UI Breakfast: UI/UX Design and Product Strategy

Many SaaS businesses track engagement for each user individually — pretending that companies don't exist. But this approach can be downright dangerous, because B2B software is all about company accounts. Our guest today is Derek Skaletsky, founder and CEO of Sherlock. We talk about best practices in tracking account-level engagement, and ways to make such data consumable and actionable. Podcast fe...

Trends come and go, but content marketing — particularly blogging — remains one of the top marketing channels for SaaS companies. Our guest today is the awesome Kaleigh Moore, freelance content writer for SaaS and ecommerce. You'll learn how to produce top-performing blog posts, promote them, leverage different media types, and make your content as evergreen as possible. Show Notes Creative Class...

There are so many design methodologies available these days — lean, agile & design thinking being the most popular. Could you use them side-by-side? Our guest today is Jeff Gothelf, author of Lean UX and Sense & Respond, and co-founder of Sense & Respond Press. You'll learn how to make the most out of these frameworks, help teams talk to each other, and measure customer outcomes (inste...

The fist version of Adobe Acrobat was released in 1993, alongside the newly created PDF format. What has changed since then? Our guest today is Liang-Cheng Lin, senior design manager at Adobe. You'll learn about the philosophy behind their platform, how PDF has evolved into a powerful editable format, and UX challenges they face as one of the most popular tools in the world. Podcast feed: subscrib...

Acquiring more products as a growth strategy isn't new under the sun, but seems unusual for our SaaS ecosystem. Our guest today is JD Graffam, the owner of two agencies and a portfolio of SaaS businesses. We talk about his unconventional background story, how he handles multiple products, and the strategy behind new acquisitions. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in...

With all technology available, words remain our #1 design tool for creating engaging experiences. How do you write an interface? Our guest today is Yuval Keshtcher, founder of UX Writing Hub. You'll learn about the craft of UX writing, how to define the voice and tone of your product, and how to capture it in a content style guide — like big brands do. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast....

Pricing means so much for any product. But why are most SaaS companies shooting in the dark there? Our guest today is the famous Patrick Campbell, co-founder and CEO of ProfitWell (previously Price Intelligently). You'll learn why value-based pricing is so important, how to choose the right value metric, and how to create your subscription model based on research. Podcast feed: subscribe to http:/...

How do you know what features in your product bring the most value? How can you "make your strengths stronger" and gracefully remove unpopular features? Today our guest is Brian Rhea, product strategist and the founder of Feature Audit. You'll learn the story behind his analytics tool, how to conduct your own feature audit, and how to apply the results in your product strategy and consul...

Design Sprint is an extremely productive five-day framework for solving design problems. Not only it returns immediate results, but it also gets everyone on the same page and brings the best ideas to the surface. Our guest today is Jonathan Courtney, CEO and founder of AJ&Smart. You'll learn what makes sprints so effective, what exactly happens during these five days, and how to get started wi...

There are many creative methods to stay productive; this story is no exception! Our guest today is Jonathan Anderstrom, co-founder and president of Creed Interactive. We talk about the deep work culture in their agency, and their unique way of seamlessly blending onsite and remote collaboration. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and fol...

What tools and methods should you use in your next UX project? Our guest today is Andrew Mayfield, CEO of Optimal Workshop. We talk about their amazing collection of UX research tools, and dive into some of the methods — card sorting, tree testing, and others. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite podcast app, and follow us on iTunes , Stitcher , or Goo...

What kind of product specs are the best to work with? How do you document your vision? Our guest today is Janna Bastow — co-founder and CEO of ProdPad, co-founder of Mind the Product, and product person at heart. You'll learn why product specs are always a work in progress, how to deal with deadlines, document your goals and tasks, and iterate based on customer feedback. Podcast feed: subscribe to...

