Ethan Pierce

This article captures much about my experience in UXR at Google over the last 7 years and what it means to be a successful part of product development. As one of the greats, Asif Baki has said it, our work is to develop a gut instinct, but it has to be not just for ourselves, but through and with the entire team if we are going to empower product impact. "The answer does not lie in adding more researchers who focus on learning on behalf of the many. It’s in expanding the role of researchers to focus on empowering everyone to learn."

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Not sure how I missed this podcast with Lenny Rachitsky but this episode with Katie Dill is amazing. There's a reason it has 47k views on YouTube. Just furthering my claim that the very best of Lenny's podcasts are not about product development or traditional product management. His best episodes are about design and business. "The use of the word beauty in books that have been digitized by Google has decreased,  like pretty dramatically. And it's aligned with this idea of, "Well,  functionality is king. Functionality is what matters." As if people think about  functionality and beauty as like two opposite things. No, they're not two  opposite things. Functionality is important. And actually beauty enhances functionality  because it does make things easier to use, more approachable, more comp elling to use.  And the other piece of it that is not talked about in business as often is just  the importance of how people feel. Things that are more beautiful, increase trust. You see that  we've put painstaking detail into this, and we care about the details of how something works,  and that gives you assurance that we care about other details that you can't see too." —Katie All I have to say is YES.

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Shared some thoughts about showing up for yourself and the purpose of passion projects. Head over to Substack if you want to follow along. https://lnkd.in/eXgkZ8ne One thing I’ve learned throughout my career is the power of personal projects. Early on, gig posters were my first dive into self-driven work. They shaped the way I approach design and illustration—pushing me to think in ways that went beyond anything I learned in college. Over the years, these personal projects have continued to emerge, offering opportunities to explore and experiment. These projects aren’t just for fun; they’re opportunities to flex creative muscles and discover new ways of thinking. They also keep you creating. Consistency is a huge part of growth. Whether you’re a writer, artist, or working in a trade, it’s just like working out at the gym. You have to continue to show up before you start seeing results. Sometimes, it takes years to get the results you’re looking for—all the more reason to start today and show up again tomorrow. Play should inform the work you do at your day job too. More than once, I’ve solved complex problems at work while "playing" with personal projects. Stepping away from the grind and diving into something playful sparks fresh ideas, opens up possibilities, and often leads to solutions I wouldn't have found otherwise.

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Hey, if you're traveling this weekend in the car, and you need something to listen to, check out this episode of the UX Consultant's Lounge by Kyle Soucy where Lynne Polischuik and I kick around some thoughts about the state of UX work today, the impact (and opportunities!) that AI brings to it, and the value that consultants can offer in the quickly changing world out there. https://lnkd.in/gyYqGmf2

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Example of what I mean when I say that many companies outside the "tech" industry are hiring for UX and Product roles ↘️ Also, here's an article I wrote about how to find UX and Product jobs outside the tech industry: https://lnkd.in/gw_6jyyh

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More UX and Product leaders need to hear Diana DeMarco Brown (she/her)'s wisdom. Diana is a pioneer in the UX field who takes a thoughtful and nuanced approach to assessing the current state of the tech industry. In our recent conversation, Diana shared many insights, including: - How to evaluate a company's culture during the hiring process - Why private equity ownership can result in design divestment - How Product and UX leaders can effectively influence business decisions - Why we don't need to panic with the rise of AI, but we need to think critically and prioritize regulation during this early stage Link to our full conversation: https://lnkd.in/eemDimVb

