Community: Thought Leaders

In this edition of Ask UXmatters, our expert panel discusses two topics:

• defining clear product requirements
• reviewing design solutions from different viewpoints

Our experts first discuss how to elicit clear product requirements from stakeholders. Does the right approach differ for small versus large companies? Do product requirements capture the goals of stakeholders? Do requirements reflect the true needs of users? Do they establish a good understanding of technical constraints? How can you validate the assumptions behind product requirements? What kinds of research should influence the definition of product requirements? How should you balance the needs of users versus the business?

Then, our expert panel considers some different viewpoints from which we can review design solutions: stakeholders’ business goals, the needs of users in various roles, and the feasibility or ease of implementation. On the other hand, focusing on one particular user’s needs during a design review can yield a greater number of insights. Considering different user-interface layers lets you structure your evaluation of a design solution. Plus, it’s important to consider the effectiveness of design artifacts as well. Read More

In this edition of Ask UXmatters, our experts discuss the following topics:

• best practices for designing for senior citizens
• organizing your work schedule

Every month in this column, our Ask UXmatters experts answer our readers’ questions about user experience matters. To get answers to your questions about UX strategy, design, or user research in an upcoming edition of Ask UXmatters, please send your questions to us at [email protected].

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This month in Ask UXmatters, our UX experts continue their discussion on how prioritizing the use of agile or Lean development methodologies affects the practice of User Experience. (Check out Part 1 of this conversation.)

Now, in Part 2, our expert panel discusses how a company’s interpretation of the term agile can impact all of the disciplines on a product team—including User Experience. Product or development teams usually drive the adoption of agile or Lean. However, despite agile’s focus on development, our experts emphasize how crucial it is to perform discovery research and design before development sprints begin. Plus, UX designers sometimes find that, because of the frequency of sprints, agile can offer them more opportunities to have greater influence on a project. Read More