Indi Young is a “writer who coaches, writes, and speaks about inclusive software strategy, bringing depth and breadth of knowledge about people’s purposes via the painstaking detail of listening sessions and synthesis. When paired with big data trends, solution space research, design thinking, JTBD, and agile methods, her mental model diagrams, opportunity maps, and thinking-style segments let you organize and activate better support for far many more people.

In 2008, her book Mental Models, introducing the problem space research method, was published. Her second book, Practical Empathy, was released in 2015, and she narrated it for Audible in 2016. She has spoken at 40+ conferences globally. She runs a series of advanced online training about listening skills, synthesis, creating mental model diagrams & thinking-style segments, and the importance of pushing the boundaries of your perspective.

She began her career as a software engineer, moved into interaction design, worked with early tablets, and in 2001 was a founding partner of Adaptive Path, the pioneering UX agency responsible for knowledge sharing via many channels. She got her degree in Computer Science from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, started her masters in Computer science at CSU Fort Collins, then quit because she wanted to push interaction design forward. (This was before any UX programs existed!) You can follow her on Twitter @indiyoung and access many resources on Medium and here on her website, including articles, podcasts, and presentations.