Measured

People are natural problem-solvers. We like to fix things. So when we’re faced with a complex problem, it’s not surprising that we want to solve it. Usually in the fastest and best way possible. But there’s risk in trying to fix the whole problem at once. For one, it can make it very difficult to know where to start, which often leads to a form of paralysis. People naturally bounce on to more readily-solvable problems instead. Almost always, it helps to step back to visualise the range of possibilities. This is where the idea of a continuum can be a powerful tool in understanding. It helps move from reflexive solutionising to a more considered approach. Read the newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eK_yUDdX #DesignSystems #UI

Design system projects that start with grand visions can get bogged down under the weight of options. The trick isn’t having all the answers. It's choosing something small enough to finish but visible enough to matter. In our latest newsletter, we share 7 steps to get your design system moving… #UI #DesignSystems

There’s only one question you need to ask when deciding what to demo… Is it interesting? It’s not about how big that new feature is. It’s about whether people will care. An interesting product demo is: ✔️ Easy to understand ✔️ Relevant to people’s work ✔️ Visual If your team’s excited to demo something, that’s usually a good sign. #DesignSystems #UI #ProductDemo

Continuums are a useful model when making decisions in complex circumstances. Plus you get to make funny hand gestures when you explain things. 🫲 🫱 Our latest newsletter…

Reasons design systems fail part 3: Everyone nods at “We need a design system” while imagining their personal magical unicorn.

Reasons design systems fail part 2: bias for the boardroom. Using an external agency to build your design system is no problem. But without care, they can be built *for* client stakeholders, rather than *with* the teams that will ultimately use them. The person making that buying decision usually isn’t responsible for the project’s success. The work might impress leadership, but not work for the teams saddled with it. Instead, embed the agency into your organisation for as long as needed to understand teams’ needs and deliver the design system. #DesignSystems #UI

Reasons design systems fail part 1: scaling is hard. Small organisations work differently to big ones. If you don’t adapt as you grow: problems. If three teams use your design system, it’s easy to get feedback. You can go and talk to them. If you have 30 teams, you need robust processes. You can’t anticipate every problem. But you can stay vigilant. Watch for communication breakdowns as you grow — and pounce when they happen. #DesignSystems #UI

We often talk about the corporate weather. It’s a phrase you probably haven’t heard, but we bet you intuitively know what it means. When you work with an outside consultancy, changes in organisational context are often left unsaid. These changes can mean shifting priorities, resources, and appetite for risk — all things that could affect the consultancy’s work. So it’s important to have regular check-ins, separate to demos and other in-the-weeds updates. They only need a few relevant people. An hour every few weeks is plenty. They’re a great platform for raising concerns early, finding a way forward, and building trust. In the long-term they save more time than they take up. They’re how good working relationships stay good. 🌤️

➡ Veni, vidi, vici ➡ Government of the people, by the people, for the people ➡ Turn on, tune in, drop out When it comes to making things memorable, the number three has a flawless track record. When communicating a complex idea, it can take three goes for a tricky idea to take hold. Other people don’t have all the context, and have their own priorities jostling for headspace. So say it three times on three separate occasions. Make it clear. Make it concise. Make it memorable.

“Everything keeps going right” is a well-known slogan associated with Toyota. But it wasn’t always as apt as it is today. Immediately after World War II, Toyota Motor Company was unable to compete with American manufacturers who were, by Toyota’s reckoning, 10 times more productive. Toyota CEO Kiichiro Toyoda pledged to get the company on an equal footing in 3 years by fostering a new culture of innovation and efficiency. Enter industrial engineer Taiichi Ōno. He identified 7 kinds of waste including overproduction and surplus materials. He implemented a system where a card was attached to every finished product. When a product was sold, its card would move back to the beginning of the production line. Only then could production begin on the next product — provided other stringent criteria were met. It was a great success, improving productivity, reducing stockpiles and increasing visibility. By 1963, the process was nearly ubiquitous throughout Toyota. They called it Kanban — literally, signboard. There are lots of reasons we advocate for Kanban as our methodology of choice. But if we had to sum it up in two words they’d be: see Toyota.