategy engagements for clients including Nike, Weight Watchers and Viacom. Later she moved to Cheskin Research, a design and marketing consultancy that was a pioneer in applying ethnographic research to problems of design strategy. Exposure to a wide variety of data types, and experience bringing them together to tell a holistic story of user needs, became a theme that has run through her career in research and insights. She went on to build and lead UX and Design research teams at Fitbit, Facebook and most recently at Google, where she currently leads research teams on Google Assistant. Katy’s current focus is on developing the research function as a strategic partner to UX, Product Management and Engineering, and as a force for culture change in product organizations. Her side hustles include teaching product design and design research courses at Stanford Continuing Studies and California College of the Arts, and frequent speaking engagements at conferences such as UX Week, UX Lisbon, FlUXible and People Nerds. In her spare time Katy enjoys throwing weights around at the CrossFit gym in San Francisco’s Mission District, where she lives with her husband, son and two rescue dogs.

Lou and Jeff Sussna, author of Designing Delivery: Rethinking IT in the Digital Service Economy, examine the relationships between Design and Operations, DevOps and DesignOps, and DevOps and Agile before wending their way to promise theory, which looks at the “promise” made between a product and its user. Color Lou convinced on the promise of product promises! • Watch Jeff’s presentation at the 2017 DesignOps Summit: https://youtu.be/uWZxsul8Rek • Read Jeff’s book, Designing Delivery: https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/designing-delivery/9781491903742/ • Listen to Jeff on a previous episode of the Rosenfeld Review, DesignOps in a Post-Industrial World: Crash-Coursing Complex Systems: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-community/archive/designops-jeff-sussna/ • Jeff recommends: Mark Burgess’ Thinking In Promises: http://markburgess.org/TIpromises.html Jeff is Founder and CEO of Sussna Associates, a Minneapolis consulting firm. Sussna Associates helps software teams and executives meet the demand for continuous service delivery. More about Jeff: https://www.sussna-associates.com/about#jeff Twitter: @jeffsussna LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsussna/

Want to help make better product decisions? You’ve got to combine qualitative human insights from user research with data analytics and experimentation. Questions about how many users do something goes to analytics, questions about which design might work better goes to user research. But what if you partnered with those other teams to answer the questions together? In her session at Advancing Research 2021, Marieke McCloskey, UX Research Lead at Humu, will share how, as a qualitative UX researcher, she’s partnered with analysts to identify high-growth opportunities and gain a deeper understanding of users. In this episode of the Rosenfeld Review, Marieke offers a glimpse into her presentation, and what led her to the insights she will share at the conference. • Marieke recommends: No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy • Follow the authors: https://twitter.com/lizandmollie • Attend Advancing Research 2021 https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-research-2021/register/ • About Marieke https://rosenfeldmedia.com/advancing-research-2021/speakers/marieke-mccloskey/

Creativity Evangelist Denise Jacobs discusses the importance of unlocking our creative minds and making meaningful connections in today's era of 'doom-scrolling.' She explores the challenges and solutions in remote collaboration, the power of creativity and energy, and how creativity can enhance focus and energy levels. Denise also introduces her upcoming workshop on leveraging creativity in remote teams.

Natalie Hanson, former academic turned community founder and Lead Curator of Advancing Research conference, joins the show to discuss her journey from academia to the world of software development and consulting. They also discuss the importance of human insights in driving organizational transformation and the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in enterprise UX.

What’s it like to build out a design organization that spans many countries, languages, and culture? Wizeline co-founder Wendy Johansson discusses the insights she gleaned when opening a second Wizeline office in Guadalajara, then a third and fourth in Vietnam and Thailand. From different societal norms to language barriers, her story can inform your own ways of collaboration with new people and cultures, whether abroad or just within your own team. Wendy recommends: • The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business by Erin Meyer https://www.amazon.com/Culture-Map-Breaking-Invisible-Boundaries/dp/1610392507 • David Hoang’s Career Hype Doc https://davidhoang.substack.com/p/your-career-hype-doc Follow Wendy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/uxwendy Wendy is our next DesignOps Community videoconference guest, January 21, 4pm-5pm EST: “Designing a Design Team Culture When You're Decentralized at a Consultancy.” Join the community for an invitation: https://rosenfeldmedia.com/designops-community/

Guest Jamika Burge, computer scientist interested in connecting with the humanity of technology, discusses her diverse experiences in AI design including her work at DARPA. They explore democratizing research, the importance of soft skills in design research, and supporting black women in computing. They also delve into the power of cohorts and the collaborative process at conferences.

Allan Chochinov, Founding Chair of the MFA in Products of Design graduate program at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, joins Lou to discuss how his program approaches the education of new designers—from the belief that grades can hamper creativity and risk taking, to the need for his students to learn the art of careful listening. After eight graduating classes, Allan offers surprises and insights about different career trajectories for design students, and clear evidence that career paths are often non-traditional. Allan Chochinov is a partner of Core77, the design network serving a global community of designers and design enthusiasts since 1995. More about Allan: https://www.allanchochinov.com/ Allan Recommends: •Girls Garage by Emily Pilloton https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44601186-girls-garage?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=ghIzeV0mbb&rank=1 •Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6260997-half-the-sky •Not to Scale: How the Small Becomes Large, the Large Becomes Unthinkable, and the Unthinkable Becomes Possible by Jamer Hunt https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51203318-not-to-scale •Present Shock by Douglas Rushkoff https://rushkoff.com/books/present-shock/ •User Friendly: How the Hidden Rules of Design Are Changing the Way We Live, Work, and Play by Cliff Kuang and Robert Fabricant https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/41940285-user-friendly •By Design: Why There Are No Locks on the Bathroom Doors in the Hotel Louis XIV and Other Object Lessons by Ralph Caplan https://www.secondsale.com/i/by-design-2nd-edition-why-there-are-no-locks-on-the-bathroom-doors-in-the-hotel-louis-xiv-and-other-object-lessons/9781563673498?gclid=Cj0KCQjwreT8BRDTARIsAJLI0KLamLylKCGMu5u7Sz-ZM8lyn8ZgDdugGTwGC7dHJgHBEu_vqp2OL-waAmPQEALw_wcB