Design thread:

Key indicators of success for designers and product managers is how they prioritize.

Prioritize features.

Prioritize information.

Prioritize consistency vs. unique patterns.

Prioritize everything.

For example, given features such as user administration vs. search, which is more important?

User administration is foundational, but search affects a greater contingent of users.

This is an easy example.

Too often, we prioritize the squeaky wheel — the administrator that talks to you all the time, the customer that doesn’t use the application — to give them what they want.

We should be prioritizing on value, not their “volume.”

How you determine value is a big “it depends.”

Examples:
- Can they affect a sale or a renewal?
- How often do they use the application?
- How many use the application?

What’s important should be set by the organization.

The prioritization may include so many facets.

Examples:
- How much time should you spend on it?
- How many wiz bang features should it have, because each is more expensive to build and maintain?
- How much value will it have during a demo or usage when done?

Failing: Building the best search user interface in the world for 5 users.

Winning: Building something that is used in every interaction, or can contribute to a million dollar sale.

As a designer or product manager, you should be asking these questions while your developing your applications.

At start of every week, look at your tasks and ask, “Am I spending my time on the right priorities?”