Category: Lab Zero
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Addressing your team’s discovery gaps to build valuable, viable solutions
In our previous article, we used Teresa Torres’s “Opportunity Solution Tree” to understand the “why” behind a solution in progress. As we uncovered insights, outcomes, and assumptions, we likely found gaps in our tree. Misalignment or uncertainty about customer insights exposes the team to risk. They may waste time and effort on solutions customers don’t want…
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Reversing Teresa Torres’ “Opportunity Solution Tree” to find the “why” behind solutions
Discovery is my favorite part of the job. I love seeing a need become a valuable action. I still remember the astonished gasp from a customer when she realized the new feature solved her most time-consuming workflow problem. Or the wave of relief from a team who discovered a simpler, and less expensive, approach to…
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Build a foundation for success with an assessment
All organizations make trade-offs to get where they are. To meet its near-term goals, your organization had to make tough choices about what to prioritize vs. defer, which best practices to follow vs. shortcuts to take, and when to invest in the team vs. make do. Your team has made progress, and that’s good. It’s…
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Get off the feature delivery treadmill by visualizing your future initiatives
Working without a product vision is not sustainable Product vision can be a powerful thing. It tells a story of what’s possible and pulls people toward that change. A lack of vision can be insidious. At its best, it leads to missed potential. At its worst, it can lead to unmotivated, burned-out teams and a…
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Design Leadership and Assessment for a Growth-Phase Fintech Startup
My client, an established, mid-sized fintech startup, built an impressive, data-rich product. Because they had limited design support, the team focused on proving functionality aware that they were incurring usability debt. This led to a powerful tool with a complex UI that had to rely on the company’s expert customer service support to explain. To…
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Kindred Motorworks // Blueprints App / MVP
Role Director of Product Design, Discovery Coach Industry Tech-enabled automotive manufacturing startup Context Kindred Motorworks is in the business of modernizing and electrifying classic cars, or in their words, “Making your formerly irrational desire for a vintage car completely justifiable.” Kindred relies on blueprints, the custom teardown and restoration instructions, to allow the team to…
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Realtor.com // Referral Manager / Lender Integration
Realtor.com is a trusted resource for home buyers, sellers, and agents. Realtor service connects buyers with agents, giving agents information about the buyer’s budget and preferences. To help give the buyer-agent team an edge in competitive markets, Relator partnered with a digital-first lender to bring pre-approval data to the agent service.
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Forge Global // Direct Listings / Product Vision
Lab Zero played a crucial role in helping Forge navigate the challenging transition from the startup to the growth phase. Under intense pressure to deliver and expand their service offerings, they needed to move fast to understand their customers’ needs and test potential solutions. Our role in articulating the vision for new services and aligning…
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Lab Zero // New Hire Experience
Role Senior Product Designer and Director of Design Industry Custom software design and development, coaching, and leadership. Timeline Initial MVP: <1 week to create and test. Followed by continuous iteration and refinement based on new hire and support team feedback. Outcomes Skills Full case study available below Context Lab Zero is a cross-disciplinary product design…
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Giving and receiving design feedback effectively takes practice
It’s not always easy to give and receive design feedback. A negative past experience might make a designer hesitant to ask for or participate in a review. Unfortunately, we can’t produce good work without getting or giving feedback. Practicing giving and receiving feedback will help us grow as a team. This guide provides an overview…