Selecting the right features for your digital product takes a combination of process and magic.

The ability to put oneself in another’s shoes and accurately intuit their experience is one of the most overlooked skills, not only in the area of design but also business, politics, education and the many other facets of our society. Empathy and the human connection is so fundamental to understanding our audience that without it, no amount of analysis, documentation, engineering and management can save us.

Business as usual is slowing changing with the help of three methodologies: Design Thinking, Customer Development and Lean Startup. They are practices that provide a road map to building successful companies and products on purpose rather than by chance. These three methods have so much in common with each other that upon learning about them for the first time, you can’t stop to wonder — “Aren’t they all talking about the same thing?”

Almost as complicated as finding the right design solution, is the process of finding the right kind of designer for the job. An in-house design team may be knowledgeable but lacks out-of-the-box thinking. An agency may have an army of resources but is over-the-top expensive. A freelancer may be agile but not always available.

Learn how to minimize risk and begin building a successful product from day one.

The “discovery phase” is one of the most misconstrued areas of product development and of the designer-client relationship.

Dear CEO, It’s truly amazing the success Apple has had these last few years. I mean, I don’t have to tell you that people just love their stuff. Even their TV commercials give you a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing it’s an Apple ad and every time you’re about to hear an announcement from Jobs you [...]

Would your customers care if your company unplugged all its servers tomorrow? Do you make enough difference in their lives? Do you matter? These are some of the tough questions Robert Brunner and Stewart Emery ask in their new book, Do You Matter? How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company. They make the [...]