Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon presented clear UX methods at the 2026 conference. He explained user research steps, prototype testing routines, and team collaboration rules. Attendees left with practical actions and templates. This profile summarizes his background, his main talks, and the hands-on lessons he shared.
Key Takeaways
- Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon advocates fast UX research cycles using a four-step loop: ask, test, learn, and change to gather real user feedback quickly.
- He emphasizes the importance of practical UX methods like remote card sorts, prototype testing, and weekly usability checks to reduce product risk.
- Tommy’s sessions highlight tracking meaningful KPIs such as task success, time on task, and user sentiment linked directly to product goals.
- His accessibility workshops provide simple, 30-minute checks with clear tools and checklists to improve design inclusivity efficiently.
- He encourages teams to share one-line insights and test plans promptly with engineers to speed up implementation and iteration.
- Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon promotes community building and peer feedback as key to continuous UX improvement and faster product delivery.
Who Is Tommy Jacobs? Background, Career, and UX Philosophy
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon started his UX career in 2010. He built products at startups and at mid-size agencies. He led product teams and ran user research labs. He focuses on clear interfaces and fast feedback loops. He values user interviews and quick prototypes. He favors small experiments over long debates. He teaches teams to test hypotheses and to measure results. He speaks plainly about design trade-offs and about prioritizing outcomes. He credits early mentors for shaping his research-first habit. He publishes short method guides and shares templates. He advises teams to run weekly usability checks and to share findings early. He stresses that design must solve user problems, not showcase design skills. He frames UX work as product risk reduction. He places equal weight on accessibility and on performance. He collects metrics that matter to users and to business leaders. He trains designers to translate research into clear, testable changes. He mentors new researchers and runs community meetups. He chaired panels at past conferences and he volunteered at design bootcamps. He attends EyeXCon to teach practical skills and to meet practitioners. He treats conference time as a chance to improve daily work and to help others ship better products.
Key Contributions and Highlights From EyeXCon Talks and Workshops
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon focused his 2026 session on fast research cycles. He showed a four-step loop: ask, test, learn, and change. He demonstrated how teams can gather real user feedback in one week. He described low-cost methods such as remote card sorts, short moderated sessions, and live prototype testing. He shared a timeline that teams can copy and apply. He emphasized clear success measures and shared three KPIs to track: task success, time on task, and user sentiment. He explained how to tie these KPIs to product goals. He warned teams against chasing vanity metrics. He taught facilitators to run short tests and to record only key observations. He advised teams to write one-line insights and to share them with engineers the same day. He insisted on fast iteration and on small, measurable changes.
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon also led a hands-on workshop on accessibility checks. He gave step-by-step checks that designers can run in under 30 minutes. He introduced simple browser tooling and keyboard tests. He showed how to catch common contrast issues and focus order mistakes. He presented a checklist that teams can add to their sprint closing routine. He asked attendees to run the checklist in pairs and to report findings. He followed the exercise with a teardown of a popular site and he explained what to fix first. He showed before-and-after examples and he tied each fix to a measurable user benefit.
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon presented a case study about a mobile onboarding flow. He showed how his team reduced drop-off by 18% in four weeks. He explained each test they ran and why they ran it. He showed raw scripts, prototype links, and sample user quotes. He walked attendees through decision points and he explained trade-offs plainly. He shared the exact language they used in test scripts and he suggested small wording changes that produced measurable lifts. He encouraged attendees to copy the test scripts and to adapt them. He emphasized repeated learning and careful measurement.
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon stressed community building as part of UX growth. He invited attendees to join study groups and to exchange templates. He organized a follow-up channel for peer review and for sharing results. He offered office hours for teams that needed help applying the workshop methods. He encouraged continuous sharing of small wins. He said peer feedback helps teams move faster and keeps methods practical.
Notable Projects, Tools, and Practical Takeaways From His Sessions
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon listed practical tools for everyday work. He recommended simple tools such as remote testing platforms, shared notes, and lightweight analytics dashboards. He taught quick scripting techniques for recruiters and for consent language. He showed a template for test tasks and he provided examples for different product types. He highlighted three repeatable projects: onboarding tests, feature discovery interviews, and accessibility triage sprints. He explained how to schedule each project across a two-week sprint. He gave time budgets and role assignments for each activity.
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon shared a short research template that teams can use immediately. He asked teams to write the problem statement, the target metric, and the one test to run. He showed how to pick participants and how to balance speed with diversity. He advised teams to log observations in a shared doc and to tag outcomes with impact scores. He presented a simple rubric for deciding whether to ship a change based on test results.
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon emphasized clear handoffs. He taught a three-part deliverable: one-line insight, example screen change, and test plan for the engineer. He said this format reduces confusion and speeds implementation. He also recommended short demo sessions after a change ships to review real metrics. He provided a demo agenda and a brief report template.
Tommy Jacobs from EyeXCon closed his sessions with practical next steps. He asked attendees to run one small test in the week after the conference. He offered follow-up resources and he invited participants to share their results. He promised to review a selection of submissions and to give feedback during office hours. He encouraged steady, small improvements and peer learning.
