News Flashes - Hand-Picked Since 1997

February 3, 2012

The User Experience Integration Matrix: Integrating UX into the Product Backlog

As long as we see UX projects as software engineering projects and not the other way around, the plus and minus sides of the magnet will not connect.

"Teams moving to agile often struggle to integrate agile with best practices in user-centered design and user experience in general. Fortunately, using a UX Integration Matrix helps integrate UX and agile by including UX information and requirements right in the product backlog. While both agile and UX methods share some best practices-like iteration and defining requirements based on stories about users-agile and UX methods evolved for different purposes, supporting different values. Agile methods were developed without consideration for UX best practices. Early agile pioneers were working on in-house IT projects (custom software) or enterprise software."

(Jon Innes ~ Boxes and Arrows) courtesy of janjursa

PJB @ 10:19 AM | Classification: Technology - User experience | Permalink

Lost Stories Information Design History

Information design, one of the many giant fields on which shoulders we stand.

"In a competitive business marketplace, not everyone wants to acknowledge that each generation tends to learn from, build on or divert from the previous generations ideas and output. We see this phenomenon clearly evident in the various streams of Information Design history."

(GK VanPatter ~ Humantific)

PJB @ 9:13 AM | Classification: Classics - Information design | Permalink

February 2, 2012

Why External Links Should Open in New Tabs

Unfortunately, many users don't even notice a tab has been initiated. Back, back, back...

"When most designers design websites, they don't pay much attention to links. As long as the link works and takes users to the right page, everything is fine. However, a great user experience goes further than that. There are certain links that should open in new browser tabs, and ones that should open in the same browser tab. It's important for designers to know the difference."

(UX Movement) courtesy of rolandnagtegaal

PJB @ 2:58 PM | Classification: HCI | Permalink

February 1, 2012

The top mistakes UX designers make: the writeup

As long as UX designers learn from their mistakes.

"Rather than talk about tactical mistakes, such as in prototyping and running studies, I focused on the ones we overlook the most, about attitude and culture."

(Scott Berkun a.k.a. @berkun)

PJB @ 11:39 AM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

January 31, 2012

How Chief Customer Officers Are Driving Change

CX is getting a lot of traction due to Forrester these days. I wonder why.

"An increasing number of companies are appointing a single executive to lead customer experience efforts for a business unit or the entire company."

(Paul Hagen a.k.a. @PaulHagen ~ UX magazine)

PJB @ 8:45 PM | Classification: Customer experience | Permalink

Mental Modeling For Content Work: Information Gathering

Mental modeling, the black swan of webdesign.

"If you don't have much of a background in philosophy, the social or psychological sciences, you may not be familiar with the concept of intersubjectivity. Most would agree that it refers to a cognitive state somewhere between subjectivity (judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts) and objectivity (judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices), which refers to a shared understanding of meaning or concept by more than one person."

(Daniel Eizans a.k.a. @danieleizans)

PJB @ 12:48 PM | Classification: Content strategy | Permalink

How the Knowledge Navigator video came about

Great read about the making of the iconic vision video by AAPL.

"Sparked by the introduction of Siri, as well as products such as iPad and Skype, there have been many recent posts and articles tracing the technologies back to a 1987 Apple video called Knowledge Navigator. The video simulated an intelligent personal agent, video chat, linked databases and shared simulations, a digital network of university libraries, networked collaboration, and integrated multimedia and hypertext, in most case decades before they were commercially available. Having been involved in making Knowledge Navigator with some enormously talented Apple colleagues, I thought I would correct the record once and for all about what really happened."

(Bud Colligan a.k.a. @collbud ~ Dubberly Design Office)

PJB @ 10:29 AM | Classification: Classics - HCI | Permalink

January 30, 2012

The System of Information Architecture

Systems lead to models, and modelling is what we do.

"Information architects are inveterate systems thinkers. In the Web's early days, we were the folks who focused less on pages than on the relationships between pages. Today, we continue to design organization, navigation, and search systems as integral parts of the whole. Of course, the context of our practice has shifted. Increasingly, we must design for experiences across channels. Mobile and social are just the beginning. Our future-friendly, cross-channel information architectures need to address the full spectrum of platforms, devices, and media."

(Peter Morville ~ Journal of Information Architecture Volume 3 Issue 2)

PJB @ 4:13 PM | Classification: Information architecture | Permalink

A Brief History of Information Architecture

Great write-up of the founding mothers and fathers of our beloved field.

