Proactive Design Problem Solving

☂️ Designing For Edge Cases and Exceptions. Practical design guidelines to prevent dead-ends, lock-outs and other UX failures ↓ 🚫 People are never edge cases; “average” users don’t exist. ✅ Exceptions will occur eventually, it’s just a matter of time. ✅ To prevent failure, we need to explore unhappy paths early. ✅ Design full UI stack: blank, loading, partial, error, ideal states. ✅ Design defaults deliberately to prevent slips and mistakes. ✅ Start by designing the core flow, then scrutinize every part of it. ✅ Allow users to override validators, or add an option manually. ✅ Design for incompatibility: contradicting filters, prefs, settings. 🚫 Avoid generic error messages: they are often main blockers. ✅ Suggest presets, templates, starter kits for quick recovery. ✅ Design extreme scales: extra long/short, wide/tall, offline/slow. ✅ Design irreversible actions, e.g. Delete, Forget, Cancel, Exit. ✅ Allow users to undo critical actions for some period of time. ✅ Design a recovery UX due to delays, lock-outs, missing data. ✅ Accessibility is a reliable way to ensure design resilience. Good design paves happy paths for everyone, but also casts a wide safety net when things go sideways. I love to explore unhappy paths by setting up a dedicated design review to discover exceptions proactively. It can be helpful to also ask AI tooling to come up with alternate scenarios. Once we start discussing exceptions, we start thinking outside of the box. We have to actively challenge generic expectations, stereotypes and assumptions that we as designers typically embed in our work, often unconsciously. And to me, that’s one of the most valuable assets of such discussions. And: whenever possible, flag any mentions of average users in your design discussions. Such people don’t exist, and often it’s merely an aggregated average of assumptions and hunches. Nothing stress tests your UX better then testing it in realistic conditions with realistic data sets with real people. Useful resources: How To Fix A Bad User Interface, by Scott Hurff https://lnkd.in/ecj6PGPU How To Design Edge Cases, by Tanner Christensen https://lnkd.in/ecs3kr8z How To Find Edge Cases In UX, by Edward Chechique https://lnkd.in/e2pfqqen Just About Everyone Is an Edge Case, by Kevin Ferris https://lnkd.in/eDdUVHyj Edge Cases In UX, by Krisztina Szerovay https://lnkd.in/eM2Xynba Recommended books: – Design For Real Life, by Sara Wachter-Boettcher, Eric Meyer – The End of Average, by Todd Rose – Think Like a UX Researcher, by David Travis, Philip Hodgson – Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design, by Kat Holmes #ux #design

Most teams fix problems. Few build systems that prevent them. Problem-solving isn’t about throwing tools at symptoms. It’s about choosing the right framework for the job and using it with precision. After 20+ years building fintechs and scaling operations across 3 continents, I’ve learned this: ➟ Teams that scale fast don’t rely on guesswork. ➟ They rely on repeatable decision systems. Here are 13 frameworks that separate reactivity from real resolution: 𝟭. 𝗣𝗗𝗖𝗔 → Build, test, refine in cycles 𝟮. 𝗗𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗖 → Fix process at the root 𝟯. 𝗖𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗟𝗘𝗦 → Structure product decisions 𝟰. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗼 → Solve the 20% that cause 80% of chaos 𝟱. 𝗥𝗖𝗔 → Go beyond symptoms 𝟲. 𝗦𝗪𝗢𝗧 → Analyze from all sides 𝟳. 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗺 → Solve in under an hour 𝟴. 𝗢𝗢𝗗𝗔 → Adapt faster than the context 𝟵. 𝗞𝗲𝗽𝗻𝗲𝗿-𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗲 → Decide with logic, not noise 𝟭𝟬. 𝟴𝗗 → Solve recurring problems cross-functionally 𝟭𝟭. 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗭 → Invent beyond the obvious 𝟭𝟮. 𝗦𝗖𝗤𝗔 → Communicate with clarity under pressure 𝟭𝟯. 𝗙𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗲 → Visualize root causes in one shot Problem-solving isn’t a soft skill. It’s an operating advantage. 📌 Save this for your next offsite, sprint, or product review. ♻️ Repost to raise the bar on how teams solve what matters. 🔔 Follow Nadir Ali for strategy, leadership & productivity insights.

