Episode 153 | Billy Hollis - User Focus

Guest: Billy Hollis @billyhollis Billy Hollis talks with Dave Rael about relationships with technology, focusing on users, user experience design, and escaping invisible cages Billy Hollis is a software designer, developer, author, and trainer. He and his team have designed and created applications with an international reputation for advanced user experiences. Billy has a contrarian streak that often challenges conventional wisdom in the industry. He speaks frequently at major conferences, usually doing sessions to help developers to become more focused on designing and developing software that users love. Chapters: 0:57 - Dave introduces the show and Billy Hollis4:21 - Emphasis on the user9:21 - Billy's relationship with Microsoft13:39 - Billy's joy with XAML17:19 - The things that "light Billy up"23:44 - Advice to newer coders for applying Billy's lessons from having learned from different eras of computing and focusing on users32:01 - How Billy stays current with what he needs to know36:31 - How developers can learn to how to understand users better39:31 - Empathizing with users who use computing differently than the programmer41:56 - User experience design48:13 - The things that have Billy most excited53:28 - Billy's top 3 tips for delivering more value59:11 - Keeping up with Billy Resources: Next Version Systems Billy on .NET Rocks! on XAML XAML Build 2015 Nik Molnar on Developer On Fire Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone - "The Wand Chooses The Wizard" Billy's Pluralsight Design Course: Creating User Experiences: Fundamental Design Principles Alan Cooper on Developer On Fire Alan Cooper on personas The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity - Alan Cooper Syncfusion Billy Hollis - Creating User Experiences: Unlocking the Invisible Cage Billy and Elevator Panels The Nielsen Norman Group Billy's book recommendation: Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design - William Lidwell Usability Engineering - Jakob Nielsen The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition - Don Norman Billy's top 3 tips for delivering more value: Listen to the user and usnderstand their job Learn to draw Conciously understand good and bad user experience