Teresa T.

We need to consider our intended users. Sometimes they’re our customers or the public. Often times, they’re also stakeholders, colleagues, employees, partners, superiors, or clients. These are the people who use our process.

To determine who matters, ask these questions:

• Who’s most important to get agreement from?


• Who’s most important to serve?


• What

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How is an ever-growing list of directions we could take while staying true to our reasons why.

To look at your options, ask yourself:

How could we communicate our message?

How much time and effort will it take?

How could the solution look and feel?

How will this be produced?

How will this be maintained?

How will this be measured?

How will we know if we’ve... See more

The following exercise will help you state your intent and clarify your language with other people.

• First, choose a set of adjectives you want your users to use to describe what you’re making.


• Then, choose a set of adjectives that you’re okay with not being used to describe the same thing.

I find these rules helpful during this exercise:

• When put

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The belief or non-belief that there were other cookies on that plate is the information each viewer interprets from the way the cookies were arranged. When we rearrange the cookies with the intent to change how people interpret them, we’re architecting information.

While we can arrange things with the intent to communicate certain information, we... See more

What if turning on the light reveals that the room is full of scary trolls? What if the light reveals the room is actually empty? Worse yet, what if turning on the light makes us realize we’ve been living in darkness?

The truth is that these are all potential realities, and understanding that is part of the journey. The only way to know what happens... See more