Philman Yeung

Know when to take UX debt and when to invest. We love the way Mehekk Bassi breaks down the tradeoff between quick delivery and long-term UX value. She encourages designers to treat these choices like financial decisions by being intentional about when to borrow and when to invest. UX debt means taking shortcuts to deliver quickly, knowing there will be fixes later. It helps speed things up but can hurt the experience over time. UX investments take more effort upfront but lead to better long-term outcomes. Her advice is not to avoid UX debt entirely but to use it wisely and always have a plan to pay it back. Check out her article: https://lnkd.in/gCRqva3z Here are five big ideas: 1. UX debt is a strategic tool, not just a shortcut Taking on UX debt can be useful if done intentionally and with a plan to fix it later. 2. Design decisions mirror financial decisions Just like borrowing or investing money, designers must weigh short-term gains against long-term value. 3. Not all UX debt is bad It can help you move quickly in early stages, especially when validating ideas or meeting tight deadlines. 4. UX investments pay off over time Slower, thoughtful design improvements lead to better user experiences and fewer problems later. 5. Be deliberate about when and why you choose each Teams should track their UX debt, understand the cost, and know when to prioritize paying it down. 💬 We asked Mehekk why she wrote the post: “So, my thought behind writing this story was to highlight the fact that many design decisions are often taken without considering future implications of the product. Unknowingly many teams accumulate UX debt and by the time they realize the issues, it's often too late and the experience gets compromised. For us, as designers, thinking about debt becomes a non-negotiable while crafting any experience for the product, that's why the title says - financial mindset of a designer." This is prudent advice! Helio helps you spot when UX debt is slowing users down by measuring things like clarity, completion rates, and confidence. With quick tests using UX metrics, you can decide when to fix issues or move fast with purpose. #uxresearch #productdiscovery #marketresearch #productdesign

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When it comes to user research, we can’t just provide a long laundry list of pain points and tiny fixes. 📝 That’s not enough. 👇 Researchers so often get stuck in the hamster wheel of incremental product improvement that we aren’t actually spending enough time with our research (synthesizing it using design thinking) to provide true innovative solutions. (As you know, providing innovative solutions is the KEY to creating real impact.) Instead, what usually happens is that stakeholders receive these research reports with a big long list of basic, surface-level pain points to address at the end (🥱), along with some basic recommendations, and they get added to some product/feature roadmap, prioritized, and implemented in a routine life cycle. 🤷 This is great, to an extent! BUT, hello!!… DESIGN (the bigger umbrella of design) is NOT about identifying a million pain points and painfully fixing each one. Design is about creating experiences and things that delight ✨ and excite 🤸people, while being functional. User research should support that. 👉 Try not to get stuck in this trap when you’re working on your next project.  Next time, when you’re looking at a fresh set of raw research data: 🧩 Strategize: Employ frameworks to start processing the themes and repeating ideas in your data. 🧘‍♂️ Marinate: Let these themes and ideas wash over your subconscious again and again, even while you sleep! 🌀Bend and push your creative mind: Work hard at putting those ideas together in new and exciting ways. 💥 Don’t stop until you get to the magic: You will find those “aha” moments waiting underneath it all. 🎯 Communicate and sell that magic in your reporting: Showcase opportunities that will actually get at the deep-rooted design problem and elevate your organization into a trendsetting power player. The way we do this for our clients is through Action Plans. Yes, we still provide the laundry list of pains — because it IS still useful. BUT, the genius 🧠 we deliver is in translating these larger themes into ACTIONABLE and INNOVATIVE solutions that will literally transform the way those businesses deliver their products and services, and propel them ahead of the industry. This is how you get noticed in your UX career — bringing these types of solutions to the table!! #UserResearch #UXResearch #DesignInnovation #UXCareer #DigitalTransformation

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3+ million people use Wealthsimple today. And UX keeps being one of the biggest reasons they love our app. After 3 years here, these are 5 design learnings I keep coming back to: 1️⃣ Focus on one action at a time Every screen should have one clear priority. Once you think your design is simple, simplify it more. Then do it again. Making complex finances feel easy has taught me that clarity always wins. 2️⃣ Use people’s language Our voice & tone is a fundamental part of the brand. Clear content guidelines keep us consistent while building an approachable, fun personality in both English and French. Great content paired with great UX builds meaningful relationships with clients. 3️⃣ Systemize, then stretch Design systems are a great source of truth and a strong starting point. But they’re not the ceiling. The best work comes when you respect the system while still pushing patterns forward and raising the bar. 4️⃣ Prototype to persuade Wireframe-y prototypes open more doors than static decks. Record a walkthrough, share it widely, post it in channels with lots of eyeballs. You’ll be surprised who rallies behind new ideas. 5️⃣ Learn from the best around you Pick a skill you want to grow in the next 6 months and find the people who excel at it. Ask for jam sessions and review work together. Most people will say yes if you ask and you will learn sooo much. That has been my biggest growth hack. These lessons came from building, shipping, failing, and learning alongside some of the best designers I have ever worked with. To many more! 🥂 #uxdesign #productdesign #careerlessons #growth #wealthsimple

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When I first started at Shopify, I heard the phrase “build for the long term.” It stuck with me because I realized how much it matters: not just for business results, but for people and communities. Now, as a Staff Product Manager at Buffer, that lesson shapes everything I do. At Buffer, we're not chasing quick wins or trends. Every feature is rooted in the idea that what we build today should empower our users and our team well into the future. For my role within the Channels and Platform team, I often have to strike a balance between getting a feature out quickly and ensuring that the foundational work behind it sets us up for success down the road. At Shopify, I worked alongside merchants, partners and developers whose businesses were their livelihoods, and every product decision considered how it might help them grow (not just this quarter, but next year and beyond). Building for the long term also extends beyond the product. I’ve seen how a culture focused on sustainability leads to deeper relationships, within the company and with our customers. The fact that so many teammates have been here five years or more (myself included) isn’t an accident. It’s the result of intentional choices to invest in growth, learning, and transparency. Our community doesn’t just use our products: they act as advocates, share their stories, and help us innovate through open feedback loops, and this is how I personally measure long term success. If you’re building something, ask yourself: How will this decision hold up five years from now? That one question has made all the difference for me, at Shopify and at Buffer.

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🚀 Another big win for Vancouver tech. ShopVision, launched just this year, has raised US$4.1M in seed funding led by Brightspark Ventures, with support from BDC Capital and Rhino Ventures. Founded by Harry Chemko (Elastic Path), Peter Sheldon (ex-Adobe), and Jeff Neil (ex-Vivrelle), ShopVision is building a category-defining AI platform for e-commerce teams—helping brands move faster, make smarter decisions, and automate high-impact workflows. With early customers like Herschel Supply Company, Craft Sportswear, and Men's Suit Warehouse, ShopVision is already proving how AI can turn competitive complexity into clarity. Full story here 👇 #bctech https://lnkd.in/g5EmVaJT

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