Software
in practice.
A tool becomes useful when it helps someone make progress. Here is where these fit into discovery, delivery and the everyday work of making an idea understandable.
GitHub
GitHub is part of the connection between product intent and a working change. The issue explains the need; the changes and review show how it was addressed. Keeping that context together makes a release easier to understand and gives future work a useful history.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
For example, follow a small improvement from its problem statement to a pull request. Review the behaviour against the original acceptance criteria, capture the checks and leave a short explanation of the decision alongside the change.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A reviewed change with an understandable history
Jira
Jira gives delivery work a shared place to live. I connect priorities to the problem being solved, then make the next items clear enough for a team to discuss and build. A board is most useful when it exposes the state of the work and the obstacles to moving it forward.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
For example, break a journey improvement into a small first release, write observable acceptance criteria and identify the dependency that could hold it up. Use the delivery view to discuss that dependency and the next decision.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- An ordered backlog and visible release scope
Confluence
Confluence supports the context that needs to outlast a meeting: the problem, the options considered and the decision the team reached. Clear documentation helps someone joining the work understand its purpose without reconstructing it from old conversations.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
For example, create a short decision note containing the question, relevant evidence, chosen direction and what would cause a review. Link it to the delivery work so changes to the scope can be understood in context.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A durable product brief or decision record
Miro
Miro is useful for putting a shared picture in front of people. Journeys, story maps and system sketches make different perspectives easier to compare. The working canvas gives a discussion something concrete to refer to and helps reveal gaps between how people describe the same process.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
For example, map a current onboarding journey with the people involved. Mark the hand-offs, repeated work and missing information, then identify the smallest part of the journey worth investigating or improving next.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A journey map with prioritised questions
AI Tools
AI is part of how I explore ideas, research a subject and make early versions of things. It can shorten the distance between a question and something tangible to examine. I keep the task and the review visible: what am I asking it to help with, and what needs checking before I use the result?
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
A practical workflow
For example, take rough discovery notes through several possible problem statements, a prototype brief and an early interaction. At each step, compare the output with the original evidence and the behaviour the product needs to support.
Six ways to make a first version
From question to something tangible.
01 / Chat Models
Thinking & drafting
Explore several directions, structure rough notes and turn an early idea into something concrete to examine.
- Try it with
- Turn discovery notes into alternative problem statements, then compare the assumptions and missing questions in each.
- The human check
- Check that the wording preserves the original evidence and intent. Choose the direction deliberately.
Copilot · Gemini · ChatGPT
02 / Research Models
Research & synthesis
Build an initial map of a subject, compare source material and identify questions worth investigating further.
- Try it with
- Prepare a research brief with source links, areas of agreement and questions the available material does not settle.
- The human check
- Read the original sources before repeating a factual claim. Keep uncertainty visible.
Perplexity · NotebookLM
03 / Video Models
Explainers & storytelling
Explore how a message could unfold through scenes and develop an early visual explanation of an idea.
- Try it with
- Take a product concept through a short scene outline and a draft sequence that makes the central idea easy to follow.
- The human check
- Review the message, continuity and visible text. The sequence should still make sense without a spoken explanation.
Kling · Veo · Synthesia
04 / Image Models
Visual exploration
Create alternative visual directions and concept assets that help make an abstract product idea easier to discuss.
- Try it with
- Develop a few art directions for the same concept, then compare their clarity and fit with the intended experience.
- The human check
- Check composition, visual consistency and small details. Read all text rather than assuming it is correct.
Grok · Midjourney · Nano Banana
05 / 3D Models
Objects & visualisation
Develop early objects and scene concepts to explore the shape and presentation of an idea.
- Try it with
- Create a concept object and place it in a simple scene to investigate its proportions and how it communicates its purpose.
- The human check
- Inspect shape, scale and suitability for the intended use before treating a generated asset as finished.
Meshy.ai · Tripo
06 / AI IDEs
Prototyping & code
Move from product intent into a working flow through iterative implementation, inspection and review.
- Try it with
- Build a small interaction, compare it with the intended behaviour and refine it using what the running prototype reveals.
- The human check
- Inspect the changes and check the behaviour, including failure and smaller-screen states, before calling the work complete.
Claude Code · Cursor · VS Code with GitHub Copilot · Antigravity
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A useful draft or prototype with human review
03 / In practice
The work behind the words.
AI-assisted search discovery
The content-search project used AI-assisted low-fidelity prototypes to validate the direction before engineering commitment.
Pendo
Pendo connects questions about the product with evidence of how it is used. In the educational content search work, it helped quantify the difficulty of finding material and supported understanding of the new experience alongside stakeholder feedback.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
A practical workflow
A useful workflow starts with the behaviour that would indicate an improvement. Establish the current pattern, compare what happens after a change and read the result alongside the task users describe. That keeps measurement connected to the reason for doing the work.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A baseline and a product-impact readout
03 / In practice
The work behind the words.
Pendo in the content-search project
The case study describes using Pendo analytics to quantify the problem and measure impact alongside feedback from content teams.
Hotjar
Hotjar forms part of the investigation into where a digital journey becomes difficult. My Emerald role combined it with Google Analytics and journey mapping to validate hypotheses about the purchase experience. The tools contributed different views of the same customer task.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
A practical workflow
For example, investigate a point where people leave a purchase journey. Compare the behavioural evidence with the information and choices available at that step, then turn the likely friction into a hypothesis the team can test.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- Journey findings and a testable improvement hypothesis
03 / In practice
The work behind the words.
Research at Emerald Publishing
The role explicitly connected Hotjar, Google Analytics and journey mapping with hypothesis validation.
Mixpanel
Mixpanel belongs in the measurement part of the toolkit: thinking about events, funnels and how behaviour changes across groups or over time. A useful analysis makes the product question explicit and defines the behaviour that would help answer it.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
An illustrative example is a first-use funnel: starting setup, completing setup and reaching a useful result. Compare where different groups stop, check what the events actually represent and use the pattern to choose the next investigation.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A funnel question and measurement outline
Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 supports the everyday work of making an idea understandable. A spreadsheet helps explore a question, a document helps develop the reasoning and a presentation helps an audience reach a decision. I choose the format around what the reader needs to do next.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
For example, compare a few product options in a working spreadsheet, write down the assumptions and turn the resulting recommendation into a concise presentation. Keep the underlying analysis available so the audience can inspect the reasoning.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- Working analysis and a clear decision presentation
Slack
Slack supports the short conversations that keep work moving: a question, an update or a request for help. Useful communication gives enough context for someone to respond without starting another round of clarification. Important decisions also need a home where the next person can find them.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
For example, send a delivery update that names the change, its effect on the plan and the decision needed. Link the relevant work and carry the agreed outcome into the product record rather than leaving it buried in a thread.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- An actionable update and a linked decision
n8n
n8n sits in the automation part of the toolkit. I think about a workflow as a sequence with a clear trigger, useful transformations and a visible result. The important product questions are what should happen automatically, where a person should review it and how a failed step becomes noticeable.
Explore the workflow
01 / The practice
In the workflow.
An example workflow
An illustrative flow takes a new request, organises its fields and prepares a summary for review before the next action. Give incomplete input and a failed connection a clear route so the process remains understandable when conditions change.
02 / Something useful
What comes out of it.
- A trigger-to-review automation outline