THE SIX ELEMENTS OF FOCUS
Davide ‘Folletto’ Casali

UX Redirector Advisor
NIGHT.EU

Manifesto Ibridi F E L
L O W

@Folletto

WHAT IS FOCUS?
PART I

We know what we’re doing
I haven’t done much today

Focus can be the difference
between knowing your destination and being lost

Focus can be the difference
between done and not done

The gravitational point toward
which everything converges.

CENTER Clarity FORCES Action TIME
Patience

Clarity Focus

Why is it so hard
to keep focus?

FEARThe comfort of non-confrontational assumptions

FRUSTRATION AVOIDANCE CONFLICT AVOIDANCE Toward
Self Toward Others

FOCUS AS VISION CLARITY PART
II

Simon Sinek
Start With Why

What How Model by Simon
Sinek Why

“ ” Simon Sinek Dr.
King gave the "I have a dream" speech, not the "I have a plan" speech.

Do you know your why?
Does your client know its why?

Clarify with everyone involved. Find
the why.

FOCUS AS GOAL CLARITY PART
III

Issue 1
MULTI-FOCUS

Issue 2
IMPLIED FOCUS

Set one goal
with metrics

Communicate

Set goal. Communicate. Repeat.

FOCUS AS
USERS
PART IV

user

user user

user user
user

Behaviour
Goal
Why

“ ” Alan Cooper The
best way to successfully accommodate a variety of users is to design for specific types of individuals with specific needs.

“Focus” on many people

Focus on one person

Identify your user: behaviour, goal,
why.

FOCUS AS
PRAGMATISM
PART V

“ ” Steve Jobs Focus
means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are.

It’s possible to build without
focus.

Hey! _________ solves that already!
Scrum Kanban XP

Do they?

MILESTONE One major user-valuable feature
A set of minor fixes and features

Unpack and apply your favourite
technique

Each milestone is a Minimum
Viable Feature

Set milestones,
keep them fluid.

FOCUS AS
ATTENTION
PART VI

CHALLENGE SKILLS Anxiety Boredom Flow
Mihaly Czisentmihaily

kotaku.com/where-pro-street-fighter-players-look-1701167840kotaku.com/where-pro-street-fighter-players-look-1701167840

“ ” R. Sawaki, S.J.
Luck An attend-to-me signal can be overridden by an active suppression process to prevent the actual capture of attention. R. Sawaki & S. J. Luck (2010) Capture versus suppression of attention by salient singletons

Increase motivation.
Reduce interruptions.

FOCUS AS INNER CALM PART
VII

hey!

This moment is a skill
you can train

“ ” John Cleese The
creative architects had this tolerance for this discomfort we all feel when we leave things unresolved.

“ ” Baird, Smallwood, Mrazek,
Kam, Franklin, Schooler Engaging in simple external tasks that allow the mind to wander may facilitate creative problem solving. Baird, Smallwood, Mrazek, Kam, Franklin, Schooler (2011) Inspired by Distraction Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation

Learn breaking the train of
thought. Find true free space.

SUMMARY
PART VIII

SYNC DESIGN BE goal vision
users pragmatism attention calm

“ ” Bruno Munari To
complicate is easy, to simplify is hard. To complicate, just add, everyone is able to complicate. Few are able to simplify.

Thanks.
@Folletto
INTENSEMINIMALISM.COM