Need someone to lead product management at your software company? I build high-craft software and the teams that build it. I'm looking for my next opportunity. Check out my resume and get in touch.

Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

User Experience

Usability for Everyday Things

11 Jan 2002

Makers of everyday things like toothbrushes and spatulas have started researching how people actually use their products and use that knowledge to design a better product.

Oxo’s Good Grips line of kitchen utensils and tools fit easily in the hand and are easier to use than their traditional counterparts. When they noticed that people had trouble slicing bread because their hand reached the counter before the knife made it all the way through the bread, Oxo created the Offset Bread Knife.

Radius has applied the usability concept to make "mouth-friendly toothbrushes" with larger handles and softer, longer-lasting bristles. By applying usability research to the toothbrush, Radius has seen success in what traditionally was a commodity market. The dentist gives away toothbrushes, yet Radius is able to sell their mouth-friendly designs for $9 apiece.

If you want to increase demand for your product, invest more time and money in creating a product that is easier to use.

Recently Written

Should individual people have OKRs?
May 14: A good OKR describes and measures an outcome, but it can be challenging to create an outcome-focused OKR for an individual.
10 OKR traps and how to avoid them
May 8: I’ve helped lots of teams implement OKRs or fix a broken OKR process. Here are the 10 most common problems I see, and what to do instead.
AI is Smart, But Wisdom Requires Judgement
May 3: AI can process data at lightning speed, but wisdom comes from human judgment—picking the best imperfect option when facts alone don’t point the way.
Decoding Product Leadership Titles
Mar 18: Not all product leadership titles mean what they sound like. ‘Head of Product’ can mean anything from a senior PM to a true VP. Here’s how to tell the difference.
What branding can teach about culture
Jan 8: Culture is your company’s point of view in action—a framework guiding behavior, even in the unknown. You can’t copy it; it must reflect your unique perspective.
Think Systems, not Symptoms
Dec 15: Piecemeal process creation frustrates teams and slows work. Stop patching problems and start solving systems. Adopting a systems thinking approach helps you design processes that are efficient, aligned with goals, and truly add value.
Your Policies Aren’t Your Culture
Dec 13: Policies guide behavior, but culture is the lived norms and values of your team. Policies reflect culture -- they don’t define it. Netflix’s parental leave shift didn’t change its culture of freedom and responsibility. It clarified how to live it.
Lighten Your Process Burden
Dec 7: Everyone hates oppressive processes, but somehow we keep managing to create them.

Older...

What I'm Reading