What makes consumers decide to buy your product or service over your competitors? How can you be sure that your services are still aligned to the needs of your end-users? Making time for human-centred design and innovation is essential to stay ahead of the curve and win out against your competition.

Agile alone is not enough! Yes of course creating an environment in which teams can work in shorter cycles to deliver a working product more frequently, incorporate fast feedback loops and adapt to changing conditions will inevitably lead to building the ‘thing right’ but are your teams building the ‘right thing’?

The old adage ‘put yourself in your customer’s shoes’ rings as true in the twenty first century as it did when it was first coined. In today’s intensely competitive, rapidly shifting markets, it’s crucial to have a human-centred mindset from the get go and throughout the product lifecycle. The key is to tie together two imperatives: the ‘desirability factor’ and ‘baking in time for innovation’.

What makes consumers decide to buy your product or service? How important is adopting a user-centric approach when planning new features? Why does solving real-life problems matter for your customers? Read this blog to find out.

On my commute into the office today I was struck by the vast array of exciting new products that seemed to flaunt themselves from every angle. The adverts that flash up on my phone whilst nosing around on Social Media, the mesmerising new gadgets that brandish themselves from the centre of the free ad paper, and the cutting edge fashion that lines the high street. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little tempted by these goods, but would it be enough to lure me into parting with my well-earned cash?

Creative Storyboarding is a powerful business tool, which can be used to aid alignment and stakeholder engagement. Why settle for complex process maps and weighty project plans, when you can express your message in a visual way, that will resonate better with your stakeholders?

The Braintrust Consulting Group, Business Strategy, 2015

This might not be the first time you have heard the words Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose, emblazoned within a blog, paraded across a slide or bellowed from the rooftops - especially for those of you that are conference junkies or Meet-up gurus. I have illustrated these three words on multiple occasions, as they are salient points rising at many conferences from the inspiring talk by Daniel Pink.

Due to the ever-growing popularity of Daniel’s renowned talk and video, my desire to share how I have been inspired by these buzzwords may rest on deaf ears. However, I will bravely continue in the hope that I can keep you engaged.

Visualisation to Unlock Potential

I often hear people coming to my Meetups and 'Visualisation Workshops' asking about the potential of visualisation. Often people, just like you, have questions about how illustration can help - do any of these ring bells with you?

• What if I could visualise my ideas more effectively?
• How can I make it easier for people to relate to what I have in my mind?
• How can I keep my stakeholders focused and make teams collaborate more effectively?

Spark the Change, Day 1

Spark the Change conference took place on July 6-7th at The Brewery in London. A great, well-organised event packed with inspirational talks and highly interactive sessions. Stuart Young, Radtac's Visual Artist, has captured the essence  from many of the talks throughout the two days. (Warning: Lots of pictures included.)

Spark the Change is an event which 'brings together leaders from across the business to explore how they can work together to create lasting and total change'. The event aims to 'inspire people and offer practical help in overcoming obstacles and developing your skills to make a change'.

Equipped with my graphic board, pens, sunglasses and shorts I set sail for the Scrum Gathering in Orlando. Having attended two awesome gatherings in the past, the bar was set high - however, I was far from disappointed.

From the offset, co-chairs Anu Smalley and Kate Megaw knocked it out of the park by entering the stage to the sound of 'Starman' by David Bowie, whilst wearing convincing spacesuits complete with helmets. This was their genius way of setting the Gathering’s theme 'Infinity and Beyond: Transforming the World of Work'. With three tracks on offer, ranging from beginner ('Mission Control'), intermediate ('Orbiting the Earth'), to advanced levels ('Agile Galaxy'), there were more than enough sessions to choose from for all 1100 attendees. Let’s not forget that this was the largest Scrum Gathering so far.

The benefit of being a live illustrator is that every event spurs new insights, challenges and inevitably new drawings. However, one factor remains the same.

Without exception, usually whilst I'm crawling around the floor clutching pens, someone will murmur the words "I wish I could draw"! This cutting statement naturally triggers my auto-response ‘but you can’. Ok, it’s a simple and effortless response, but my genuine opinion is 'you can'!

As the majority of events I attend are within the Agile and innovation arena, the likelihood is that this disheartening statement would have been presented by an individual who already embraces the power of visualisation within their workplace. Be that an UX designer, Scrum Master, Workshop Facilitator or even Project Manager, there are basic skills that can enable anyone to communicate through pictures.

What if you could visualise your ideas, make it easier for others to relate to what you have in mind, and make team collaboration more effective? Join us for an engaging Mastering Artistry Workshop meetup and find out how you can achieve all this.

Join us for an exciting evening on December 8 with our very talented Stuart Young, visualisation artist and live illustrator. Stuart will be hosting a hands-on Mastering Artistry Workshop, where the only thing you need to bring along is a desire to draw.

Leave your inhibitions behind you and remember anyone can draw! Enriching an ideation session, workshop or presentation with engaging visuals doesn’t have to be an exclusive art. Build your confidence by undertaking an intensive and enjoyable visualisation workshop.

In business environments, professionals are still questioning if agile scales at the portfolio level, when in fact the answer is quite clear - yes it does. However, I am still seeing immature practices and behaviours at this level of the organisation.