Back from WaysConf, Killer case study, No BS pov on the job market
I'm back from presenting at WaysConf! Example of a concise and impactful case study. No BS point of view on the current job market. How to use AI in your process TODAY.
Hey designers,
Hope you’re surviving another week. I’m sitting in Schiphol airport here in Amsterdam. I just arrived back from speaking at WaysConf! What an absolute blast that was. I met so many people and enjoyed listening to so many talks. Which TBH isn’t always the case for conferences. This was my first ever external conference talk and I’m so pleased with the reception 🥰
I’ll share the full talk as soon as I have it. If you want to see what I got up to in Poland have a look here, cuz wow, do I have some great food recommendations now 🤤
In case you missed it…
📝 For designers wanting to level up their product strategy skills - Cheap an accessible resources for anyone looking to upskill
📝 How to effectively use AI in your product design process right now - That’s the friend link 😉. No B.S. Hype about cool Ai tools to try. These are practical tips on how you can incorporate AI into your design process today.
I’ve got some cool things cooking…
🎙️ Recorded a podcast with DesignOps last week - We talked about a LOAD of topics so I can’t wait to share it with you.
🗣️ I was interviewed for an addition to Fundament – Product Design Newsletter where I got to share my perspective on the future of the UX industry and talk about the ins and outs of my current job
A very cool case study on how Sanat Rath took Google Doc templates to another level
What I love about this case study:
❤️ Very concise
❤️ Clear problem
❤️ Nice handling of NDA agreement
❤️ Curated visuals
❤️ "Designing Down" to fit constraints
❤️ Super clear impact
NO B.S. point of view on the current tech job market
Melody Koh giving everyone a reality check on the current job market
https://lnkd.in/eEc3caST
"There is no such thing as an equitable world, and what that means is that nothing is ever fair and you just have to make the best out of your situation.
It’s not about the users any longer, but the product, its ecosystems, and the revenue impact it has on the business realm. If you’re a designer who isn’t business-centric, you’re going to be left out to dry now."
Reader Q&A
Tailored advice and resources based on the career challenges and skill-building goals you shared in my reader survey.
Your challenge:
“Balancing people management, individual contributor work, plus strategic planning”
Going from managing design tasks to managing people and strategy is a hard shift for many people so you are definitely not alone and I’ve totally been there. The best thing you can do for yourself is do the upfront work to clearly outline your quarterly or bi-annual objectives. Gain a clear idea of your team/department’s priorities and see where you can make the most impact. For each objective designate the amount of capacity it will take from you. I personally use percentages.
Example:
Implement new tools/processes to improve design teams’ efficiency. (20%)
Create a strategic backlog of UX exploration ideas (30%)
Upskill Zoe & Charlie on user testing (20%)
So on and so forth.
This should help you organize your time while seeing what you need to take off your plate. A lot of the time, I braindump all the possible things I could be doing and then evaluate their effort/value. Incorporating this objective setting as a cyclical task will be a game changer, trust me. It’s also a great way to sense-check specific work with your manager or higher stakeholders to ensure you’re focusing on the right stuff.
You’ve given me an idea…. I’m curious if anyone else is struggling with similar things. Let me know in the poll below!
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Some of you have DM’d me such amazing comments about how my content has helped you and I’m trying to collect that all into one place. If you have found ANY of my content helpful, whether these emails, my videos, or articles. I would love love love if you left me a testimonial letting me know how. It would mean the world 🙏
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Here are some resources I’ve created specifically for designers
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