What’s Wrong with Spotify’s Analytics Emails (a Design/UI/UX Audit)

Design Audit: Spotify for Artists

Today, I’m sharing my impressions of one of Spotify’s analytics touchpoints—a monthly email I receive with a boatload of design choices I mostly hope you will not copy, especially if you’re working in an enterprise capacity. Most of you by now probably know I have another career as a professional musician, and that includes having three recordings I … Read more

(8) reasons why data visualization training for your BI team may not increase analytics adoption

Inside view of empty airliner by JC Gellidon

Customers want simple, well-designed decision support tools and UX’s that are actionable. Businesses want to see value from data and adoption of data-driven decision making. However, the UX that is afforded to is often simply a byproduct of the analytics team’s engineering, or, at best, “data viz” efforts—and it’s not working. A decade later, success rates for data projects remain unchanged, despite vendor/BI tooling improvements. What are BI/analytics teams still missing? Design.

(6) Ways to Sanitize Your Data Product, Dashboard Visuals or Analytics due to Covid-19

Clorox, Lysol, and cleaning bottles on a table.

Covid-19 presents a major disruption to our lives and businesses. However, sanitizing your hands isn’t the only thing you data leaders need to be considering. Your data product, dashboards, or UI may also need to be cleaned up. No hard-to-find Clorox wipes needed; just some good design thinking centered around your customers.

How to tell when poor UI/UX in a ML/AI application, analytics solution, or data product is impacting customer value

frustrated worker at computer with hands over his eyes

Today I want to tell you why your ugly, clunky, hard-to-use data/AI product or analytics solution should scare you. But first, you, your boss, your customer, your stakeholder—somebody—has to pass that judgement on it. They probably have, but don’t expect it to necessarily come out in the words you may expect. Just as most designers (in … Read more

Keeping Analytics Solutions in Check with Customer Needs

Toy men assembling something with frustration

AI and Machine Learning Are Not a Panacea for Underused Analytics Services Ears, Eyes and Empathy Guide the Best MVPs Since AI, predictive, and prescriptive analytics are big right now, there is a tendency for companies to “want” to use this technology and throw it into their marketing jargon as well. Boards and executives are … Read more

Designing MVPs for Data Products and Decision Support Tools

Rough prototype of a miniature car powered by a AA battery

Author’s Note: This article was originally published to my mailing list, hence the reference to previous emails and published podcast episodes.   Before I jump into this week’s article on MVPs for custom data products, just wanted to address one listener’s response to the new podcast in case others had the same experience. Re: the audio … Read more