Product thinking and collaboration

About this stage

Before this stage Stage 8: Usability testing and iteration

Learning outcomes

• Connect design work to product goals and measurable outcomes.
• Prioritise and make trade-offs with product managers and engineers.
• Understand A/B tests and analytics well enough to use them responsibly.
• Recognise dark patterns and argue for ethical alternatives.

Lessons

The lessons in this stage are being written. Lessons marked “In writing” are listed so you can see the full scope; they are never counted towards your progress. The resource library and glossary cover these topics in the meantime.

1. 1

   Product goals and user needs In writing

   Balancing what the business wants with what people need.

   In writing 25 min
2. 2

   Product discovery and delivery In writing

   Working on what to build and how to build it at the same time.

   In writing 30 min
3. 3

   Prioritisation and trade-offs In writing

   Impact, effort, confidence and saying no.

   In writing 30 min
4. 4

   Working with developers and product managers In writing

   Shared rituals and healthy collaboration.

   In writing 30 min
5. 5

   Technical feasibility and design constraints In writing

   Designing with the platform, not against it.

   In writing 25 min
6. 6

   Design critiques and stakeholder feedback In writing

   Running critiques and handling feedback.

   In writing 30 min
7. 7

   Design documentation In writing

   Specs and decision records.

   In writing 25 min
8. 8

   Measuring outcomes and defining metrics In writing

   Outputs versus outcomes.

   In writing 30 min
9. 9

   A/B testing fundamentals and limitations In writing

   What experiments can and cannot show.

   In writing 30 min
10. 10

    Analytics-informed design In writing

    Using data without being ruled by it.

    In writing 25 min
11. 11

    Ethical design, privacy and dark patterns In writing

    Recognising and refusing manipulative design.

    In writing 35 min
12. 12

    Communicating rationale and defending decisions In writing

    Explaining why, with evidence.

    In writing 30 min

Practise with a project