James Cash

Something I’ve only just come to appreciate is how far Design Thinking has infiltrated user-centred design practises. Take Experience Mapping. Under UCD this was a great way to communicate a lot of pretty complicated qualitive and quantative data and share insight. It took significant amounts of time to put together. Design Thinking has essentially turned Experience Mapping into an ideation workshop where we get a bunch of people with variable knowledge of the customer to imagine and “empathise” so we can come up with new design opportunities. This now seems to be the prevalent understanding of what Experience Mapping is. But it’s just a way of capturing informed guesses, it’s not really UCD. I’m not “against” Design Thinking but it’s important to be intentional. If we have little time, low risk and we’re exposing our work to the customer somewhere else in the process it might be ok but don’t mistake this approach for proper evaluative research.

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Good Morning Designers, I'm seeing quite a few posts from some very high-visibility voices in the design community both touting the importance of, and downplaying the importance of data in UCD. 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 🤓 Yes, data is important, but there are many forms it can take (including Nielsen Norman articles and competitor analysis). 🧠 Intuition is also important, but we are not the user. 𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻? 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲? 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘂𝗽, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸? 📐 Yes, you should measure. 💡 If there are no measurement tools set up, you are not automatically out of luck, there are other ways to make an informed decision. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: While you don't need to test everything to make a decision that will improve your product, you do need to do more research, if you don't have access to user data. Stay motivated people! #uxr #productdesign #userresearch #uxuidesign #uidesign #uxdesign

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Calling all Product Managers in Dublin! 🚀 Join Userpilot for an evening packed with insights as we unveil our highly anticipated Product Metrics Benchmark Report. We're teaming up with our partners at Product People to bring together Dublin's product management community for an unforgettable event. To register: https://lu.ma/wprkp10l See you all on the 6th of June 🙌 #ProductManagement #DublinEvents #ProductMetrics #Benchmark #ProductDesign #ProductResearch #ProductGrowth

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ah yes, what we need is even more autoplay that I have to turn off. At what point in time do you stop redesigning the f**king homepage and start addressing other areas that are in need of desperate improvement for a decade? https://lnkd.in/gKB2We-y

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I recently spoke with FLUX about my career journey and product design leadership. Kristie Craft was a stellar interviewer, which helped me articulate a few things that I've been noodling on over the last little while... 👽 After years of struggling with impostor syndrome, it was when I chose to be brave and have the audacity that the best opportunities came. It's not easy, but it starts with the core belief that you are deserving of your dreams. 👀 The prerequisite of being a great designer is curiosity. Get curious about an aspect of craft, process, leadership, or business and dig like you're doing a deep dive on the hand in the IG story your crush just posted. 🏀 Put in your 10,000 hours. Practice makes perfect, the cliche is true. Whatever part of your skillset you're trying to grow, be patient and put in time — before you know it, you'll be an MVP. 📣 Great communication is a hallmark of a great leader. Great communication and feedback is clear, succinct, and aligned to the business. 🖼 Visual design craft excellence is a hot topic in product design lately. I have a love for graphic design, where I started my career. I just got this book, Sun Ra: Art on Saturn, a collection of sketches and album art Sun Ra created for his works. Very different than what most PDs are looking at every day, which is precisely why I recommend it. Look for inspiration outside of a screen. Check out the full interview and let me know what you think.

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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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“Digital systems, not people, will do much of the craft of (screen-level) interaction design.” These words from The State of UX report by Fabricio Teixeira and Caio Braga might sound scary to UX designers. But here's the truth—this isn't the first time we've faced a shift like this. When I started in the industry in the early ’90s, I was worked on traditional graphic design projects: print, retail, brand identities, etc. Then came websites, WAP sites, responsive design, mobile apps... Each time, designers adapted and evolved. What's remained constant? Our role as the translation layer between businesses and their audiences. Whether it was Charles and Ray Eames designing furniture for modern living, or today's product designers shaping digital experiences, our core mission hasn't changed: we connect businesses with people in meaningful ways. The tools will keep changing, just as they have since my San Francisco days. But our ability to think strategically about the "why"—that's what makes our craft enduring. Here's my full essay: https://lnkd.in/gFQd33GA Special thanks to Byrne Reese and Shawn Smith for some insights on being product managers. #Design #ProductDesign #UX #UXDesign #ProductManagement

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In the tech world, product design leaders often find ourselves walking a tightrope between influence and authority—steering vision without always having the power to enforce it. It’s a challenge we know all too well. When design strategy hits a roadblock, that’s when we step up—shaping conversations by reframing problems, asking the right questions, and backing up arguments with data and/or user insights. By digging deeper and fostering collaboration in cross-functional spaces, we help teams move past quick fixes to find solutions that'll truly add value—meeting user needs, working within system constraints, and aligning with business goals. As John Maeda put it, “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” Our focus can't be just pushing ideas, but guiding ourselves, our teams, and cross-functional partners to recognize the value in the journey we're all undertaking— understanding that while short-term value might come from any direction, lasting impact comes from thoughtful, user-centered design that has an effect on business investments well-beyond the surface level of user experience. Without authority, conscientiously navigating our way to those results, each day, is our only course of action.

