“A friend pointed me to a survey that eBay is conducting. Because that survey will likely expire soon, I grabbed screen shots of the survey, because it was a fascinating example of how not to understand user behavior. The first page of the survey is straightforward enough. They want to get a sense of general satisfaction. Probably good for calibrating responses that follow. But the second page of the survey is bizarre.”
Beyond Usability: Designing the Complete User Experience
Adaptive Path is heading to Minneapolis July 19-20 to present a two-day workshop, Beyond Usability: Designing the Complete User Experience, with Peter Merholz and Janice Fraser. Readers of xBlog get a 15% discount by using this promotional code: FOPM. More info on the workshop can be found at http://www.adaptivepath.com/events/2005/july/.
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The Dark Side of Design Thinking
“While there is much good in design thinking, I think we have to not get carried away about designers’ power. In my experience, I’ve seen many negative qualities of design thinking, qualities that have proven a detriment on projects and to the profession as a whole. Dirk Knemeyer exposes the dark essence of design thinking when stating, in the comments section of an article he wrote, ‘we need to begin controlling the environments that our work is being experienced in.’”
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User Experience Comes in Threes
“Jeffrey Veen recently joked that ‘every consultant needs a Venn diagram.’ Turns out he was only half-kidding. The two or more overlapping circles that make up a Venn diagram are often used in mathematics to show relationships between sets. In the context of User Experience, however, Venn diagrams are frequently used to ‘quickly convey a message or vision, as a visual reminder to support change/focus, and to easily identify the cause or source of something.’î (Thanks kottke.org!)
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Please make me think! Potential dangers in usability culture
“Iím not entirely sure how serious I am about this article. On the one hand, I find myself agreeing with my more cynical side on uglier, more demanding work days. On the other, I think Iím overreacting and way off base with this train of thought. Either way, consider this entry nothing more than a philosophical meandering on the culture of usability in the high-tech world, intended only to spark conversation, not to be taken as my unwavering viewpoint on the topic.”
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Simplicity
“Simplify, Simplify, Simplify! Simplicity may be the most important usability design principle as well as being the common thread through many other design principles. Simplicity of design not only optimizes business and the user experience but also simplifies software development, deployment, maintenance and support.”
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Honing Your Usability Testing Skills: An Interview with Ginny Redish
“If you’ve ever done any usability testing, then you’ve been affected by Ginny Redish’s pioneering work. Ginny is a world-renowned usability expert and co-author of the books, ‘A Practical Guide to Usability Testing’ and ‘User and Task Analysis for Interface Design.’ While preparing for Ginny’s full-day seminar at the User Interface 9 Conference, UIE’s Christine Perfetti had the opportunity to ask Ginny about her thoughts on the best practices surrounding usability testing. Here is what Ginny had to say about her experiences.”
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How not to get a Job in Usability
“So, for anyone out there who feels like failing to get a job in usability, here’s a brief checklist of steps. 1. Don’t do any research. Why waste your valuable time finding out about your future employer? 2. Make sure that your email approach makes it clear that you didn’t do any research by wording it in as impersonal a way as you can manage. 3. err… that’s it”
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UXnet User Experience Network
“User Experience (UX) is an emerging field concerned with improving the design of anything people experience: a web site, a toy, or a museum. UX is inherently interdisciplinary, synthesizing methods, techniques, and wisdom from many fields, ranging from brand design to ethnography to library science to architecture and more. UXnet is dedicated to exploring opportunities for cooperation and collaboration among UX-related organizations and individuals.”
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User Experience Design
“I’ve been practicing information architecture since 1994, and from Gopher to Google have seen dramatic changes in the landscape of organization, search and retrieval. Through these ten tempestuous years, I’ve found the infamous three circle diagram to be a great tool for explaining how and why we must strike a unique balance on each project between business goals and context, user needs and behavior, and the available mix of content.”
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