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Metric UX

by Michael Schofield

"The user experience is a metric." Brief high-level practical design strategy thinking and strategy by Michael Schofield. metric.substack.com

Publisher-supplied feed metadata · PodParley refreshed Apr 6, 2026 · Source feed

Episodes

  1. Exnovation, the Iceberg Model, and Expertise is Over-valued

    I want to share a few totally unrelated pieces of thinking that caught my eye. This will be a shorty but I think you’ll find it interesting. 1 I am taken with this concept of exnovation, which is the counterbalance of innovation. To constantly make something new, you have to dismantle the old; to...

  2. The Value of Design in Hard Times

    When the market’s taken a spill, when your earned revenue is down — people aren’t leaving their homes, folks have lost work, uncertainty leads to spending scarcity - then the easiest line-items to cut are those that involve external consultants. You need to preserve your budget to take care of…

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  3. What is the difference between UX and CX?

    Let’s be clear, many folks have thrown-in. This question has loads of answers, and this writeup will likely not make it to the top of the search engines. So, what more is there to say? This: it’s not the answer that matters so much as is the philosophy that shapes it. The answer — and, sure, let…

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  4. Gutenberg doesn't disrupt WordPress

    Gutenberg isn’t a breakthrough innovation that made WordPress better. It’s a disruptive innovation making WordPress more affordable and accessible. — Mark Uraine, “Disrupting WordPress” A couple weeks ago I read Mark Uraine’s writeup about the disruptive role Gutenberg — the new block-based…

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  5. UX Design is Morally Gray

    Folks tend to disagree with me whenever I say that user experience design is morally gray: there is no inherent requirement to making user experiences people like and prefer to competing experiences that leave users — morally or ethically — better off. Ethical design is a qualifier. This is an...

  6. Can jobs-to-be-done replace "Front End Developer"?

    The “front end” is pretty nebulous. What makes a good front end developer? Its definitions, and so its answers, are all over the place. It’s not just the introduction of new front end frameworks that have changed how we talk about it, but in terms of the discipline of designing websites we have...

  7. The Temporal Midpoint of the Sprint

    The two-week sprint is totally arbitrary. We adopt the convention without really questioning the wisdom, but by such dogma of what’s-good-for-the-gander bake someone else’s practice into our organizational infrastructure. The thinking is that two weeks is just about the right time to prototype,...

  8. The Service Reactor

    We pitch this idea of operational user research as a means to scale and democratize user experience design practice across an organization. For decision makers already familiar with our user-centric-business gospel — reminder: aggregation theory demonstrates how the user experience is the...

  9. Spark Joy

    In this episode of Metric: the UX Podcast,we talk about how we deal with signal overload and notification fatigue in our design work (and in life), and our strategies for staying sane in a super neurotic discipline. Follow Metric: the UX Podcast on Twitter @metricpodcast Follow Michael on Twitter...

  10. What UX Can Learn from Ouija Boards

    In this episode of Metric: the UX Podcast, we investigate what ouija boards and World War 1 teach us about design solutions, that innovation lies in not immediately thinking that the problem can be solved by an app. Follow Metric: the UX Podcast on Twitter @metricpodcast Follow Michael on Twitter...

  11. Questions UXers should ask in Job Interviews

    In this episode of Metric, we talk about questions UXers should ask during job interviews, and what about that interview or organization are red flags. In the gloss, look for chatter about the origins of our usernames, how to pronounce "schoeyfield" (and how that's not my last name!), and a game...

  12. Thirsty UXers

    How do you get the experience you need -- or want -- to take that next step in your career? In this episode of Metric: the User Experience Podcast, Michael Schofield and Tim Broadwater try to define how they want to evolve their career - and how one goes about getting that experience if it's not…

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  13. French Creek Freddie

    What can regional ground hogs teach us about UX design? In this episode of Metric, we talk about designing services and products that have a demonstrable need. Hear everything you ever wanted to know about about projects that never get off, the shelf of domain-name good intentions, that there are...

  14. The Persona Zoo

    In this episode of Metric, we pick up where we left off in 65: Mazes and Monsters and hit the user archetypes known as whales, fish, and barnacles - the persona zoo! We start with a travelogue about visiting creepy Facebook in Menlo Park. Eventually we delve into jobs to be done and critique of...

  15. Mazes and Monsters

    This episode of Metric is about tabletop game design and play testing. Enter the awkward ass world of Michael explaining to Tim his slack-based Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Hear Tim's crazy interesting foray into play testing and its cross-overs with user onboarding. In addition to the banter, we...

  16. Fitness and Gamification (?) - and Goth LARPing

    How do you title this episode? Tim Broadwater and Michael Schofield expertly tangent between fitness, gamification of health, tabletop games, Follow Michael on Twitter: @schoeyfield Follow Tim on Twitter: @uxbear Support Metric on Patreon to get this and other episodes (and a lot of other stuff)...

