Sai Maniganahalli

Will I ever stop talking about the business value of design? NEVER. Designers are under selling themselves if they don't know how to connect the dots. It only took me first half of my career working directly with founders to build business through different stages, plus 7 years to build my own side hustle from nearly drain out my life savings to turning over multi six figures to figured out:👇 Designers absolutely need to know more than design to succeed in the business eco system. so where do you even start? All will be revealed in this session. Warning: this talk will be filled with relationship analogies. come for a laugh 😂 ✌️🌈🚀 #businessdesign #designcareer #productdesign #uxdesign

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Next week. I'm talking about disconnection of business and design Atlassian Sydney. Looking forward to share few nuggets about getting these two to talk to each other. Thank you for the crew behind the scene Kevin Wilkins, Lydia Bradshaw, Sylvia Luk, Ashlee King, Sarah Stokes, Tim Dixon, PhD, Timothy Parker for organising. Reminder for everyone, I also run a half day in bootcamp on 21st JUNE in Sydney on - Mastering Business Acumen for Designers. Link in comment. 💬🔗 #businessdesigner #productdesigner #productstrategy

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💡Design leader Glen Lipka's advice on thinking about software as a system in flow. ▶️ Watch the full #DesignLeaderInsights episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gQabKA54 by Fuego UX

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Check out Allison Ravenhall's insightful talk from A11y Camp on Customer Informed Accessibility in the CommBank app. This session highlights how usability testing with low vision users revealed an issue in our App 5.0 redesign. Some of you might remember Jacob Torres Agudo and Liam Corry's presentation at The Research Society Human Insights conference, where they discussed the research journey behind the new CommBank app home screen (I might of mentioned it a couple of times, did you hear they won an award?). Allison's talk goes deeper into how our testing with low vision users uncovered an unexpected design flaw. Usability testing often gets a bad rap for being boring and low value, but for me, it's some of the most crucial work we do. A lot of the time designs pass with flying colours, but it's those moments when we uncover a usability issue that are truly invaluable. This is especially true when we're addressing the needs of users with accessibility requirements. Enjoy this super informative talk and learn more about the importance of usability testing in creating accessible designs: https://lnkd.in/gKrQTexE #commbanklife #accessibility #a11y #research #humaninsightsconference

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This article from Vision Australia shares five simple tips for designing accessible web forms. #Accessibility

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Accessible UX Design Accessible UX design is essential for any brand aiming to boost its web presence. Ensuring accessibility means all users, including those with disabilities, can engage with your digital content. In Australia, one in five people live with a disability. By prioritizing inclusivity, you’ll streamline your site, improve navigation, and increase engagement, which reduces bounce rates and boosts traffic. Accessibility isn’t just a moral obligation; it’s a legal one. Australian sites must adhere to the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Non-compliance can lead to fines. For inclusive design: 1. Perceivable: Ensure content is easily seen and heard. 2. Operable: Make navigation simple for all users. 3. Understandable: Ensure content is clear and comprehensible. 4. Robust: Adapt to new technologies. Gather user feedback and employ AI to stay ahead in accessibility. Accessible UX design not only meets legal requirements but also enhances user experience and business success.

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Australia is deciding on banning social media for minors, potentially up until the age of 16. As a UX designer, I think this is great, and here's why ↓↓ 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: "𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘪𝘬𝘛𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦'𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩." Instead of approaching multiple platforms and asking for changes (which we'll unlikely see), the Australian government has suggested age verification processes, which many other countries have also discussed in recent years. Those who oppose the idea have argued about personal freedoms. Still, they forget that social media platforms profit from all ages and do the bare minimum to create better safety for young audiences. User experience has been ranked second to profits, and big platforms would rather keep users glued to the screen than deliver ethically sound experiences. As UX designers and developers, we should not allow young audiences on these platforms if we can't deliver safe and exceptional experiences for them. Original Articles: https://lnkd.in/d8BeRjF9 https://lnkd.in/dMEWCGxY

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📢 I recently completed the UX Australia course ‘Fostering collaboration by running better stakeholder workshops’, facilitated by Elena Sanchez & Loletta Cheng. 💡Key learnings were: 1. Understanding stakeholder workshops 2. Types of workshop activities 3. Defining workshop objectives 4. Stakeholder mapping 5. Preparing a workshop script 6. Workshop facilitation tips I look forward to applying these insights and methodologies to future workshops!

