Welcome to the Tech for Non-Techies podcast

Design is often at the core for why products go viral or flop. But, how can you tell good design from bad right at the start? How do you hire the right people and avoid costly mistakes?

That’s what you’ll learn on this episode.

Learning notes:

• User experience designers, not developers, should be your first hire in the vast majority of cases.
• Learning how to use design software does not make you into a designer. Learning to use a kitchen knife does not turn you into a chef. This is the same logic.
• Great designers mix human psychology and the design process to make products that people want to use. The best designers are well versed in behavioural economics and human insight, not just tech tools.
• Great designers are partners, who question your assumptions and sometimes tell you that you are wrong. Someone who only agrees with you isn’t going to help make your product great.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Introduction to Design for Technology: Listen on Apple...

”Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it's this veneer — that the designers are told, 'Make it look good! ' That's not what design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works,” - Steve Jobs 

In this episode, you''ll hear from Sarah Doody, a UX designer who has worked for the likes of Vice Media and Dow Jones. Today Sarah runs Career Strategy Lab, a school for UX designers. 

Learning notes from this episode:

• "User experience design is how you interact with a product, whether it's digital, physical or a mix of both," Sarah Doody.
• When hiring a UX designer, think about the outcome that you want, rather than the process. E.g. Do you want a prototype to test an idea? Then you don't need the same level of attention to graphics as you would for a design you would give to developers. 
• If you want to transition into a career in UX design, your experience in another...

If you have an idea for a new product in a traditional business, you will probably have to work on an extensive plan before you do anything else.

This is not how it works in tech companies. When the likes of Airbnb and Slack bring new apps or features to market, they use the Sprint Method. It is a methodology developed by Google Ventures to bring new ideas to life and test them quickly and cheaply.

Learn how this works in this podcast.

Learning notes from this episode:

• The aim of a sprint is to test an idea for a new product to find out whether it is worth investing more money in. For example, you can use a sprint to test an idea for an app by creating a prototype. If users like what you’ve made, only then should you hire developers.
• Each sprint should focus on one idea to test. Do not try to test multiple ideas in one sprint.
• To figure out where the biggest risks in a new idea lie, ask yourself: if this time in a year, this project failed, why would it have done so?
• A sprint...

Consumer facing tech businesses like Uber aren’t just competing with other firms that provide a similar service. They’re competing with everything that vies for your attention.

This is why B2C tech businesses tend to be more innovative, better at design thinking and take inspiration from a wider pool than their enterprise tech counterparts.

Learning notes:

• The Attention Economy refers to products which compete for consumers’ attention, which widens the competitive landscape exponentially. Uber isn’t just competing with Lyft, or your feet. Going out competes with staying in, so sometimes you’re choosing between an Uber to a party or Tindering at home. 

• Smart B2B companies are taking inspiration from consumer innovation. The innovation team at Barclays asked if Domino’s Pizza could track customer orders, why couldn’t Barclays could keep borrowers up to date with the progress of their loans?  
• If you’re working on...

95% of new products fail, according to Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen. But, usually this isn't because they are badly made, but because they don't solve the right problem.

Before you delve into product development, define the problem you are solving. In this episode, you'll learn from Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg, author of What's Your Problem and Innovation As Usual, about how to reframe problem solving in business and in life.

Learning notes:

• Non-techies can play an important role on product teams by being focussed on the problem they are solving, because they are less likely to get stuck in the weeds of building.
• Not all problem solving needs fancy technology. Often, small changes in design can have a big impact, at a much lower cost. 
• Being focussed on the problem is vital at the start of product development, and as your product matures. Keep analysing how people use it to see if you're still solving the right problem.

To learn key technology...

Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works - Steve Jobs

Great design is vital if you want your app or site to succeed. Having great code is meaningless if your users cannot understand how your product works, or simply don't enjoy using it. Intuitive and easy to use design lies at the heart of tech giants like Facebook and startups like Peanut. A career in UX design is also a great way for non-technical professionals to participate in the tech boom.

Watch this video to learn from Sang Valte, Design Standards Board member at General Assembly and ex-Head of Design at leading multinational UX agency Tigerspike.

•  What User Experience design is
• What sits in the UX umbrella
• How to work with UX designers to make great tech products

This session is presented by Sophia Matveeva, Enty founder, Forbes contributor and Chicago Booth MBA (seen in Financial Times, Wall Street Journal etc). Say hi to Sophia on Twitter https://twitter.com/SophiaMatveeva