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For the past two years, I've volunteered with the DesignOps Assembly to produce their annual benchmarking survey and report. We recently launched the 2024 report and it's a must-read — and not just for DesignOps folks! https://lnkd.in/exNNQRFq Click the link below to get the report now. Or read on for what makes this year's report different… The 2024 benchmark report is the *only* DesignOps industry report to include year-over-year data covering a comprehensive range of factors so you can see what's changed. ✅ Job market and layoffs ✅ Impact and maturity of teams ✅ Job functions ✅ Organizational dynamics ✅ Purpose and focus ✅ Design Systems, ResearchOps, AI and more 💰 New for this year: a comprehensive salary reference guide! Want a preview? Here are some fast facts from this year's report: - 34% of DesignOps teams have increased budget for FTE headcount this year, up from 22% last year - 47% have the same headcount budget as last year, up from 21% last year - 17% have decreased headcount budget this year, down from 30% last year Many thanks to Meredith Black, Adam Fry-Pierce, Changying (Z) Zheng, Harley Turan, Jessica Smith, Jon Fukuda, Jules Monza, MDes 🕊, Kaysie Garza, Madhu Priya, Nancy Gao, Adrienne Allnutt, and Lillian Szügyi for all their help in planning, analyzing data, writing and designing, and promoting this year's report. Get the report now at https://lnkd.in/exNNQRFq — it's completely free and you won't be asked to give up any of your personal information to get it (not even an email address!). Join the DesignOps Assembly community (it's also free!) of over 7,000 DesignOps folks at https://lnkd.in/eP7gdsxb #DesignOps #designoperations #Designleadership #UXleadership

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Somtimes the content that can up your UX game comes from unlikly sources. This article puts into context some of the best places to start!

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I cannot predict the future, but I do think we're going to see more designers as founders. In 2017 I co-published a medium article with Yini Nie, Shiv Kehr, and vanessa slavich on 3 reasons why designers make great founders (https://lnkd.in/eXT_USpr). The key takeaway here is that designers can solve business and user problems through a human centered design process and actually visualize and work towards a future reality by creating prototypes. Designers can literally show you what the future will look like. Since a picture speaks a thousand words, this is an incredibly compelling leadership tool. While personally I've had lots of ideas of products that should exist and the skill set to prototype and test an idea, I lack the technical skill set to code an MVP. Since it's launch, Chat GPT has accelerated work flows for developers, making debugging and getting started so much easier, but a core developer skill set is still required. There's still a leap going from designs to html. At #config2024 I learned about several Figma to code plug ins that take your designs and creates a working prototype in code, such as the aptly named 'Figma to code' plug in, Anima, and Locofy.ai (https://www.locofy.ai/). While I'm sure developers will still be needed for the fine grain detail, tools like these are going to democratize development. I can't wait to get started with tools like this in my day to day work and side projects and I'm excited to see the next wave of designers slash founders. #LinkedInDesign #LinkedInLife #LinkedinAtConfig

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I'm on a research kick and love this podcast episode where former Capital One Head of Design Research, Devin Harold shared some awesome ideas to plan your research and track its success. Here's just one idea: 👉 Step 1: Record the number of pain points you identified in your usability test 👉 Step 2: Track how many of those land in your backlog 👉 Step 3: Once these items are published, then you can track it to adoption rates 🤯 I never would have thought to track it back that far... #userResearch #UXResearch #UXMetrics Link to full episode:

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In the current market, many Product and UX professionals are considering the leap to consulting, coaching, or fractional roles. But what does it really take to make the leap? In my conversation with UX research consultant Kyle Soucy, Founding Principal of Usable Interface, LLC, she shares how she balances motherhood with a highly successful 20-year consulting career and the lessons she has learned along the way. Anyone considering a move into consulting can learn so much from Kyle's story. Link to our full conversation in the comments.

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Mike Belsito of Product Collective goes deep on detailing the ins and outs of what it means to be Product Led -- highlighting the work of Wes Bush, Blake Bartlett, and others -- and going through case studies that include companies like Dropbox, Calendly, Slack and more. #plgplays #productledgrowth #revenueengine #valueengine #saas #saasgrowth #gtm #saasbusiness #saasstartups #saasproduct #productmanagement #businessgrowth #scalingup #gtmstrategy #revenueboost #monetization #revenuegeneration #productgrowth #gtmmotion #gtmplays #customerjourney #plgstrategies #plg #bestpractices #expertadvice #customervaluecreation #productvalue #successstrategy #gtmomentum #gotomarket #valuecreation #bestpractices #customercentricity #saassales #saasmarketing #growthlevers #growthdrivers #softwarebusiness