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Let’s talk ticketing queues. I was chatting to a research participant last week that said, “Who even knows how the Ticketek Australia queue works”? ”Like do I get a number? Is it random?” ”I was sitting in there for like 3 hours”. ”Some of my friends got in way before me”… And it goes on. And she’s not alone. We hear LOTS of this when talking to fans. Let’s just say it’s often not the ideal “User Experience”. But why is that? Well because for one, as Lou Downe reminds us; “A good service sets the expectations a user has of it”. And most of the time, ticketing queues just ain’t doin that. Secondly - and this is some recent research backed conjecture on my behalf - users aren’t all in a queue for the same reason. Sure they all want to get tickets - but they’re often motivated by quite different things: 💡I’m the only one in my group who is free at this time (common) 💡I’m the only one that has the money 💡I want to earn the credit card points 💡I’m the only organised one in my crew 💡I’m gonna try my luck too, to increase our odds (significant waste of energy). It’s worth stepping back and thinking about all of these drivers. Especially in a cost of living crunch. How might this be a better process for everyone involved? #ticketing #events #festivals #livemusic #design #innovation #product Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

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Another great Macquarie Design Blog post by Leah Ochroch went live this morning. Insightful, practical tips to ensure your design is accessible for all. #design #experiencedesign #uxdesign #accessibility

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So I'm seeing alot of UX/UI Design/Research/Lead positions being advertised (and sent to me by recruiters) around Australia. Something that I'm a little puzzled by, is the blurb and skillset tags in every single advert, omits any mention of accessibility. While I certainly wouldn't consider it the biggest part of my job, given that I have been working in the higher ed/govt space for a long time now, it's kinda essential to at least have SOME knowledge - or at least some grasp of the legislation around it. Because UX without accessibility just becomes "some user experience" - which SUX (see what I did there?). So, out of curiosity - hirers and recruiters - why is there no conversation around accessibility in the UX/UI space in the recruitment/talent attraction space? Genuinely interested to hear your thoughts! Would love to find a way to get it more spoken about in the recruitment space. As a reward (and maybe as a bit of a lure), here's a photo of my new pup, Henry - devoid of any context. You're welcome 😉

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Let's talk about service design and its impact. Watch this video to know more. Follow Juneza Niyazi for service design expertise.

