Tim McCoy, Senior Director of Design, Pivotal: The Importance of Design in an Agile Environment | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Design generates empathy, which is key to creating a good user experience. Here are 5 tips to make design matter.

Key Insights

• 👻 Design generates empathy, allowing you to understand your users' goals and frustrations.
• 🤲 Getting out of the building and talking to users is crucial to making design matter.
• 👤 User-centered design practices like personas and scenarios help develop a shared understanding of the target audience.
• 👥 Set the whole team towards coming up with solutions for the target users and situations.
• 👤 Use user stories to describe your application through the lens of your users.
• 👤 Strive to make the features great, not just functional, to enhance the user experience.
• 👤 User-centered design tools and resources like Extensio and Neilsen Norman Group can be helpful.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: Why does design matter?

Design matters because it generates empathy, allowing you to understand your user's goals and frustrations. When you care about your users, you create a good experience for them.

Q: How can I make design matter in my team?

Start by getting out of the building and talking to your users. Understand their needs and frustrations. Use user-centered design practices like personas and scenarios to develop a shared understanding of your target audience.

Q: How can I involve my team in the design process?

Set the whole team towards coming up with solutions for the target users and situations you're trying to solve for. Use design charets to generate ideas and give everyone a sense of greater understanding of why you're building the product.

Q: How can I ensure my design features are user-focused?

Use user stories to describe your application through the lens of your users. Make sure the features solve their needs and address their goals. Strive to make the features great, not just functional.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Design matters because it allows you to see the world through your user's eyes and create a good experience for them.

• To make design matter, start by getting out of the building and talking to your users to understand their goals and frustrations.

• Use user-centered design practices like personas and scenarios to develop a shared understanding of your target audience.

• Set the whole team towards coming up with solutions for the target users and situations you're trying to solve for.

• Describe your application's features through the lens of your users in user stories, and strive to make the features great, not just functional.