Spatial Computing arrives, UX research, feature factories

Howdy! Welcome to this week’s Whiteboard Roundup.

I tried my first TikTok-to-camera today. I talked about a fun concept, The Surprise Effect, that can be a very powerful way to encourage stickiness in your app. Check it out here.

Cheers.

Tom HaczewskiDirector, The User Story

News

Apple Vision Pro first reviews are out

And it’s not looking terrible but is definitely looking expensive.

Consumer VR and AR have been around for more than a decade now. I actually happen to have three different VR headsets in the house in various levels of fidelity, quality and era, and I love playing with alternative worlds.

But I still think we have a long way to go. Apple entering the AR environment does represent a step change in the ecosystem. Silly videos of reviewers using them while riding down the street on electric skateboards might seem funny, but it’s extremely positive - because whilst it looks ridiculous on the surface, seeing it at the extremes normalises seeing them out and about.

Apple has done a sterling job of this launch. I am really looking forward to the next few versions of this gear.

Have a look at Verge’s review here.

Maximising UX research impact on tech teams

Definitely worth a read is this article on how we, as researchers, can help not just demonstrate UX research outputs to tech teams, but help them think in the right way too.

So much of our work at The User Story is about educating teams on the importance of user-centered design in all its forms - including the careful and proper management of assumptions, the key understanding that aids all product work. This is a nice how-to to get you started.

Read the article here.

The Feature Trap

I’m so glad Andy Budd wrote this article this week because it’s demonstrated very nicely a conversation I was having with another design leader earlier in the week.

I don’t understand why product leaders expect to have great product outcomes, when they load up their teams with outcome-based work.

Provide agency for your teams to do what they think is right, and give very clear metrics and direction for the product, and coach them to do their best. Obviously, it’s a little more nuanced and detailed than that.

But I am so baffled with so many teams that expect the earth from their designers, engineers and product folks, but don’t know how to achieve outcomes rather than outputs.

Take a look here.

What we’re up to.

🖥️ Usability testing for agencies webinar13 Feb, 4pmLots of people do workshops in lots of different ways. But really, when you boil them all down, you basically only need these four different workshops to do anything you need to do at work. Sign up here

🚑 The STD* Clinic14 Feb, 4pmGet yourself checked for Valentine’s Day. You don’t want a pesky STD* handing around do you? Join today and get your website tested for free.*Suboptimal Tech DesignSign up here

Thanks for reading.

Whether you’re in VR, AR or some sort of spatial environment, you look very nice today.

As you’re here to the end, here’s my thought for the week to leave you on:

See you next time, friends!

Brought to you by Tom Haczewski, director of The User Story. We’re a product strategy, research and UX agency based in Norwich, working with SaaS teams and startups.