I used to believe my job was to design solutions. Now I realize my job is to design better questions. It's the core reframe that unlocks a new level of strategic influence for you and your team. For years, I'd get a project brief and immediately start sketching. The conversion rate is too low? We need a new button. The app is confusing? We need a new navigation bar. My mental model was simple: Problem → Solution. But in the world of complex systems, this approach only makes the symptoms worse. You're constantly applying duct tape to a leak without ever turning off the spigot. The real work isn't about the solution. It’s about the mental model, the invisible "software" running in our minds that frames how we see the problem in the first place. Instead of rushing to fix things, I now focus on a more fundamental feedback loop, guided by four questions: ✺ Test your mental models: What do we fundamentally believe about this problem? ✺ Observe the real world: What data, patterns, or user behaviors are contradicting our assumptions? ✺ Seek feedback: How do we know if our models are flawed? ✺ Evolve the model: What new understanding should guide our next action? This is the core of systems-oriented design and strategic leadership. It’s the difference between being a reactive troubleshooter and a proactive architect of change. It's a tough truth to accept, but the biggest obstacle to a breakthrough isn't a competitor or a bug in the code—it’s the silent, unexamined assumptions you're bringing to the table. What's a belief you've held about your product or team that's overdue for an upgrade? #SystemsThinking #MentalModels #DesignLeadership #ProductLeadership #StrategicDesign #OrganizationalDesign

Fourth in a series: "Five questions all health systems should ask." 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲? 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨. Too often in healthcare operations, reactivity becomes the norm. We compensate, triage, and escalate. We get good at fixing problems—but rarely ask why they keep happening in the first place. The alternative isn’t just better tools. It’s better design. Proactive healthcare operations start with a different question: What if we didn’t wait for the fire to break out before reaching for the extinguisher? We have the ingredients:  • Predictive models that surface rising-risk patients before they arrive in the ED.  • Automation that routes referrals, closes gaps, and flags outliers—without manual handoffs.  • Process control that stabilizes variation before it becomes chaos. But tools alone won’t shift the culture. What will? 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻. We often avoid pulling people out of the day-to-day for fear of slowing down. But here’s the paradox: sometimes the fastest way forward is to stop.  • Step back.  • Map the process.  • Identify the friction.  • Rebuild deliberately. That’s 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 at its core—not about going faster, but going intentionally. It’s the difference between designing in-flight, hoping for stability—and grounding the plane briefly to install the systems that keep it aloft for good. Being proactive isn’t about prediction alone. It’s about preparation, design, and a leadership commitment to build systems that solve problems before they become pain points. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆?

Rethinking Workforce Solutions with Diagnostic Design Thinking In today’s complex work environment, leaders must embrace innovative approaches to address workforce challenges. Diagnostic Design Thinking (DDT) is a powerful method that ensures the RETHINK process—a framework that encourages leaders to challenge assumptions, explore new possibilities, and design impactful solutions. By integrating DDT with SHRM's BEAM framework (Belonging Enhanced by Access through Merit), organizations can align culture, talent strategies, and innovation to drive meaningful outcomes. DDT begins by identifying the right problem at the right time, using data-driven insights to uncover root causes rather than addressing surface-level symptoms. This strategic approach ensures that solutions enhance belonging, equity, and engagement in alignment with BEAM principles. For example, applying DDT in talent development may reveal that a lack of mentorship—not skill gaps—is driving turnover. By diagnosing the true challenge, organizations can design targeted mentorship programs that foster inclusion and career growth. By combining the RETHINK process with DDT and BEAM, leaders can create agile, inclusive workplaces where employees thrive. The result? Better decision-making, stronger retention, and sustainable success. Key takeaway: Diagnostic Design Thinking empowers organizations to shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive innovation—unlocking solutions that align with SHRM’s BEAM framework and future-focused leadership.

My approach to addressing user experience challenges involves several steps ⤵️ 1. Understanding User Needs: Conduct user research to understand the goals and pain points of the target audience. Utilize interviews, surveys, and usability testing to gather insights. 2. Collaboration and Alignment: Work closely with cross-functional teams such as product management, engineering, and customer support to align on user goals and prioritize UX issues. 3. Data Analysis: Analyze user data to understand behavior patterns. Look at analytics, feedback, and support tickets to identify areas where users are struggling. 4. Ideation and Sketching: Encourage brainstorming sessions and sketching to come up with creative solutions. Focus on solving the real problems and not just the symptoms. 5. Creating User Journeys and Wireframes: Develop user flows to understand how users will interact with the product. Create wireframes to visualize the structure of the interface. 6. Prototyping and Testing: Create high-fidelity prototypes that simulate the final product. Conduct usability testing to validate design decisions and uncover issues. 7. Iterative Design: Use feedback from usability testing to refine the design. UX is an ongoing process; be prepared to iterate based on user feedback and changing needs. 8. Implementation Support: Assist the development team during implementation to ensure that the design is translated accurately into the final product. 9. Post-Release Analysis: Once the product is released, continue to monitor user feedback and analytics. Be proactive in identifying new challenges and opportunities for improvement. 10. Educate and Advocate: Constantly educate stakeholders on the importance of UX and advocate for resources and prioritization of UX initiatives. This cyclical approach helps in creating a product that not only meets user needs but also adapts to changes and continuously improves over time. #ux #strategy #userexperience #innovations

