UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy

How do you know what features in your product bring the most value? How can you "make your strengths stronger" and gracefully remove unpopular features? Today our guest is Brian Rhea, product strategist and the founder of Feature Audit. You'll learn the story behind his analytics tool, how to conduct your own feature audit, and how to apply the results in your product strategy and consulting work. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Feature Audit — Brian's tool we're talking about “hirebrianrhea.com”…One Year Later — Brian's article at Brad Feld's blog The best stats you've ever seen — a TED talk by Hans Rosling that inspired Brian's visualization Before you plan your product roadmap — an article by Des Traynor of Intercom about performing a feature audit Userlist.io — Jane's SaaS product Heap, Pendo — "heavy" analytics tools that collect all data to allow its retrospective analysis Brian's website Use coupon code UIBREAKFAST to get 50% off your first 3 months of Feature Audit on all paid accounts Get free product materials like worksheets and templates at Brian's Jobs to Be Done Resource Library Follow Brian on Twitter: @brhea Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Abstract — design workflow management for product design teams using Sketch. Like GitHub, but for designers, Abstract is your team's version-controlled source of truth for design work. Sign your team up for a free 30-day trial today by heading over to goabstract.com. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

24 Feb 201938min

Design Sprint is an extremely productive five-day framework for solving design problems. Not only it returns immediate results, but it also gets everyone on the same page and brings the best ideas to the surface. Our guest today is Jonathan Courtney, CEO and founder of AJ&Smart. You'll learn what makes sprints so effective, what exactly happens during these five days, and how to get started with your next client. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes AJ&Smart — Jonathan's design agency Sprint — the original book by Jake Knapp Follow AJ&Smart on YouTube for hours of free instructional videos on the topic of Design Sprint RealtimeBoard — a tool for remote collaboration Episode 63: Enterprise UX for Distributed Teams with Brent Heckerman — our previous episode on RealtimeBoard Lightning Decision Jam — how to run a shorter design sprint workshop Follow Jonathan on Instagram: @jicecream Product Breakfast Club — Jonathan's podcast with Jake Knapp Use promocode UIBREAKFAST to get €500 off the Design Sprint Masterclass Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Abstract — design workflow management for product design teams using Sketch. Sign your team up for a free, 30-day trial today by heading over to goabstract.com. And if you tweet at @goabstract and @uibreakfast mentioning the show, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $500 credit to their Business plan. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

10 Feb 201939min

There are many creative methods to stay productive; this story is no exception! Our guest today is Jonathan Anderstrom, co-founder and president of Creed Interactive. We talk about the deep work culture in their agency, and their unique way of seamlessly blending onsite and remote collaboration. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Creed Interactive — Jonathan's agency Deep Work: Our Secret Sauce to an Effective Work Environment — an article by Jeremy Dean at their blog 37 Lessons on Productivity and Work from Basecamp’s Jason Fried — an article by Steve Glaveski Deep Work — a book by Cal Newport Episode 18: Staying in Flow with Anders Thue Pedersen — our past episode on TimeBlock method Creed Interactive Office Tour Follow Jonathan and Creed Interactive on Twitter: @anderstrom, @creed_all_in Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Abstract — design workflow management for product design teams using Sketch. With Abstract, you can version design files, present work, request reviews, collect feedback, and give developers direct access to all specs — all from one place. Sign your team up for a free 30-day trial today by heading over to goabstract.com. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

25 Jan 201930min

What tools and methods should you use in your next UX project? Our guest today is Andrew Mayfield, CEO of Optimal Workshop. We talk about their amazing collection of UX research tools, and dive into some of the methods — card sorting, tree testing, and others. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Optimal Workshop — Andrew's company Treejack, OptimalSort, Chalkmark, Questions, Reframer — UX research tools we're talking about Card Sorting 101 — a guide at Optimal Workshop blog Card Sorting — a book by Donna Spencer Tree Testing for Websites — a free book-length guide by Dave O'Brien, inventor of Treejack Follow Andrew on Twitter: @andrewfantastic, @optimalworkshop Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq, the super-simple wireframing tool that can help you focus your design on what really matters to your customers. Try it free for 30 days at balsamiq.cloud. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

