Weeknotes 5/2022

Welcome to the spring equinox. Now that I live somewhere not dominated by winter, this date is less remarkable. But, like all new beginnings, I hope it brings renewed energy for the things that matter.

What went well:

• A few months ago, I wrote about how we need to hire more designers and researchers into teams instead of relying on the “ux team of one” model for product teams. In the past fortnight, we’ve started onboarding a new designer to our sister team, and also I’m helping to get a job posting up for a researcher. So people have been listening and taking my advice. I can’t take all the credit. But it’s nice to feel like your words have impact.
• Last weeknotes I talked about giving some big presentations and I’ve been told that quite a few of my ideas and slides are being shared and talked about. I’ve had several people reach out to try to learn more, and I’ve heard rumors of some bigger changes as a result of my challenging how we do things. Again, I won’t take full credit, but I’m happy to know that my opinions are being taken seriously (but I also hate that this has not been a given in other places I’ve worked. )
• I’ve been stuck into some research work that’s been going well. I just finished interviews and am working on the analysis phase.

What I’ve struggled with

• I’ve had a pervasive lack of time recently. I’ve had to be so focused on what’s right in front of me that I don’t have time for things like connecting with with people, writing, giving feedback or coming up with ideas. It’s fuel to my belief that we need more capacity in our product team. If it wasn’t just me doing this work, I wouldn’t feel like I have to choose.
• Doing research analysis on my own:

• I’ve had a couple of research interviews (all internal, tech focused people) where it felt like they were speaking another language. Not technical language, which I am used to, but more of an organization-specific language or way of thinking, like they were talking in concepts when I was asking about specifics and the more I tried to drill down to practical terms, the more abstract and acronymy they would get. I felt so lost in those interviews, and like I had no right to be doing this work. And yet, most of the interviews were fine, we understood each other perfectly.
• Daylight savings, ugh. It really threw my whole house out of whack.

What’s inspired me

• The gender pay gap bot 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
• This article about how to prioritize government product work
• What is user centred design anyway? by the always awesome Kara Kane and Clara Greo
• Important read on why you should keep track of service decisions.
• Great thread from Andrew Greenaway on what it takes to actually change government (tl:dr, we’re not there yet….)

Watching, reading, listening

• I just finished watching This is Going to Hurt and I fear I will never recover. I also read the book a few years ago and loved it.
• I recently finished Conjure Women by Afia Atakora, about the lives and struggles of recently freed slaves in the southern USA in the 19th century. Definitely recommend.
• I just rediscovered According to Need from 99pi. I listened to it when it first came out but just started re-listening. It’s that good.