What if your customer-facing team solved the problem… before the customer even called? Sounds a bit utopian? Actually it's not. Most teams spring into action when things to go wrong. Only a few design systems to keep them from going wrong in the first place. Guess which ones customers love more? 😊 Let’s face it. Firefighting is an integral part of life for most service teams. A problem pops up. The customer is already frustrated. And your team scrambles to fix it. It is a cycle. It drains your team, burns budgets, and slowly chips away at customer trust. In one of my recent sessions, a customer service manager told me this: "By the time we get to the customer, they are already disillusioned. Some have already decided to leave us." That’s what reactive service does. It pushes customers to the edge. Every ticket that lands in your inbox costs you something. Time. Morale. Reputation. And when you solve only what’s visible, you're missing what's brewing silently - renewals not initiated, warranties not tracked, usage dropping quietly. By the time you notice, it's too late. In sports parlance, start playing offence. Not defence. Here is a simple framework that you might find useful: 🌞 FIND – Identify the patterns. Look at service logs, product usage, customer behaviour. 🌞 FLAG – Set up alerts for anomalies and drop-offs. 🌞 NUDGE – Remind, guide or offer help before a problem shows up. 🌞 ACT – Fix what is fixable. Automate what is repeatable. 🌞 CLOSE THE LOOP – Let the customer know you were watching their back. This is actually not tech-heavy. But it is mindset-heavy. Proactive care is all about building a better organizational habit. But it starts with the mindset. The best service experiences are the ones that don't feel like service - because they are smooth, silent, and seamless. Let's make service proactive, thoughtful and heartful. ❤️ Repost this for someone who might find it useful. ♻️ #customerservice #serviceexcellence #customerexperience

#PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) 1. Plan: Identify a problem or opportunity for improvement and plan a solution. 2. Do: Implement the planned solution. 3. Check: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the solution. 4. Act: Take corrective action to sustain the improvement. Importance: PDCA is a fundamental framework for continuous improvement, encouraging a cyclical approach to problem-solving and improvement. RCA (Root Cause Analysis) 1. Identify the problem: Clearly define the problem or issue. 2. Gather data: Collect relevant data to understand the problem. 3. Analyze data: Analyze the data to identify the root cause. 4. Implement corrective action: Implement corrective action to address the root cause. Importance: RCA is a methodical approach to identifying and addressing the underlying causes of problems, reducing the likelihood of recurrence. Fishbone (Ishikawa Diagram) 1. Identify the problem: Clearly define the problem or issue. 2. Brainstorm causes: Use a fishbone diagram to brainstorm potential causes, categorized into six areas: - Machines (equipment) - Methods (processes) - Materials (raw materials) - Man (human factors) - Measurement (data collection) - Environment (external factors) Importance: The Fishbone diagram is a visual tool for brainstorming and organizing potential causes of a problem, facilitating a structured approach to problem-solving. Five Why 1. Ask "why" five times: Ask "why" five times to drill down to the root cause of a problem. Importance: The Five Why method is a simple yet effective technique for identifying the root cause of a problem, encouraging critical thinking and persistence. Corrective Action 1. Identify the problem: Clearly define the problem or issue. 2. Analyze the problem: Analyze the problem to identify the root cause. 3. Develop corrective action: Develop and implement corrective action to address the root cause. 4. Verify effectiveness: Verify the effectiveness of the corrective action. Importance: Corrective action is a proactive approach to addressing problems, reducing the likelihood of recurrence, and improving overall quality and efficiency. In summary, these tools and techniques are essential in Quality Control and Continuous Improvement, as they: 1. Encourage a structured approach to problem-solving 2. Facilitate the identification of root causes 3. Promote critical thinking and persistence 4. Support the development and implementation of corrective action 5. Foster a culture of continuous improvement By applying these tools and techniques, organizations can improve quality, reduce waste, and enhance customer satisfaction. #QA,#QC,#PDCA,#FishBone,#5Why,#ContiniousImprovement

Delay designing screens in Figma. Spend time owning the problem. By answering 4 questions: 1. What problem are you solving? 2. For whom are you solving {Problem}? 3. Why does {Problem} need to be solved? 4. How can we solve {Problem} most effectively? Get comfortable thinking through each question: Think through the user's needs Think through the user's context Think through the problem space Think through the business needs Think through the behavior patterns Write down clear, specific answers for each. And if you have unclear, vague answers: → Take your time to better understand Write to find gaps in your thinking Do research to fill those gaps Develop a strong rationale Think through solutions Design the solution If you do so, you'll become more effective. We've all been lost tweaking auto-layout. Good design starts in writing. Not in Figma. PS. You can use Figma to think through everything, be intentional, or use Miro.