How do you structure website content based on user needs? How do you make the most important things easy to find? Our guest today is Chris Huylebroeck, a famous information architect and content strategist. We dive into the four steps of creating a content strategy: figuring out what information is needed (and why), auditing existing materials, structuring content, and presenting it to your audien...

How do you stay true to yourself when your company grows and changes? How do you document the principles for your communication and decision-making? Our guest today is Haraldur Thorleifsson, the founder & CEO of Ueno — an award-winning digital agency. We talk about his unique personal story and how it translates into their company values, tying together people in four offices around the world....

What features should you build next? Will your product be ever "done"? How to avoid "building yourself into the corner"? Our guest today is the awesome Emily Tate, US General Manager at Mind the Product. You'll learn how to prioritize new features, create roadmaps based on user research, and ignore "squeaky wheals" while focusing on truly important product work. Podca...

The avalanche of GDPR updates has passed, but regulations are here to stay. Can you sleep well? Our guest today is Aleth Gueguen, an independent software consultant focusing on privacy regulations. You'll learn about the philosophy behind GDRP, the key terms, and what compliance means for you and your customers. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podcasts/1441/rss in your favorite pod...

According to research, 84% of digital transformation projects fail. How can we fix that? Who is responsible — the leadership or the execution team? Our guest today is Jonathon Hensley, founder & CEO of Emerge Interactive. You'll learn how to define (and document) your vision as a product owner, build the best team possible, and drive digital projects to the desired outcome. Podcast feed: subsc...

How do you find motivation and energy to create something new, something you've been dreaming of? Our guest today is David Kadavy, the famous author of Design for Hackers, and we talk about his latest book — The Heart to Start. You'll learn how to effectively start new projects, combat procrastination, find an audience, and fuel your creativity. Podcast feed: subscribe to http://simplecast.fm/podc...

Listening to customer feedback is one of the best ways to improve your product (and your marketing). But it can get so overwhelming! Our guest today is the charming Sofia Quintero, founder of NomNom. You'll learn how to deal with massive amounts of customer feedback, get quantitative and qualitative results, document your insights, and apply them in your product development process. Download the M...

Wouldn't it be great to have a logical approach to creative disciplines? Today we talk about "the web design equation" — a system similar to atomic design which uses mathematical principles. Our guest is Sean Doran, Head of Design at Wiretap. You'll learn how to think systematically about constants, variables, constraints, maximums, and minimums — concepts that we face daily in our desig...

We want to be smart and rational, but emotions are the biggest drivers for every decision we make — both in B2B and B2C. Today our guest is the amazing Talia Wolf, a conversion optimization specialist, trainer, and speaker. You'll learn why people buy things, how to figure out the pains and emotions of your website visitors, and boost conversions using her famous "emotional targeting" me...

Before designing anything, how do you figure out what your users need in the first place? Today we're diving into Top Tasks Management framework developed by Gerry McGovern, a famous UI/UX expert and author of six books on customer experience. You'll learn why addressing the top tasks is a key to customer success, and how to define and manage them for your project. Podcast feed: subscribe to http:...

Deciding how much to charge for your SaaS is hard, but presenting these decisions on your pricing page is an art in itself. Today our guest is Rob Turlinckx, a digital product designer and co-founder of SaaS Resources. We talk about best design practices for SaaS pricing pages, how to communicate value, overcome objections, and optimize your pricing page for conversions. Podcast feed: subscribe to...

Every user is unique, yet we need reliable ways to group them into segments — so that we can understand them better and personalize their experience. Today our guest again is the lovely Val Geisler, an email onboarding copywriter and strategist. You'll learn why segmentation is so important for SaaS companies, how to implement it, and how to target your segments via email and other channels. Podca...

We should make products useful, no doubt. But what if we could also make them addictive — so that the customers keep coming back? Our guest today is Jeff Davidson, a solo product designer and writer. You'll learn key psychological principles behind popular apps, why making a product addictive should never be a goal by itself, and how to design product features that satisfy the user's seeking syste...