Weekly Roundup - 23rd-27th October 2017

Weekly Roundup

Monday 23rd October 2017

Week six! Time is flying by and we are making good progress in getting closer to the launch date.

Getting the chance to do more work on the Maintenance Manager (MMgr) system lately. Todays challenge was to redesign the UI for the profile builder page. The marketing team is currently working on an invitation email campaign that will be going out inviting more tradies to join the platform.

The current registration process is clunky and data intense.

Working with the dev guys on revising the UI to match the updated design. It’s becoming more apparent that even people in the industry don’t know the difference between UX and UI. There is a misconception with people that UX and UI are the same thing.

“We need to add the UX” what they actually meant is “Can you help us think through the application’s user flow, interaction design, structure and navigation”. There is a common misconception that one single person is responsible for successfully conceiving, designing, implementing and validating the user’s experience with an application.

There are so many variables in this that it is not just a simple task to ‘add some ux’.

A good user experience depends on:

  • Clear structure and navigation flows
  • Compelling and clear visual design;
  • Great copy and tone of voice
  • Thoughtful transitions and animations
  • The applications performance and speed
  • The user’s mobile phone performance and speed
  • The user’s current environment and internet connection when using the application
  • The product making sense to that user
  • The product adding value to what that user needs
  • A clear understanding by the user of what the product does
  • How accessible the product is
  • The user’s social, cultural and demographic context
  • Everything the user has seen in their entire life
  • Right down to how the user is feeling that particular day they use the product

So, where does it end? Having said all this, I believe UX cannot simply be ‘designed’, thus, we design for UX. This is because UX depends not only on the product itself, but on the user and the situation in which they use the application as well as all of the above variables.

The difference between designing UX and designing for UX is subtle but yet important. It can help us think of how we want the UX to be and remind us of our limitations. At the end of the day what we’re trying to achieve is to give users what they want — and a tad more. In addition to enabling users to use our application efficiently and effectively, we want to make them also think, “Wow, this app is fantastic!” Exceed their expectations desirably. If we do so, they will use the app not because they have to but because they want to.

My WPengine website hosting allows me to host several websites, so I am helping a friend get her website up and running so she can promote her copywriting services. Excited to share it with you once she goes live!

What a hectic Monday, so many thoughts running through my head today, I feel like I’ve just blurted it all out here, which kind of feels good.

Monday Back Workout

  • Warm up followed by 4 x 10 reps 54kg Lat Pulldown
  • 4 x 12 reps Single Arm Iso-Lateral DY Row
  • 4 x 12 reps Single Arm Iso-Lateral High Row
  • 10 mins Sit Down Bike

Tuesday 24th October 2017

More UI design and working closely with the guys to get as much done as possible for launch.

Worked on the Minerfy backend, I am trying to get it to a stage where I can get people using it. That way I can get feedback on possible features that they may require etc.

Tuesday Chest Workout

  • Warm up followed by 2 x 40kg, 2 x 60kg Iso-Lateral Incline Super Press
  • 4 x 12 reps 80kg Iso-Lateral Wide Chest
  • 3 x 6 reps 32kg Dumbbell Press
  • 4 x 10 reps 63kg Pec Fly
  • 4 x 10 reps 11kg Cable Fly
  • 10 mins Sit Down Bike

Wednesday 25th October 2017

Busy day just focusing on the UI design and creating assets for the dev guys to implement.

Had a shit leg workout this morning because it was so busy at Anytime Fitness Erina which was weird for a Wednesday?

Just a reminder to everyone doing their own hustle, there is nothing wrong with experiencing the gamut of human emotions, everyone sees the world in a different light. Sometimes some meh vibes are what you need to get to that next phase in your journey. So, if you’re going through a plateau just remember that everything passes and opportunity is out there for those who grab it. Just keep doing your thing.

Wednesday Legs Workout

  • Warm up followed by 2 x 12 reps 45kg, 2 x 12 reps 55kg Leg Extensions
  • 4 x 12 reps 30kg Seated Leg Curl
  • 5 mins Air Bike
  • 10 mins Sit Down Bike

Thursday 26th October 2017

Working with the guys and providing assets so they continue building out the pages with the revised UI.

My phone shat itself so I got the new iPhone8 Plus. I thought set up would be pretty straight forward as the guy from the Optus Shop told me I would be able to transfer everything across via Wifi. That part was easy, however, one of my apps was using an old Apple ID which kept popping up asking to enter my Apple ID. I couldn’t work out which app it was so I had to delete all of the apps and add them again. In the end it worked out well because I only downloaded the apps I actually regularly use now.

These days I keep it pretty simple, below is a screenshot of my screen. Daily apps I use include: Instagram, Trello, Notes, Messenger, Hangouts, LinkedIn, CommBank, Facebook Page, Podcasts & Spotify

There are probably a whole bunch more I could add so I am interested to find out what daily apps you are using. Let me know in the comments below.

Thursday Shoulders Workout

  • Warm Up Iso-Lateral Shoulder Press
  • 2 x 12 Reps 40kg, 2 x 8 Reps 60kg Single Arm Iso-Lateral Shoulder Press
  • 4 x 12 Reps 54kg Rear Delt
  • 4 x 8kg Cable Raises
  • 10 mins Sit Down Bike

Friday 27th October 2017

Working with the guys and providing assets so they continue building out the pages with the revised UI.

Continuing on from the work I did earlier in the week on Minerfy, I have been doing a bunch of research on trying to find the best solution to get it up and running as soon as possible. I came across a road block due to how the tax needs to be processed on the site. The current solution doesn’t cut the mustard and I may start again and just offer it to Australian sellers.

Friday Arms Workout

  • Warm up Cable Curls and Cable Pulldowns
  • 4 x 12 reps 14kg Dumbbell Curl
  • 4 x 12 reps 14kg Dumbbell Skullcrushers
  • 4 x 12 reps 75kg Tricep Press
  • 4 x 12 reps 46kg Preacher Curl
  • 5 mins Air Bike
  • 10 mins Sit Down Bike