Tentative

100: Who We Are as Designers (Senongo Akpem)

October 23rd, 2020  |  44 mins 48 secs

Senongo Akpem, author of Cross-Cultural Design, joins the show to discuss design in civic-tech, ways to include cross-cultural design thinking into short engagements, staying dedicated to long-term projects, and memories of Dreamweaver.

99: Organic Backlog Gardening (Erin May & JH Forster)

October 9th, 2020  |  44 mins 34 secs

From User Interviews, Erin May (VP Growth & Marketing) & JH Forster (VP Product) join the show to discuss hiring during Covid, onboarding remotely, using GitHub for documentation, backlog management, managing team morale while remote, and work on diversity & inclusion initiatives.

98: Think About the Edge Cases (Hannah Yang)

September 18th, 2020  |  37 mins 52 secs

Hannah Yang, Product Manager of Provider Experience at Oscar Health Insurance, joins us to discuss feature prioritization during COVID, designing towards a KPI goal, customer relationships at small & large companies, qualitative vs quantitative data in health-tech, and the hurdles of working in a regulated industry.

97: Park the Train-Car in Harvard Yard (Elaina Natario & Vendela Larsson)

September 4th, 2020  |  32 mins 31 secs

Elaina Natario and Vendela Larsson join us to discuss the research, procedure, and findings, that went into their Glides project for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

96: Updating the UX

August 21st, 2020  |  12 mins 6 secs

Hey Tentative listeners, this week we're bringing you an announcement of upcoming changes to the format of Tentative. We'll be exploring more focused topics, bringing in guests from around the design community, and discussing the intersection of design and business; all while bringing our true and silly selves that make Tentative what it is today.

So come join us on the ride, and tell a friend!

95: My Clipboard-History History

August 7th, 2020  |  17 mins 11 secs

This week, Kyle updates case studies in our CMS and Jaclyn returns from PTO. Also, tips & tricks for Alfred, working in non-traditional design tools, and a design-team book club.

94: Livin' in Google Docs

July 24th, 2020  |  32 mins 15 secs

This week, Jaclyn volunteers on a design sprint and prepares for PTO, while Kyle preps for a website redesign workshop. Also, collaboration vs customization in presentations, preparing a 2 day Pre-MVP workshop, approaches to editing, and balancing experimentation with expertise.

93: Janice and the Vampires

July 10th, 2020  |  16 mins 32 secs

This week, Kyle works on documentation and updating pages in our CMS, while Jackie hosts an internal trivia game as well as troubleshoots her terminal setup. Also, avoiding burnout, extending Covid protections, and Zoom fatigue.

92: Pay Attention to the Shade

June 26th, 2020  |  28 mins 30 secs

This week, Jaclyn conducted a remote design sprint and Kyle utilizes "no Slack" communication on a project. Also, cutting scope, the importance of the human element in product validation, and the varied usage of "It depends".

91: Design Your Way Out of a Box

June 19th, 2020  |  26 mins 38 secs

This week Kyle discusses his iterative approach to everything, and Jaclyn discusses take-aways from her Lightning Design Jam. Also, a design-thinking escape room, life lessons learned from previous jobs, and human corn.

90: Seeking Strengths (Gareth Burrowes)

June 5th, 2020  |  40 mins 7 secs

We are pushing back our normally scheduled podcast in support of the protests this week and the Black community as a whole. To give space for their words, their actions, and all of the grieving caused by the killing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
Too many members of the Black community have lost their lives through racial injustice.

For those that are mourning and those that are fighting for equality: we see you, we love you, and we support you.
Black culture matters. Black communities matter. Black lives matter.

The systemic racism that plagues our nation NEEDS to come to an end. We've included a short list of resources in the show notes of ways each of us can take action. We ask everyone to research ways to get involved in a way they feel they can have the biggest impact.

What follows is an episode from our sister podcast, Giant Robots Smashing into Other Giant Robots with Gareth Burrowes, focusing on removing unconscious bias from the hiring flow and the importance of diversity at every level of a company.

Fighting for equality falls on each of us, regardless of race or position, to work together to fight racism and unequal treatment.

89: Learning T-Rex Arms (the hard way)

May 22nd, 2020  |  30 mins 4 secs

This week we contemplate how people see their time, posture tips to reduce physical stress while working from home, and conducting a 'consulting skills' workshop.

88: A Very Brady Standup

May 8th, 2020  |  31 mins 11 secs

Kyle serves as interim Design Director for London while Jaclyn prepares for a design workshop. Also, shifting locations to improve focus, the importance of ergonomics, content audits, and an impromptu live-feedback session.

87: An Homage to Mean Girls

April 24th, 2020  |  37 mins 39 secs

Kyle gets stressed out by grocery shopping, and prepares for a workshop. Jaclyn finishes a draft on a case study and benefits from the value of time-boxing. Also, tricking Zoom, staying productive, the importance of routine, and little things to break up your days.

86: Just a Square on a Screen

March 27th, 2020  |  30 mins 29 secs

As thoughtbot transitions to working remotely, we discuss the tools and tips we use when conducting remote design sprints.

85: People Like Vegetables

March 13th, 2020  |  28 mins 58 secs

Kyle kicks off a new project, and Jaclyn plans a design sprint workshop. Also, remote camera etiquette, the labels of 'designer' & 'developer', and creating professional bios.