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If you want to know what good UX, good Product Management, good design and good customer service looks like, look at Accu. It's easy to find and shred bad UX, but finding great UX is hard. Accu are absolutely smashing it Historically, my go-to example of great UX is Bloom & Wild - and they're still awesome, still great, still a shining beacon of excellence over many many years, and that in itself is a major accomplishment. Creating the conditions and people for great UX is one thing, maintaining it over time and people changes takes management and culture Back to Accu: 1) The design and UX is superb, i.e. form and function 2) The information architecture is epic and extraordinarily well maintained 3) Navigation, search, facets are all highly optimised to find things in the IA 4) The eCom funnel is frictionless, quick and easy 5) Customer service is active on TrustPilot and feeding back to UX/Design/Product In stark contrast, if you look at most competitors - especially headline national brands like B&Q or Homebase (home improvement/DIY brands, like Lowes or Harbor Freight) the above positive product design factors are missing. It's really hard to find what you want, lots of friction, false positives and repetition Accu and Bloom & Wild are both able to be as excellent as they are because they have a very clear and blatant user centric focus. This isn't top down ideation. This isn't a PM's hypothesis or 'validated assumption'. This is data driven, user informed product development with users involved constantly throughout and after the development. Always. If this was an agency build, hats off and kudos. If this was in-house, Accu's IT team need medals and knighthoods, truly impressive The big takeaways: • Product success like Accu's or Bloom & Wild doesn't come from a top down feature factory with no process! • Product success comes from optimising your core functionality, the DNA that supports the brand proposition, i.e. make what you have great, stop trying to build Homer's Car • Product success comes from integrating complimentary practices, not dominating them. Be a facilitator, be a problem solver, don't be a dictator • Check and test your golden journeys, regularly • Use that list of Accu's successes to guide your own product audit strategy - is your IA, navigation, search, eCom, CustServ integration all addressed, managed and functioning optimally? Probably not, so those are your backlog tickets right there... • Farming is often much more potent than Hunting. You need to do both, but in today's world, it's all hunting and no farming. More product farming, improve what you have instead of adding more This is how you win the product game. If you don't believe me, go spend a few minutes at Accu and then visualise that kind of UX in your product. It isn't difficult to get there, you just need to make it a priority. Happy Thursday - much love and support to all Floridians 🙏

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A little job market update from me. This is what I'm seeing out there across the world of design in Australia: 👉 We're still seeing most of the roles on the market across the end-to-end Product Design and Service Design space. There has - for the last year or so - been a real dip in pure User Research roles going to market, as well as a significant decrease in Content Design roles too. As the market stabilises, we anticipate a resurgence in demand here. 👉 Most of the roles on the market at the moment are at the Senior to Lead/Principal level - we're not seeing too many mid-level jobs out there, though we are seeing some of our bigger enterprise businesses investing in their grad schemes after a bit of a hiatus! 👉 Within these roles, there is a clear need for seasoned Senior ICs. Companies are seeking designers who can be on the tools, lead projects, and mentor junior members of staff. 👉 While the contract market is still busy, there is a notable tilt towards permanent positions, with a bit of downward pressure on salaries. 👉 The landscape at the leadership level remains quiet, though a lot of businesses I'm speaking with are earmarking budget for these types of hires in the new financial year. 👉 Most positively, there seems to be a shift across most verticals away from purely BAU, to new products, services (and usually CAPEX funded) projects. If you're looking to discuss your next step or looking to build out your team in the new year, get in touch! 📲 0414 636 440 📧 [email protected]

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Highlighting my article on some of the Lessons I've learnt from working in Product Design across a variety of industries. https://lnkd.in/gSxD6nCe #design #designthinking #designbuild #designstrategy #product #producctdesign #productmanagement #productstrategy #designprinciples #innovation #designers #digitaltransformation #ux #uxdesign #uiux #uidesign #designinnovation #application #software #softwaredesign #usability #userresearch #research #usercentereddesign #productleadership #uxwriting #designsystems #empathy #interfacedesign #usabilitytesting #userexperience #productdesign #accessibility #ui

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For young UX designers trying to break into the industry. Your portfolio might be for a 'found problem', but the research you do is real. If you perform a usability study with a research breif a solid and demonstrated methodology and interview real people and you record the session (with a release form) then conduct observational research where you perform a card sorting exercise and request a diary study (even if your the subject) then send and evaluate a SUS or SUPR-Q survey with analysed statistics, then create a UX persona with that data and find insights (Qualitative and Quantitative) then mock up a solution (basic, basic, basic) highlighting how your insights offer solutions to the problem then finish with how you'd improve the study, it's limitations, and areas for future study. Wow, I'd give you an interview. The project might be personal, but you work, to a rigorous standard, with considered and sampled subjects, that's real. Pick anything that needs a designers eye, if you get stuck; folding chairs, free utility apps, and microwaves are great places to start. #younguxdesigners #uxdesigners #userresearch #uxresearch #usabilitytesting #uxportfolio #designthinking #uxjob #designjob #hiring

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