Daria Ershova

Does your software team speak the same language? Aligning on what basic UI elements are called is a great starting point. It doesn’t even matter what name your team chooses as long as everyone agrees on it. Names should hint at purpose. #productdesign #designsystems

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What makes for a great #UX #strategy? The best work I have seen on this topic was a challenge led by Rolf Molich and the Boston UXPA team, emphasizing the need to: - explicitly mention business goals; - relate each UX goal to one or more business goals; - separate business strategies and tactics; - “sell” the importance of UX to Gamma Airlines, Bob and the Board. Check out https://lnkd.in/eSZmvBWn #uxstrategy

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Being more intentional about the language we use to describe the individuals interacting with technology, including AI, we can foster a more authentic and less manufactured relationship with it. This shift in language will lead to a greater acceptance of our inevitable coexistence with technology. @TaylorMajewski has written an excellent article on the importance of language in shaping our perceptions and relationships with technology.

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If your product team doesn't have a design system and is interested in creating one, consider conducting an interface inventory. This exercise will help identify any inconsistencies in your product and help in visualizing a taxonomy for your UI elements.

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Great reminder on looking out for more valuable folks when it comes to UX. There are so many great UX folks that are not just talking but also walking the walk and created more meaningful methods and frameworks. Which UX pros are you following or get inspiration from? https://lnkd.in/ggwcSgrJ

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Tip for the designers endlessly working on their portfolio: Don’t plan to create/rebuild the portfolio... Just document your work and process continously, it’s much easier, and brings more value to people that want to know your skills.

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⚪️ This article a treasure trove of insights and wisdom that i'd like to encourage designers to read. I can forever quote from this article so you better read it all yourself. Wrote by Fabricio Teixeira

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The second part of my article on the value of explicit design rules is here. In it I dive head first into example in layout, position, ordering padding and margins with examples from various design tools. In the end of this part there's also a treasure trove of links to other insightful people writing on adjacent subjects. Hope you find it interesting and be swayed to try tools that allow for more expressive explicit design rules. https://lnkd.in/dmGpUHU6

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Designers - are you being asked to provide measurable proof of how your work impacts business outcomes with metrics? Are you unsure of what to measure, when and how? Being able to assess the impact of your design decisions can not only have a positive effect on your product and end users, but is also a skill increasingly in demand for design roles. Recently, I wrote an article on this very topic, "How design teams can use product data to add value to the business" (https://lnkd.in/gYreMBm9 ). Today I'm excited to announce the release of part 2 on this topic, "6 ways Pendo's design team uses Pendo to add more value to the platform - and the business" (https://lnkd.in/gTgj2dmJ). Check it out! #DesignMetrics #BusinessOutcomes #ProductData #DesignTeams #Pendo

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Thoughts on managing UX at Hatch Leadership Ateliers Almost two weeks ago, I shared my ideas on managing UX teams with fellow and future UX leaders and managers at Hatch Conference Leadership Ateliers. Aside from this caught-in-action photo (thanks to the great Indigo Lewisohn), I got a lot of food for thought.  While the thoughts are still whirling around in my head, here are a few takeaways. Player/Coach roles are common but often tough to handle. With the economic downturn and layoffs, many companies have resorted to setting up player/coach roles in which one person who manages a team still works hands-on in product design. While these setups seem interesting for many looking to step into management and don't yet want to commit fully, they can quickly become a stretch in capacity. Managing a team of people while being engaged in delivering excellent UX work is a lot of work, and you have to be very thoughtful and well-organized so that your performance and health don't suffer.  In addition, the lines between individual contributor leader (IC) roles and people manager roles seem to blur. Like with so many titles and roles in UX, a lot of unclarity remains when it comes to defining what craft leaders do in an organization and how the IC track can provide a long-term perspective for career growth for those of us who don't feel comfortable taking on the responsibility of managing people or who simply want to remain hands-on in the craft. If you are considering staying an individual contributor, I suggest having open conversations with your manager early on so you can build a career path beyond "just" titles that are aligned with your goals. The fact that many experienced UX professionals see loads of red flags in a random job post worries me. After all, the job post was designed to attract talent and not scare them off. Many saw that the skills and tasks described didn't describe a management position and revealed a sense of maturity in the organization. They felt that if they applied, they would not be taken seriously as a manager. I agree that many organizations should consult with experienced UX managers or HR people when writing a job post to ensure it defines a role clearly and according to what talent expects to be doing at the level in question, but on the other hand, I would like to encourage the UX community to see job descriptions as an opportunity. Many are cast as a wide net, and you may use the interview and application process and early onboarding (should you land the job) to carve out exactly what role you'll play. Remember, if a company is hiring UX leaders or managers, it's a good sign that they are committed to improving how UX works.  I want to thank everyone who attended my session for their feedback and inspiration and Damian Martone and Hatch Conference for organizing such a great event. I look forward to meeting you all again in September. #UX #uxdesign #uxui #uxcareer #design #hatchConference

