Business and UX Strategy

The #1 problem I see with clients trying to design good analytics products

When it comes to analytics products that need to show data to customers, one of the biggest misconceptions I see with clients is the believe that their trove of data is actually ​information, by default. Your data is not informative until it has been presented–i.e. designed–in a way that customers can inform their future decisions or actions. … Read moreThe #1 problem I see with clients trying to design good analytics products

What’s wrong with the analytics in the NEST thermostat’s monthly report?

It’s homework time! Let’s talk about NEST (Thermostat) for a minute. In particular, their monthly report. I have a thermostat and hot water radiators in my house (no central air). Each month, the NEST device sends me a report of how I did in terms of energy use etc. How good is this report? Hmmm. … Read moreWhat’s wrong with the analytics in the NEST thermostat’s monthly report?

Is your product producing automated insights/recommendations based on…fluff?

Ah, fluff. It’s a great word, and it was actually born in its marshmallow form just a mile away in Somerville, MA. There’s even a fluff festival. A few weeks ago, we talked about the various levels of maturity that an analytics-driven product can go through, with the Holy Grail being one that delivers actionable, useful … Read moreIs your product producing automated insights/recommendations based on…fluff?

What happens when you use templates for dashboards and analytics products?

I hear it all the time on Quora, in real life, and from clients: “What BI tool should we use to visualize our data? Is there a good dashboard template you know of?” When it comes to designing analytics products and dashboards, templates and libraries aren’t necessarily bad, if you have spent the time to … Read moreWhat happens when you use templates for dashboards and analytics products?

Do you have a metrics toilet on your hand?

When I work on products that primarily exist to display analytics information, I find most of them fall into roughly four different levels of design maturity: The best analytics-driven products give actionable recommendations or predictions written in prose telling a user what to do based on data.  They are careful about the quantity and design of the … Read moreDo you have a metrics toilet on your hand?