Dan Parham

The simple shift from weakness-based product strategy to strengths-based can be a game changer for the trajectory of your product.

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Jessica Dubin is spot on! I've told several people recently that as much as I love designing and building digital products and businesses, I truly love bringing together collaborative cross-functional teams. This is where I find my passion. A connective tissue of transparency, relationships, roles, and teams. A culture of effective feedback. The status quo will not get you through the challenges that lay ahead. You should listen to this entire episode!

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It's been 10 years since CapitalOne acquired Adaptive Path. I'm glad for my friends who did well with the acquisition, but I'm mostly sad with what it's meant for design. For folks who joined UX within the last decade: there was a time when independent consultancies made an important contribution — and not just through their work for clients, but by sharing what they learned along the way. Adaptive Path wasn't just a consultancy. They also elevated the profession by hosting fabulous conference series, publishing world-leading content (including frameworks that are used to this day,) and more. AP wasn't the only one that did this, but it was the most visible. Unfortunately many of these consultancies have been acquired. I say 'unfortunately' because large enterprises (e.g., banks) aren't incentivized to share what they learn WRT design. A few years ago, I was preparing a workshop where I taught participants about experience maps. AP used to host an excellent primer on their website. In the past, I'd point folks to the PDF in AP's website. Alas, CapitalOne wiped everything related to Adaptive Path from the internet. You can still find their guide to experience mapping — in the Internet Archive. That's no way to run a profession. The move in-house as the default may have been positive for designers — for a while — but it has hurt the profession. Consultancies are an important part of the ecosystem.

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I've worked with enough engineer-designed interfaces to value design highly at even early stage startups ... but, man, they can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I mean that in a truly affectionate way, because I've realized over the years the context many of my favorite design-minded folks are coming from - a demanding world of perfection-seeking where critique is a core competency. While most of my engineering colleagues are coming from a world where nothing is finished, nothing is perfect, and everything is slightly broken everywhere. Shipped can be better than perfect. Until you get both sides aligned to the same goal, you'll find these two world views butting into each other in fun and exciting ways ... But once aligned, it's off to the races. https://lnkd.in/gVzDZaaY

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Exciting Announcement! 🚀 Join us on Thursday, October 4th at 3 PM EST for a dynamic A11Y webinar: Shift Left – Integrating Accessibility from the Start! I’ll be speaking alongside Daryn Harpaz and Juliette Alexandria from Zenyth,  as we dive into best practices for building accessibility into your design and development process from day one. Here’s what we’ll cover: • The importance of “shifting left” with accessibility to create more inclusive digital experiences • How early integration of accessibility saves time, reduces costs, and improves user satisfaction • Practical strategies to embed accessibility within your workflow, ensuring WCAG 2.2 compliance Whether you’re a designer, developer, project manager, or business leader, this webinar will provide actionable insights to make your digital projects more accessible and user-friendly from the ground up. Date: Thursday, October 4th Time: 3 PM EST Don’t miss out – Register now: https://lnkd.in/etvz9Rph #ShiftLeft #Accessibility #A11Y #DigitalInclusion #WCAG #InclusiveDesign

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Unique opportunity for design leaders and innovators to learn from the amazingly talented designer and author Kevin Bethune: figure out ways to break through the glass ceiling of misunderstandings and friction when collaborating with tech and business peers. Learn ways to build stakeholder empathy, strategic influence and a renewed sense of optimism that you can translate diverse insights and inspiration into meaningful innovation.

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No B.S. Join Product, Design, and Research Leaders and the UX Researcher's Guild for a presentation on Executive Alignment. You can register to receive the recording afterward if you can't make the session in person. Register here: https://lnkd.in/gienkxTP #ExecutiveAlignment #UXResearch #ProductUX #UX #ResearchLeadership #DesignLeadership #UXR

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Hi network! I was recently introduced to Teach Access who just became a Classy customer (thanks Clara Edwards for the intro). The intersection of education and accessibility is one I am really passionate about. As a leader in product design and a mother of two daughters, I am deeply passionate about programs that promote accessibility in education. My professional journey has ingrained in me the importance of creating solutions that are inclusive and empower all individuals to reach their potential and this extends into my personal life. These initiatives not only open doors for individuals but also enrich our society by cultivating a diverse and talented workforce equipped to address the complex challenges of tomorrow. Today I met with Mindy Kolin as I'm interested in volunteering, working with Teach Access to bring awareness to their cause. Because opening doors up to the education piece for students has such a ripple affect! Teach Access's goal is to: Teach Access provides free programs and resources to help students and educators in the higher education community with the intention of creating accessibility-infused college curricula for students. I'm thinking about close professors at University of Washington Julie Kientz or my alma matter Washington State University or if anyone in my network is interested in a corporate sponsorship with Teach Access as well. Learn more here https://teachaccess.org/ This affects every job, every sector and so important. Let's build a society with a diverse, talented workforce ready to tackle the future’s big challenges-- it's important.

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The funding landscape for founders has been tough over the past two years—but for female founders, it's been even tougher. At Fierce Foundry, we're stepping up to change that. Like the trailblazing organizations How Women Invest and WE Global Studios, we’re fueling the flywheel of female investment. Our innovative approach isn’t just about making noise—it’s about making measurable impact. Join me at my info session today (and every other week - register via the link below) to learn how you can help drive meaningful change for female founders. Let’s make it happen! 🌟 https://lnkd.in/e9FUg9Uj

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An honest and empathetic view of how generative AI (or more correctly LLMs and Stable Diffusion) are transforming the UX industry. Beautifully written and wise. I think the recommendations are widely applicable. It is an opportunity to be strategic, authentic, and to act with purpose. The time of re-wrapping the ideas of others is a vanishing part of all of our work.