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If you're a designer trying to get up to speed on a new team or project, check out this quick talk based on a recent blog post I wrote for Lab Zero Innovations Inc. (https://lnkd.in/gDw4bR8Y)! Have you picked up any tips of your own? Let me know, or—if you're looking for a designer who's prepared for situations like these—reach out to us at info@labzero.com! #designteam #designteamwork #designthinking #productdesign #uxdesign

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If you're using Knapsack you've got yet another thing to get excited about. Our new Figma integration can supercharge a product team's workflow is with spec alignment. At a glance you'll be able to see whether or not your components align with the Figma comps across your different frameworks. Here we can see that the React component is almost aligned, but we need to update the spelling from 'outline' to 'outlined' in the prop type. Catching these misalignments early ensures teams stay in sync throughout the design and development process.

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⏱ “Just in time accessibility docs” I think I’ve been doing it all wrong. As we build out our design system, we’ve been continuing to add lengthy accessibility documentation to each of our components, check. But is it actually helpful? → W3C Guidelines are verbose and many of the guidelines become redundant once the component has been built. → Text based documentation can be hard to visualize without examples or access to assistive technology. → While components may test accessible in isolation, new issues come up when components are used in context. 👏 Some folks who are doing it right that we're trying to learn from at Exygy → Carbon design system from IBM provides context specific tips for both designers and developers. The guidelines they provide act as quick implementation checklists. https://lnkd.in/gbmeJe5F → GOLD Design System by Design System AU is really unique in the way that it provides accessibility previews of components. I really dig how they simulate keyboard navigation and color blindness! https://lnkd.in/gDBgUiyN → USWDS from GSA goes above and beyond any system that I have seen by providing accessibility testing documentation that can be used when doing QA of components in the wild. ...whoa https://lnkd.in/gYP2ptrR 💎 A couple of things our team has taken away from these amazing resources that might be helpful to others: → Focus component documentation on the most "actionable" implementation details for both designers and engineers. → Reserve verbose technical setup requirements for the initial component acceptance criteria. → Experiment with ways to easily preview accessibility options and outputs. → If possible, document how someone could test issues that could come up during ongoing product feature development and QA. 🧙‍♂️ This post was in part inspired by a talk from Dan Mall at the last Figma Config when he referenced "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" to describe the "notes in the margins that help Harry improve his potion skills" as a way to describe better "just in time" design system documentation. If you do actually need the verbose stuff for component acceptance criteria you can always get it here: → W3C Authoring practices guide https://lnkd.in/g_MUENbn #accessibility #designsystems #documentation #ui #uidesign

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Design should be more pragmatic and less idealistic. Successful companies understand the importance of balancing their long-term vision for a perfect state, with tactical, short-term iterations that get them there. The same goes for product. However, designers are usually idealistic, and that is for a very good reason. We want things to look and work perfectly, and we don't like to produce half-baked output. We take too much pride in our work, especially since it’s the easiest target for criticism by almost anyone. In business, however, we need to separate between design as art and design as function. Perfection should be our long-term goal. To get there, we need to set short-term, tactical targets and actions. We need to understand and accept the business goals and constraints we’re faced with. True creativity lies in producing magic from within those constraints. It is a delicate balance, but it is absolutely necessary. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. At No BS, we have over 16 years of hands-on, industry experience in helping startups, companies, and governments design and launch their products. Do you need help with taking your idea from 0 to 1? DM me and let’s get sh*t done!  #0to1 #LeanDesign #MVPDesign

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Today might just be the day to brush up on some of your visual design skills. Check out these mini-guides for UX designers - available today in a bundle of all 4 mini-guides. https://lnkd.in/gG9K64nz #visualDesign #UXdesign

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