  17. Measure the Future

    Jason Griffey on ethically designing a service to heatmap physical spaces that respects users' privacy - on open software, to boot. Jason Griffey is a librarian, technologist, consultant, writer and speaker, an Affiliate Fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard...

  18. 62: Service Design and User Experience Design

    This episode of Metric: The User Experience Design Podcast is a no-guester: a shorty, but a goodie. It's about how to talk about service design and user experience design in the same sentence - which nobody can seem to figure out how to do coherently without writing a whole article! Also, I wrote…

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  19. 61: Personal Information in the name of "User Experience" with Donna Lanclos

    In this episode of Metric: The User Experience Podcast, Donna Lanclos - an unaplogetic anthropologist and folklorist - talks about the ethics of gathering personal data in the name of good UX, and how that's incredibly complicated to justify. We chat about learning analytics in universities, the...

  20. 60: The Worth of UX Certification to Tim Broadwater

    In this episode of Metric: The User Experience Podcast, I chat with friend-of-the-show Tim Broadwater, a UX Master Certificate recipient, about the value of User Experience Certification, or even that of a more traditional route through college. This covers everything across the diversification…

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  21. Writing for the User Experience with Rebecca Blakiston - A LibUX Webinar

    Join Rebecca Blakiston -- author of books on on usability testing and writing with clarity; Library Journal mover and shaker -- as she talks shop and makes the case for content strategy, using active and authentic voice, removing unnecessary words, writing meaningful titles/headings, using...

  22. On design in user stories and user experience departments

    One more over coffee edition of Metric before a string of interviews to round-out the month of April. In this episode: What role does photoshop play in UX? Should "design" be part of a user story? What are the necessary technical abilities for doing UX? What are your thoughts on UX Departments…

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  23. Over Coffee: Ugh, UX Ph.D's

    This episode of Metric is a little special: no guests, no post, just loaded questions and loaded answers. In the actual recording I was thinking about calling it "coffee break," but I over-thought this and now feel like that suggests it's a super short episode. It's not. It's regular length. So,...

  24. Andy Priestner

    Andy Priestner is a global trainer and consultant on user experience, leadership, social media, and LEGO Serious Play. He's the originator and chair of UXLibs, among many things a best-in-show UX conference, as well as the title of the book he edited with Matt Borg. In this episode, we were able…

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  25. Personas, Jobs to be Done - oh, and LITA

    Recently, LITA embarked on a big persona-making project in order to better align their services to the needs of their members, the results of which they just revealed. This provides a solid talking point to introduce conceptual problems with personas and introduce a potentially better-suited...

  26. The Accessibility Tree

    If you thought your grip on web accessibility couldn't get any looser, let's talk about the Accessibility Tree. This is a hostful episode Amanda and Michael. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe

  27. Trey Gordner and Stephen Bateman from Koios

    This week on Metric we are joined by Trey Gordner and Stephen Batemen from Koios, who are designing services that amplify the discoverability and searchability of libraries with real emphasis on the end-user experience. We chat about startup opportunities in this space, the opportunity and danger...

  28. Your front end is doomed

    Metric alum Emily King swings by again to chat about conversational UIs and "interface aggregation" -- front ends other than yours using metadata and API to connect with your site, so that users don't actually have to visit your site directly. Please rate and share! These little gestures go a…

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  29. LITA Persona Task Force

    This week Amanda L. Goodman (@godaisies) gives you a peek into the work of the LITA Persona Task Force, who are charged with defining and developing personas that are to be used in growing membership in the Library and Information Technology Association. We — LibUX — are producing our first ever...

  30. When Native Apps are Unethical

    This episode of Metric is very much a companion to last week’s post on consciously infusing the ethics of the organization into design decisions. There is an opportunity for institutions that are positioned — either actively or by reputation — as intellectual and moral community cores (libraries)...

  31. The Nintendo Switch

    Even if you’re not much of a gamer, the modular design of the Nintendo Switch is super compelling. What you see in its reveal is an experience that moves not just between your living room screen and your backpack, but one that adapts to different social contexts. Its controllers — joycons — peal...

  32. Links Should Open in the Same Window [Redux]

    Hey there. Michael Schofield here - thank you so much for tuning in to another Metric - a pretty good podcast about design and the user experience. This episode is a redux! I just recently updated the most popular post I’ve ever written called “Links Should Open in the Same Window” - because they...

  33. The Election as a Design Problem

    Can we talk about the voting process as a user experience problem? Our — the LibUX — approach to the user experience is that UX is a metric, a plottable, predictable, and improvable measurement of the end-user’s cumulative experience of your service. And we care because we have seen that actively...