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Over the last year, the Product Designers at Pion have been encapsulating what it is to be multi-faceted, creative problem solvers. We've focussed on improving our Design System within Figma making it easier and more enjoyable to use for ourselves and our colleagues. We approached the problem of how to make it more efficient by using design thinking and research techniques. The original efficiency tests we ran in March last year found that among the Product Managers collectively almost one full quarter was spent lost in our system, 60% of the time coming away frustrated and without what they were looking for. This March we ran exactly the same moderated tests and I'm pleased to say that the designers, alongside their day-to-day work, have improved Design System efficiency by 50%, giving our colleagues and the business 6 weeks back on average per year. That's a huge efficiency gain 🚀 Well done, team! The original article on how we set the baselines can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ezY_dZ3h The new article on our results 1-year later can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eHjz9rD4 #figma #designsystem #productdesign #designops

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This morning I met up for coffee in Edinburgh with John Sunart - who runs The Facilitation Studio. Was super nice to meet a fellow designer, workshop facilitator and Substacker. If you're interested in workshopping, facilitation, learning more about how to run successful problem solving meetings - Check out John's articles and podcast episodes on the subject. #facilitation #workshops #problemsolving #design #ux #servicedesign #substack #blog #podcast

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For anyone wanting to learn more about how we're working on AI as a design team here at Klaviyo, have a listen to this interview with Alexandra Holness

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I’m working with start-ups who struggle with design challenges—tight budgets, limited resources, no in-house team. It’s a common problem. But it doesn’t have to be. I offer tailored design services that fill this gap, helping start-ups bring their ideas to life, whether it’s an MVP, a design system, or empowering your in-house design team by providing design support. I understand the pressures you face and the importance of getting it right. Design shouldn’t hold you back. Let’s make sure it doesn’t. Reach out if you need to elevate your product. #Startups #Entrepreneurship #Design #Innovation #Creativity #TechStartups #LeanStartups #DigitalMarketing #BusinessGrowth #Networking #EntrepreneursMindset #Leadership

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Do you want consistency between designers and front-end developers? Use of design tokens. When everyone uses the same terms, it simplifies things for both teams. Here's Google's introduction to design tokens and how you can implement them: https://lnkd.in/gpWMwqVz

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Critiques are the life-blood of a design system team. It turns out when you potentially cover everything in a product, you have a lot to cover in team crits. In our latest episode, Davy Fung and I discuss how we've seen design system teams run crits, what's worked and what hasn't. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gbK7WbzQ #designsystems #podcast #crit

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The Hidden Costs of Bad UX Decisions: A Cycle of Technical Debt In the whirlwind that is product development, it's all too easy for companies to get caught up in the mad dash to launch. The market screams for faster, better, now—and teams frantically scramble to meet those demands. But here's a question for you—at what cost? What often gets swept under the rug in the race against time are decisions that seem quick and pragmatic but come saddled with a hidden burden—technical debt. Yes, we're talking about those seemingly innocuous UX shortcuts that might save the day today but come back to haunt you tomorrow. The Seduction of Speed Who hasn't heard the rallying cries of "we’re on a crunch" or "just get it working" echoing through the halls? Sure, these mantras might deliver a product to market on time, but at what hidden cost? Beneath that shiny exterior lies a tangled web of inconsistencies, blind spots, and usability hiccups that can hobble future growth. The Snowball Effect Neglecting UX for speed is like putting a band-aid on a leaky pipe. The product might stay afloat, but these small compromises start snowballing into a whole avalanche of pain points. Before you know it, you're up to your ears in disjointed workflows, inconsistent interfaces, and inefficient design patterns that leave users scratching their heads and engineers pulling out their hair. The Real Costs Here’s where the plot thickens. The real expense of those hasty UX decisions doesn’t hit immediately. Instead, it's a slow burn. You find yourself in a relentless cycle of patches and temporary solutions, each one adding another layer of complexity. The product becomes a Frankenstein of features, each trying to fix the last one's flaws. Eventually, it all collapses under its inefficiencies, resulting in wasted engineering efforts, longer development cycles, and a user experience that’s anything but user-friendly. Breaking the Cycle Here's the good news—breaking free from this cycle isn't impossible. It all starts with a change in mindset. Investing in thoughtful UX decisions from the get-go reduces technical debt and builds a solid foundation for long-term success. It might feel counterintuitive when deadlines loom, but prioritizing user-centered design, strategic planning, and allowing time for product validation, testing, and user feedback can save your team time, effort, and resources in the long run. The bottom line? Bad UX decisions have costs far beyond immediate inefficiencies. They stifle scalability and drain resources in the long haul. By dodging the temptation of quick fixes and focusing on thoughtful design, companies can stave off technical debt and set themselves up for sustainable growth. Next time you're crafting that product roadmap, remember to pencil in some time for progressive iterations and user feedback. Trust me—your future self will thank you!

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It’s very easy to get sucked in to the looming concern of AI decimating our discipline. I’ve written a few words on why I believe humans are close to irreplaceable (for now) in the UX space and why it’s more important now than ever to embrace AI as a tool in our belt as opposed to a threat. #UX #ProductDesign #Design #Tech #Business https://lnkd.in/erCr4tu9

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I have a question for the designers in my network. I hear that many designers have strong opinions/fears about reporting into Product, rather than Design. As a product leader hiring a designer, I'd like to better understand these concerns. Folks who prefer to report into Design: what are the drawbacks of reporting into Product? Designers who have chosen to report into Product: what helped you make that decision? Happy to talk outside of this comment thread too.

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It’s pretty amazing what’s possible with AI coding tools right now. A few years ago, building something custom like this would’ve taken days (or weeks), but now? I just fed some screenshots and some simple UI requirements and it went to work. Here’s what I built: We have some unique scoring rules in our fantasy football league this year. We tried keeping tracking of standings, scores and points within a spreadsheet but that required manual inputs. Instead I built an app that accepts a screenshot of the weekly results and automatically factors in the point totals and scoring for the week, then updates the standings. Super simple, but that's the point. What’s wild is how quick and easy this was to put together using https://bolt.new - The app is live here if you want to check it out: https://lnkd.in/gW4r6aFw It’s crazy to think about how the barriers to creating custom solutions are disappearing, insanely fast. All it takes is an idea, and tools like these to handle the heavy lifting. Crazy to think that we're just at the beginning of what's possible.

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