18 Jan 201929min

What kind of product specs are the best to work with? How do you document your vision? Our guest today is Janna Bastow — co-founder and CEO of ProdPad, co-founder of Mind the Product, and product person at heart. You'll learn why product specs are always a work in progress, how to deal with deadlines, document your goals and tasks, and iterate based on customer feedback. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes ProdPad — Janna's product management software Mind the Product — Janna's community (and series of events) for product managers User Onboarding: The UX Behind Our Magically Extending Free Trial — Janna's article about gamified trials How to Write Great Product Specs — Janna's article Product requirements document (PRD) — a Wikipedia article How To Build A Product Roadmap Everyone Understands — an article by Andrea Saez at ProdPad Blog Why Your Roadmap Is Not A Release Plan — another article by Andrea Saez Marvel, InVision, Balsamiq — design & prototyping tools Follow Janna on LinkedIn Follow Janna on Twitter: @simplybastow Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq — a low fidelity wireframing software so easy to use you'll surprise yourself. Just drag and drop elements, and get your ideas ready to share in no time! Try it free for 30 days at balsamiq.cloud. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

2 Jan 201935min

How do you structure website content based on user needs? How do you make the most important things easy to find? Our guest today is Chris Huylebroeck, a famous information architect and content strategist. We dive into the four steps of creating a content strategy: figuring out what information is needed (and why), auditing existing materials, structuring content, and presenting it to your audience. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Episode 118: Customer Top Tasks with Gerry McGovern Content Modelling: A Master Skill — an article by Rachel Lovinger Wine, Content, and Domain Models — an article by Michael Andrews Tree testing — a Wikipedia article Internet Architects — a company where Chris currently works Follow Chris on LinkedIn Follow Chris on Twitter: @cHuylebroeck Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq. Dare to try new ideas and discover the best solutions, without learning fancy design tools! Just drag, drop and resize elements into your wireframes, it's that easy. Try it free for 30 days at balsamiq.cloud. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

15 Des 201838min

How do you stay true to yourself when your company grows and changes? How do you document the principles for your communication and decision-making? Our guest today is Haraldur Thorleifsson, the founder & CEO of Ueno — an award-winning digital agency. We talk about his unique personal story and how it translates into their company values, tying together people in four offices around the world. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Ueno — Haraldur's company Ueno’s Culture Values — Haraldur's article describing their company values Radical Candor — a book by Kim Scott Follow Haraldur on Ueno's blog, Lorem Ipsum Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Frontify. Frontify provides cloud-based brand management software for increased brand consistency, efficiency, and design collaboration. It's the single source of truth for all your digital assets, enriched with guidelines. Sign up for a free trial at frontify.com/uibreakfast, and get your first three months free of charge if you start a subscription. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

30 Nov 201835min

What features should you build next? Will your product be ever "done"? How to avoid "building yourself into the corner"? Our guest today is the awesome Emily Tate, US General Manager at Mind the Product. You'll learn how to prioritize new features, create roadmaps based on user research, and ignore "squeaky wheals" while focusing on truly important product work. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play Music. Show Notes Mind the Product — the world's largest community of product people Pivotal Labs — Emily's previous place of work Episode 121: Managing Customer Feedback with Sofia Quintero Critical Thinking for Product Teams — a talk by Teresa Torres sharing her opportunity solution tree Before You Plan Your Product Roadmap — a post by Des Traynor about feature audits The Five Whys for Start-Ups — an article by Eric Ries Taming the Squeaky Wheel — Emily's article Mind the Product, ProdPad — great blogs to follow Product Roadmaps Relaunched — a book by C. Todd Lombardo, Bruce McCarthy, Evan Ryan & Michael Connors Mind the Product events & local meetups The Daily Em — Emily's website Follow Emily on Twitter: @thedailyem Today's Sponsor This episode is brought to you by Balsamiq. Dare to try new ideas and discover the best solutions without learning fancy design tools! Just drag, drop and resize elements into your wireframes — it's that easy. Try it free for 30 days at balsamiq.cloud. Interested in sponsoring an episode? Learn more here. Leave a Review Reviews are hugely important because they help new people discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, please leave a review on iTunes. Here's how.

17 Nov 201840min