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Companies are finally seeing the value of super-senior ICs! But career ladders and expectations for staff+ designers are often unclear, leaving lots of people who reach this level feeling unsupported. To help, I took my own 14+ years of experience as an individual contributor in high-impact roles at tech companies of varying sizes and made a highly interactive course. Join us starting Feb 3: https://lnkd.in/eqg4e2vx We’ll cover: 💡 Common expectations of the staff+ designer role 💡 Effective communication with senior leaders and executives 💡 How to set and uphold boundaries to focus on high-impact work 💡 Techniques to manage up and show impact Over the span of three weeks, you'll build a network of super-senior peers and acquire tactics from me: a designer who's been through these exact challenges. Grab your spot now! P.S. Thanks, Adekunle Oduye, for the kind words!

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Effective strategic product research requires more than just collecting data—it’s about asking the right questions to address gaps in our line of sight. I had the pleasure of attending the "Where to Start with Strategic Product Research" event hosted by Portland Design Thinkers featuring Danielle Green and led by Deborah Mrazek. The session offered a practical framework for addressing strategic blind spots, helping Product and UX professionals make more confident decisions. Danielle’s strategic brief focused on four critical areas that are essential for effective product research, each helping identify where more information is needed to make confident, data-driven decisions. 🔍 Needs: Focus on measurable effects—ask yourself, what single outcome would demonstrate success? Consider conditions that produce the most extreme versions of user needs. 👥 People: Understand the characteristics required of your users and who or what influences them. 🌍 Context: Identify external factors (competitors, legislation, etc.) that influence the outcome of user needs. 💡 Value: Think about the product's capabilities, user expectations, and constraints that may limit its impact. By addressing these strategic considerations, teams can ensure they’re on the right path to building impactful products. The event was packed with helpful insights, and I appreciated the engaging Q&A hosted by Deborah and Danielle. I’d love to hear from my network—what tips do you have for strategic product research? Huge thanks to Portland Design Thinkers and Danielle for such a valuable session! #ProductResearch #UXStrategy #StrategicResearch #UXInsights #MentorMesh

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To design candidates: Stop showing your design process! One of my biggest frustrations when interviewing designers is when they kick off by walking me through a rigid process: “We interviewed users, made personas, created a journey map…” That’s great, but that’s not what I’m interested in. Talking about the process for its own sake is the least important and least interesting part. It shows you know the steps but leaves me unsure if you can actually lead with creativity and purpose. What really matters is: • What key insights did you uncover? • What surprised you and made you rethink your assumptions? • How did these insights unlock your design ideas? • What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them? • What role did you play at each stage of the process? • And most importantly: what was the most fun? Here’s how to tell your design story: think of it like a murder mystery. Reveal the end product first (who died): the solution, the outcome, the final product — start by creating excitement. Then, take me through the journey. What led you to this final design? What clues, discoveries, and challenges guided your way? I want to hear how your unique approach to design thinking shaped the outcome. The narrative should be about how you navigated the complexity, not just about following steps on a workflow. Tell me about your process without telling me about your process. Show me that you don’t just know how to follow steps, but that you can lead with insight, adaptability, and creativity to deliver outstanding results. That’s the kind of designer I want to work with.

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UX Design for Specialized Domains is something we at Boston UX know a lot about. Check out this great article from my co-worker Dorothy Shamonsky!

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How different is Research Ops in for-profit vs non-profit? What are the unique challenges of enabling UX research in government, especially where representation is critical? Stig Parfrey has answers to those questions! We discuss all things Research Ops, including: 🫶🏾 How working in the nonprofit space allows for a direct impact and the opportunity to do good. 🏢 The overlap between ReOps in government and other sectors. 📧 How recruitment in government makes a significant impact on people's lives. 🤖 The potential of AI to enhance qualitative research. Listen now on Spotify or on your favourite podcast app. 👇🏾 🎧 https://lnkd.in/gAMs94RK 🎧

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Research is a function of strategy.  "According to CB Insights, over 90% of all products fail, most commonly due to no market need." Leave yourself time to ask big questions about whether any actually needs your product or service before you decide to launch it. #UXstrategy #UXresearch #Marketresearch

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