Motivation, Exploratory Testing, User Behavior, and more ...
Motivation, Exploratory Testing, User Behavior, and more ...
Wide-ranging topics relevant for product managers
Motivation, Exploratory Testing, User Behavior, and more ...
Over the past year, I’ve been working with LogRocket (a session replay, error tracking, and product analytics company) to provide a product perspective on some of the elements that influence user behaviour or support a reduction in product errors, and I thought I’d summarise some of these learnings here.
Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation-hygiene
When it comes to job satisfaction, can you be both satisfied and dissatisfied at the same time? That’s exactly what Herzberg’s two-factor theory of hygiene and motivation aims to address.
The two-factor theory supposes that when it comes to our work lives, there are different, mutually exclusive factors that contribute to our ultimate feelings of job satisfaction or dissatisfaction: Hygiene factors such as pay and company policies; and motivation factors, such as engagement or career development.
As such, it’s possible to be satisfied on one level but dissatisfied on another.
What is exploratory testing? Benefits and how it works
Exploratory testing, as the name suggests, isn’t planned with a script to follow. Instead, it involves exploring all around the product and seeing where the testing takes you.
A nice description to use when comparing exploratory testing with scripted testing is that scripted testing is similar to you making a speech. You prepare the words in advance and follow them as you present, whereas exploratory testing is more of a conversation. It’s spontaneous and involves reacting to the various outputs that you receive.
Perhaps the most frequently cited benefit of exploratory testing is that it provides the organization with a great opportunity to learn about its application and perhaps fill in missing knowledge gaps on how it operates. This can feed back into the process and provide new functional specifications for future reference or the basis for future scripted testing.
4 laws and effects that govern user behavior
The Von Restorff effect: Why the odd one out counts
Whenever we are asked to design anything, our aim should be to make the most important information or action visually distinctive from everything else on the page. This is why we find website pages using different coloured buttons for actions that the company wants direct attention to. The more distinctive an object is from similar objects grouped together the more likely it is to be remembered.
Miller’s Law: Why users can’t keep track of multiple tasks
The application of Miller’s Law can be seen in products that are designed to separate larger tasks into smaller pieces with fewer parts. The premise is that if we can keep our activities below seven pieces of information that most of us can cope with, the better chance of ultimately succeeding in our task.
Hick’s Law: Why too much choice slows you down
This law looks at the fact that the more stimuli an individual has to choose from, the longer it takes them to make a decision. It’s why subscription pricing pages typically only have three or four options. The more choices a company offers, the more consumers worry about making the right choice and thus don’t make a choice at all.
The aesthetic-usability effect: Why beautiful design is more useful
This law indicates that users are likely to be strongly influenced by the aesthetic of an interface, even when they are trying to assess the underlying functionality. Basically, if we think it looks good, then we’re likely to think it’s easier to use.
What is product portfolio management?
In organizations that hold numerous products, the role of product management can be expanded. This is when product portfolio management (PPM) comes in to address the product management responsibility across all of the products.
Where a product manager takes responsibility for the development and success of an individual product, a product portfolio manager will be looking at numerous products, how they work together, and how they all function within the market.
Planning poker: The agile way to do estimation for scrum teams
Planning poker (aka scrum poker) is a technique most often applied in agile software development to help scrum teams estimate the amount of work required to complete tasks in the product backlog. It is designed to help overcome some of the estimation challenges we typically face, such as inconsistent experience, group influences, and a lack of knowledge.
Here at Getting Started in Product, we run a bookstore that stocks a variety of books focused on the world of product management; from direct product management books like Inspired by Marty Cagan to stories of success within global organizations like NIKE