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Why is it still so hard to to create, design, build and launch products people love to use? (Two words: Executive Alignment) It took me years to understand this principle and even longer to make it a key part of my product leadership toolbox. Fortunately, you don't have to wait that long because the UX Researchers Guild is hosting an event this Thursday (Aug 15) featuring Tamara Adlin on this exact topic. I'm not one to endorse LinkedIn events often, but after following Tamara's work for some time, I can honestly say her experience and practical approach to helping product professionals advance their career is second to none. If you're a product leader, researcher or simply want to create better alignment between cross-functional teams & executive needs... Then you don't want to miss this event. 🗓 Mark your calendars! 🗓 https://lnkd.in/eshTB4Nc (Repost for others ♻️)

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Take it from me, there’s no better way to learn excellent and practical ways to overhaul your experimentation efficacy! Erin makes critical thinking fun and highly accessible in this workshop, June 11:

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https://lnkd.in/ekefuKTB been thinking a lot about the relationship between product management and UX teams lately... utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop #ux #productmanagement #productdevelopment

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Mike Belsito of Product Collective goes deep on detailing the ins and outs of what it means to be Product Led -- highlighting the work of Wes Bush, Blake Bartlett, and others -- and going through case studies that include companies like Dropbox, Calendly, Slack and more. #plgplays #productledgrowth #revenueengine #valueengine #saas #saasgrowth #gtm #saasbusiness #saasstartups #saasproduct #productmanagement #businessgrowth #scalingup #gtmstrategy #revenueboost #monetization #revenuegeneration #productgrowth #gtmmotion #gtmplays #customerjourney #plgstrategies #plg #bestpractices #expertadvice #customervaluecreation #productvalue #successstrategy #gtmomentum #gotomarket #valuecreation #bestpractices #customercentricity #saassales #saasmarketing #growthlevers #growthdrivers #softwarebusiness

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Whether I am on a sales call, at a party, or just speaking with friends, explaining the breadth of Viam’s capabilities in words has been difficult. I have, however, found that once I show the platform at work, eyes light up and ideas about the different devices that could benefit from Viam begin flowing. Here are some of my favorite projects to “show off” when I am giving a demo of Viam. What devices in your life would you hack to do the same? https://lnkd.in/eFn6eD52 #software #robotics #opensource

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Have you ever thought about how compliance laws are a lot like design systems? I recently spoke with Joe Toscano, founder of DataGrade, and he made a fascinating comparison. Joe explained how Brad Frost's atomic design methodology took an engineering approach to design: → Creating standardized elements → Templatizing them → Scaling them across a system This led to the rise of human interface guidelines (HIGs) from tech giants like Google, Apple, and IBM. But here's where it gets really interesting: Joe argued that privacy laws and regulations are like the ultimate HIG for product design. Just like how HIGs provide rules and constraints for design systems... Compliance laws set guardrails for what we can and can't do with user data. If we design something that isn't compliant, it doesn't matter how sleek the UI is. Legal requirements become the top-level framework we have to design within. That's what got Joe into studying laws - to understand this new "design system" for building products. So next time you're cursing a lengthy legal doc or trying to make sense of GDPR... Remember, it's all just part of the atomic design of compliance. — Do you agree with the analogy of compliance laws as the ultimate design system? Why or why not? Hear more of Joe's unique perspectives on the intersection of product, privacy, and law on the latest episode of The Minimum Viable Podcast.

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Attending Friends of Figma, Miami was a great experience this past Thursday evening! The South FL design community explored the intersection of AI and design at Slalom’s office. The conversations were inspiring, and one stood out: Will AI take over our roles as experience and product creators? Group thoughts — While AI is reshaping the industry, there's optimism that human creativity and emotional intelligence will continue to drive innovation, with AI serving as a tool to enhance our ability to deliver delightful experiences. After all, AI has its limitations, and we all know it doesn’t always get it right (sometimes with some hilarious results!). But there’s no denying that it will continue to evolve and impact the way we work. Bonus: It was great to step away from the desk and connect with local remote working designers. Can’t wait for the next event! What do you think—does/will AI enhance or challenge our roles as designers? P.S. A little help from ChatGPT went into crafting this post—thanks for the assist! ✍️ ——————————————————————- Disclaimer: The following reflects my personal thoughts and experiences and does not represent the views of my employer.

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Truly mature design systems are almost always looking to have fewer components and less complexity at their core. Let composability and inheritance (systems of systems) build on top of a core foundation. There is a budding "ecosystem" model for design systems that have a maturity / adoption curve we should be able to model.

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Two of the best things about working with my new client, Manifest UX (https://manifestux.com/), are their: 1. track record of being able to add value at any point in a product's development cycle and their 2. commitment to always involving the principals of the company, ensuring that important work is not handed down to a junior person. Manifest UX can enhance a product at any stage of its development. Whether it's improving an existing product, solving challenging problems, or adding powerful new features, their input can transform an OK product into a GREAT one, boosting daily active users (DAU), monthly active users (MAU), and revenue. At DS Digital (dansteiny.com), we are proud to provide business development support to ManifestUX in driving exceptional results for their clients. If you’re looking for flexible, high-quality UX and product design support, feel free to reach out. I'd love to connect you with this amazing team. #UserExperience #ProductDesign #BusinessDevelopment #Partnerships #ManifestUX #DSDigital #DigitalMedia #AI

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