  34. On Burnout

    On this episode of Metric, a podcast about design and user experience, guests Camille Thomas, Charles Villard, and Tim Broadwater join panel-up with Michael to kvetch and commiserate about burnout - oy. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe

  35. The Coffinettes

    Each Halloween I get a little nostalgic for the best Halloweens I had ever had back when I was a punk rocker. Join me -- your pal, Michael Schofield -- in this special Halloween episode where I reminisce a little bittersweetly and dig-up old recordings of my band - The Coffinettes. Get full…

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  36. A Thorough-as-hell Intro to the Kano Model

    The Kano Model is a tool for visualizing the relationship among features in a meaningful way. It's awesome. You'll need to use your imagination a bit, but stick with it: it's -- and I totally mean this -- the most useful UX method ever. Find show notes at http://libux.co. Get full access to…

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  37. Library Usage and Trends

    In this episode I'm joined by not one but two (!) guests. Carli Spina (@carlispina) and Emily King (@emilykingatcsn) come on the show to talk about the 2016 Library Usage and Trends Report published earlier this month by the Pew Research Center. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at...

  38. Carousels Are Okay

    What's up! Let's make some enemies and defend the use of carousels on behalf of actually good user experiences - maybe. Thank you for your kind reviews! Your brief reviews wherever you listen to LibUX make it easier to discover it. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at...

  39. Mark Dodgson Talks about Bluespark's Awesome Process

    The very cool Mark Dodsgon from Bluespark joins me for this week's episode! Bluespark is the team behind many a library website, including Indiana University Libraries, which I wrote about recently. I pretty much just let him talk about Bluespark's design process, which is super interesting. Get...

  40. Crafting Websites with Design Triggers (Repeat)

    Hey, listeners! This week's episode is an oldie but a goodie. I used all my available storage on libsyn for August being so on point with this weekly show, that I can't upload anything new until the first full week of September. So, from the archives, I present to you one of my favorite topics:...

  41. Library Service Design with Joe Marquez

    In their January design trends episode, Michael and Amanda guessed that this year would begin the library service design zeitgeist wherein seven months later ALA published Library Service Design, written by Joe Marquez and Annie Downey. #CalledIt. In this episode of the podcast, Joe and Michael...

  42. Circulating Ideas #99 - Cecily Walker

    Circulating Ideas' host Steve Thomas generously allowed us to share the audio! We were stoked to guest-host. Guest hosts Michael Schofield and Amanda L. Goodman from LibUX chat with Cecily Walker from Vancouver Public Library. Cecily Walker is a librarian at Vancouver Public Library, where she...

  43. 042 - Answer to the Ultimate Question

    As the summer winds down, Amanda and Michael reunite to get cracking on the Fall schedule of all things Team LibUX - but first they just need to catch up. Really! It's been awhile. We chat about carousels, summer redesigns, copyright, and more. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at...

  44. 041 - Steve Thomas Bears Witness

    Fresh from a Summer's hiatus, this week on LibUX we -- Amanda and Michael -- talk shop with Steve Thomas, host of the popular podcast Circulating Ideas, about the process and grind of podcasting, metrics, quality, and monetization. Michael decided it would be a great time to try a brand new…

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  45. W3R - Thursday, June 9

    It is Thursday, June 9th. You’re tuned in to W3 Radio (MP3), your weekly newscast about the world wide web in under ten minutes. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe

  46. 040 - Tim Broadwater, UX Architect

    Tim is an artist and front-end developer, presently the UX Architect at West Virginia University Libraries and several times certified by the Nielsen Norman Group. He’s written two articles for LibUX ( “Value vs. Feasibility” / “Why am I doing this to our users?” ), and he’s been super amazing to...

  47. W3R - Thursday, June 2

    Progress toward HTML5 DRM continues; whether Trust API is the end of passwords; the Internet of Things is way big; internet giants pledge to remove hate speech and promote "independent counter-narratives" #bigbrother; Chrome 51 updates; people use ad blockers to make the web cheaper; Sublime Text...

  48. 039 - Jean Felisme

    Jean Felisme is an entrepreneur, speaker, WordCamp Miami organizer, and developer at the School of Computing and Information Sciences at Florida International University. I’ve known Jean Felisme for awhile through WordCamp Miami. We see each other quite a bit at meetups and he’s a ton of fun –…

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  49. Promo for W3 Radio

    Do you need your web design news right now in ten minutes or less? Well it’s just your luck that soon I Michael Schofield am starting a new podcast W3 Radio - bite sized best-of the world wide web. You’ll soon be able to tune in to W3 Radio on your pod catcher of choice and real soon at...

  50. 038 - Tim Spalding

    Tim Spalding (LibraryThing and TinyCat) is on this episode of the podcast in which we are critical of library software, libraries' relationships with vendors, designing and developing TinyCat, and much more. Get full access to Metric by Michael Schofield at metric.substack.com/subscribe

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

"The user experience is a metric." Brief high-level practical design strategy thinking and strategy by Michael Schofield.

metric.substack.com

HOSTED BY

Michael Schofield

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Metric UX currently has 68 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

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"The user experience is a metric." Brief high-level practical design strategy thinking and strategy by Michael Schofield. metric.substack.com

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Metric UX has 68 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

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Metric UX is created and hosted by Michael Schofield.
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