Ash Rendell PhD

User Experience Designer. Fascinated by the intersection of psychology, behaviour & design. Opinions my own.

[Nick Stamas @nickstamas]

Design isn't self-expression and it's not about what makes you feel good.

It's about being obsessively curious about the people you're serving and doing the hard work to make things better for them.

[Jeremy, Writer & Dad & Collector of Parks @JeremyWingert79]

My hot take is that most of us have not adequately processed the trauma of the pandemic. And our sprawling, unprocessed trauma chews away at our brains in myriad ways that make us anxious about why we can’t seem to live our lives as instinctively or as joyously as we did in 2019.

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@nickf @laura_yarrow I forgot there’s non-duplo leggo… 💭😅

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@BrigetteMetzler @AIRAANZ_news Congratulations! What a proud moment 😊

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@ShekyEspejo @emollick @steveportigal Actually, the body of work has also shown that digital or otherwise substitutes for nature work just as well too. It’s not necessarily about the finding inspiration part, more to do with the beneficial effects of reducing stress which allow you to think more effectively 😉

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

Oh how I wish more people understood this: stories don’t equal waterfall requirements 👏🏻 👏🏻

[Allen Holub. https://linkedIn.com/in/allenholub @allenholub]

I see no point in tracking the work. That implies that you have an up-front tactical plan and need to observe how that plan is progressing. Agile doesn't work that way. You definitely need /real/ stories (that describe your user's problems). Stories aren't waterfall requirements.

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

And culture change is a long and windy road in my experience…

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@ChelseaLarsson Ah yes. Of course.

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@ChelseaLarsson Surely there’s a missing principle somewhere here around knowing when to say, hang on we need to act slow, strategically and in a research-driven manner right now?

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@ChelseaLarsson So many yes’ to this thread! I wonder though if it’s possible some orgs are set up for a fast shipping speed (at least in terms of design) because they’ve never known anything different. It’s hard to place value on and space for processes you’ve never been privy to… 1/2

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@ChelseaLarsson Yes! Sometimes the ‘perfect’ solution is actually terrible too because it’s so dramatically different for your users. Obv depends on context, but perhaps the best long term solution is actually incremental changes to bring users/customers on the journey with you.

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@ReillyInnes Woohoo! Excited to see this next chapter develop for you Reilly.

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@brownorama Oh no…. I mean, really though? Is it any wonder orgs and stakeholders have no clue what we do - even within our profession we can’t make our mind up 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@laurie_jones Yup, we moved up at the start of the year. But I miss Newy so much 😩 How’s remote working treating you?

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@laurie_jones love your work on https://t.co/Ecvwo1jILb I miss working with you!

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

😂 whoops 😅

[Tareq Ismail @tareqismail]

why designers and pms can't get along

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@Sarahrcyb @LindaSkitka I finished my PhD in IS in 2021 and am currently working in federal gov. Would love to get involved if possible, the non-academic career pathway is something I’m very passionate about. Too many of my lab colleagues had no idea of their value outside academia!

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@JemimahIrvin Love it Jem. We teach our son the same thing. He often just says no, and I’m so proud of all the people in our lives honouring his boundaries.

[Ash Rendell PhD @ashrendell]

@NewcastleCogLab @ErinRobinsonUoN Congratulations Dr @ErinRobinsonUoN!