All posts from
February 2011

User Experience White Paper

“(…) a result from a Dagstuhl seminar on Demarcating User Experience, where 30 experts from academia and industry worked together to bring some clarity to the concept of user experience. We see the white paper as an important step towards a common understanding on user experience.” (AllAboutUX) ~ courtesy of jaspervankuijk

The Relationship Between User Experience And Customer Experience

“Moving forward I will still use the term user experience to refer to that total library experience we want to design and deliver. In my presentations on UX I would be more likely to introduce the term ‘customer experience’ and point out how each term adds to our knowledge about and conversation on designing better libraries.” (Steven Bell ~ Designing Better Libraries)

Subject-Matter Experts: Putting Users at the Center of the Design Process

“This month we’ll discuss the process of putting users at the center of the design process and what that means in regard to both design and product strategy. We’ll also discuss some different approaches to a user-centered design process that we’ve come across and outline their positives and negatives. Finally, we’ll outline the steps necessary to make user-centered design a reality and how to get the most out of a user-centered design process when working on different types of products. The insights we gain from interacting directly with users are invaluable. They can assist us greatly throughout the product development process and ensure user adoption.” (Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain ~ UXmatters)

Why Don’t Usability Problems Get Fixed?

“How many times has this happened to you? You’ve finished presenting the results of your usability testing, heuristic evaluation, or other user research activity, feeling great about the positive impact your recommendations will have on a product’s user experience. The audience smiled and nodded along during your presentation. Most of them agree with your findings and seem genuinely impressed by the work you’ve done. But, later on, you face the reality that few of your recommendations have gotten implemented fully—and many, not at all.” (Jim Ross ~ UXmatters)

Design, Functionality, and Diffusion of Innovations

“(…) functionality and design aren’t separate things. A large part of design includes understanding what needs people have and what technologies can be applied to solve those needs. Design also isn’t just about the user interface ‘skin’ of graphics, icons, and aesthetics that people see. It also includes the internal ‘skeleton’ of how the application is organized, the conceptual model and metaphors conveyed to end-users, as well as its functionality.” (Jason Hong ~ blog@CACM)

Business Objectives vs. User Experience

“Here’s a question for you: would you agree that creating a great user experience should be the primary aim of any Web designer? I know what your answer is and you’re wrong! Okay, I admit that not all of you would have answered yes, but most probably did. Somehow, the majority of Web designers have come to believe that creating a great user experience is an end in itself. I think we are deceiving ourselves and doing a disservice to our clients at the same time. The truth is that business objectives should trump users’ needs every time. Generating a return on investment is more important for a website than keeping users happy. Sounds horrendous, doesn’t it?” (Paul Boag ~ Smashing Magazine)

Changing terms for changing times: Usability, HCI, UCD & more

“I am also somewhat sceptical about the value of including information architecture in this analysis. For sure, it is a term currently used within the digital community to describe the application of the principles of user centred design to the development of information-rich websites and applications. But the term was in use long before the web was invented (notably by the software industry)…” (Tony Russell-Rose) ~ courtesy of usabilitynews

From DITA to VITA: Tracing Origins and Projecting the Future

“DITA would have you believe that you can single source your way into every possible deliverable. In reality, you’re just making potatoes in a few different ways (scalloped, mashed, boiled). You’re still giving the user potatoes. VITA is a multimodal approach, giving the user a full array of nutrition options, so to speak. It educates and informs by touching almost every sensory input.” (Tom Johnson)

Proceedings: First Workshop on Social Interaction in Spatially Separated Environments (.pdf)

“(…) inspired by the idea that social relationships play a key role in our everyday lives. They are responsible for our well-being, for a productive working atmosphere, and for feeling part of our various communities. Today, as we are often working and living separated from our relatives, friends and co-workers, it is more important than ever to develop methods to stay connected in a global word. It is the goal of SISSI to seek for such methods in order to achieve a feeling of togetherness, presence and closeness between spatially separated professional or private social groups and individuals. Research on social interaction in spatially separated environments is an active and emerging field of studies.” (SISSI 2010)

Designing a Reason to Come Back

“For most of us, launching and maintaining a Web site is enough of a chore. But what change is there to look forward to? Once a year, a number of sites participate in a CSS reboot, where all the styles are dropped. Some sites even commit to refresh their look on this day. This gives casual visitors – especially those who rarely visit a site, reason to come back – to see what’s new. Department stores regularly have sales, seasonal offerings and other events, yet the only online equivalent seems to be cyber Monday.” (Stephen Anderson ~ Johnny Holland Magazine)