My Periscope About Pill Pack & Why Great User Experience Designers Think Beyond The Screen

Recently I told you about PillPack (read the previous post) and why I think they are really doing a great job about designing a system that improves the experience of both pharmacists and patients.

I realized that there are a lot of lessons we can learn from PillPack so I wanted to actually show you it and go a little deeper.  So, I did my very first Periscope a few days ago to show you more about PillPack.

Continue reading

Podcast: My interview with This Is Product Management

Product Management is a critical component to creating a great product. Product management teams help ensure that a product is headed in the right direction – the direction that meets the market needs.

Product management works with all teams involved in the product development process to understand requirements, resources, opportunities, obstacles and how together we can all create the best product possible.

Continue reading

My 3 Year Business Anniversary & One Big Business Lesson Learned

3 Year Business Anniversary One Big Lesson Learned

Three years ago today I quit my job at a startup in NYC and ventured off on my own. It was the best decision I ever made. It’s hard to believe I’ve been running my own user experience design consulting business for three years. As a kid, I never ever considered entrepreneurship, but the older I get, the more I realize it really suits me.

During those three years, I’ve learned a lot. How to deal with clients, how to give and receive feedback, how to set up my own retirement accounts, and many other important but not sexy things. But there’s one key business lesson that stands out to me.Continue reading

Everyday UX: Example of Microfeedback at the Dublin Airport

Example of microfeedback at the Dublin Airport security checkpoint

A few weeks ago I was coming back to New York from a trip to Ireland. It was the holidays so it was quite busy, and let’s just say my carry on was pushing the limits (because I could barely carry it … oops, I had a lot of souvenirs!!) The good news is that my carry on and I made it through.

Going through security at an airport is never what I’d classify as a good user experience.Continue reading

Everyday UX: The New Google Drive Interface & Why UX Details Matter

I’ll admit it, I’ve reluctantly grown to appreciate and use Google Drive. I now like Google Drive because it makes collaboration between documents easier. I’m often sharing documents with people, and with Google Drive, it’s really easy to share documents.

Also, I love that in Google Docs I can comment and reply back to comments within a document. This helps make collaboration easier and get feedback out of emails … you know you’ve been on those email threads that start with “see my changes in purple. It’s so frustrating!Continue reading

Everyday UX: The User Experience Of The WunWun Delivery Service

A few weeks ago, I had a little problem. It was Wednesday and on Friday I was supposed to go on a tubing trip down the Delaware river. For the tubing trip, the website said that we had to wear closed toe shoes, specifically water shoes. Shockingly, I don’t own water shoes. So I looked some up on Amazon but they wouldn’t be delivered in time for my trip. But then, I remembered two on demand delivery apps I have on my phone, WunWun and Postmates, so I decided to try them out.

The premise of both of the apps is that you can place an order for any item from a store or restaurant, and it will be delivered to you very soon (normally within two hours). It’s great when you realize you forgot to get something that Amazon can’t deliver to you soon enough!Continue reading

Everyday UX: The Value Of Comparison Tools In Online Shopping Experiences

Earlier today I was looking for a hotel in Boston. I love a good deal, so I can’t just go to Orbitz and book one of the first hotels that look good in 5 minutes.

Nope. I’m the type of person who has to search all the sites, try to find discount codes, and determine which hotel has the best amenities for my trip. I know I’m not alone in this either!

So, I went to Hotels.com and did a search for Boston hotels. I was given no less than 297 hotels. This is impressive, but overwhelming. So I applied some filters such as pricing limits to help make my search easier to digest.Continue reading

Product I’m Loving: Momentum Chrome Extension

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I really wish that there was a calendar that also integrated to do items. Why do I wish this existed? Well, because I think I would be more focused and waste less time if I could see my calendar and to do items all in one place.

Here’s a great fact for you. At this moment, I have 23 browser tabs open. Yes, I know.

But please don’t judge me (I didn’t get as much reading down this weekend as I had hoped to).

In any case, I call this controlled choas. And besides, I’ve read that it’s a characteristic of many highly creative people.

In all honestly, my 23 tabs are very, very organized. Going from left to right, I keep things organized left to right including: things I’m going to consume (articles / videos, etc), things I need to do (Freshbooks, Google Analytics), things I’m researching or doing (client stuff, design resources, etc).Continue reading

Everyday UX: How to Reduce Waste in Blue Apron & Plated

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been trying out two new companies who are in the business of helping people eat healthier, reduce food waste, and maybe even save a bit of time and money along the way.

Plated and Blue Apron are the two main companies who will deliver all the ingredients (actually, measured ingredients) you need to make a fabulous meal at your home. Each box comes with the exact things you need as well as detailed instructions, including photos, of how to cook the meal.

It’s a pretty amazing idea. See, I love to cook, but the act of deciding what to cook, making lists, going to the grocery store, carrying it all home, and then cooking just makes the whole activity of cooking feel like a chore! I already wrote about my experience with Plated and soon I’ll be sharing some insights I had through my experience with Blue Apron.

Overall though, one thing that continues to bother me is the amount of waste that I feel like I’m creating due to every single ingredient being individually packaged in Ziploc bags, small containers (similar to a travel size shampoo bottle), boxes, bubble wrap, ice packs, and more. Something about all that waste just makes me feel bad!Continue reading