"Information architecture is a professional practice and field of studies focused on solving the basic problems of accessing, and using, the vast amounts of information available today. You commonly hear of information architecture in connection with the design of web sites both large and small, and when wireframes, labels, and taxonomies are discussed. As it is today, it is mainly a production activity, a craft, and it relies on an inductive process and a set, or many sets, of guidelines, best practices, and personal and professional expertise. In other words, information architecture is arguably not a science but, very much like say industrial design, an applied art."

(Andrea Resmini & Luca Rosati ~ Journal of Information Architecture Volume 3 Issue 2)

PJB @ 4:10 PM | Classification: Information architecture | Permalink

Browser and GUI Chrome

I'm wondering if traditional media also have this chrome thing.

"Chrome is the user interface overhead that surrounds user data and web page content. Although chrome obesity can eat half of the available pixels, a reasonable amount enhances usability."

(Jakob Nielsen ~ Alertbox)

PJB @ 9:48 AM | Classification: HCI - Usability | Permalink

January 28, 2012

Hans Rosling: The Jedi Master of data visualization

And who's Darth Vader of visualization?

"If there is a Jedi Master of presenting data clearly, visually, and simply, then it is Hans. He proves time and time again, that data are not dull-and when you are trying to change the world, there is no excuse for boring presentations."

(Garr Reynolds a.k.a. @presentationzen ~ Presentation Zen)

PJB @ 12:00 PM | Classification: InfoViz | Permalink

January 27, 2012

Are Design Patterns an Anti-pattern?

Or, how anti-patterns become dark patterns.

"Design patterns are generally considered a good thing, but do they actually help run a user experience group? As a user experience group manager and an observer (and sponsor) of design pattern exercises, I've come to have serious questions about their actual utility. It's not that design pattern libraries are bad, but that in a world of limited resources, it is it is not clear that the investment is worth it. Fortunately, there is a better approach: reaching outside the design group to solve the whole problem."

(Stephen Turbek a.k.a. @Stephenturbek ~ Boxes and Arrows)

PJB @ 12:53 PM | Classification: Patterns | Permalink

UI: Getting the Details Right

Why 5 and not 7, 9 or 3?

"User interface details matter to the overall user experience. Many users may not consciously notice these details on your site yet they do have an impact on the overall user experience. When everything feels just right the perception of your site and brand is improved. In this article, we'll look at 5 different types of UI details you should pay attention to."

(Jamie Appleseed a.k.a. @jamieappleseed ~ Baymard Institute)

PJB @ 10:28 AM | Classification: HCI - User experience | Permalink

January 25, 2012

6 Disciplines for Reaching Customer Experience Maturity

Morphing UX into CX increases organizational complexity by several levels of magnitude.

"Most companies say they want to differentiate themselves based on a superior customer experience. But the reality is very few manage to provide an experience that truly differentiates a brand from competitors."

(Megan Burns a.k.a. @mbcxp ~ UX Magazine)

PJB @ 11:30 AM | Classification: Customer experience | Permalink

January 24, 2012

State of Interaction Design: Diverging

Like any other practice, through time professionals gravitate towards different epicentres of expertise.

"Interaction Design is reaching a critical point in its history. We have spent the better part of the last half century converging. We have built our entire identity by bringing in other disciplines and practices into our fold. We are often decried as 'land grabbers', but I say it is more about shoring up our knowledge base and practice so that we can be ready for the ever-increasing complexity of the tasks set before us through our acknowledged focus on human behavior as it relates broadly to the interaction of systems."

(David Malouf a.k.a. @daveixd ~ Core77)

PJB @ 9:45 AM | Classification: Events - Information architecture - Interaction design | Permalink

January 23, 2012

Defining an Interaction Model: The Cornerstone of Application Design

Or, on the value of working with models. Of any kind.

"An interaction model is a design model that binds an application together in a way that supports the conceptual models of its target users. It is the glue that holds an application together. It defines how all of the objects and actions that are part of an application interrelate, in ways that mirror and support real-life user interactions. It ensures that users always stay oriented and understand how to move from place to place to find information or perform tasks. It provides a common vision for an application. It enables designers, developers, and stakeholders to understand and explain how users move from objects to actions within a system. It is like a cypher or secret decoder ring: Once you understand the interaction model, once you see the pattern, everything makes sense. Defining the right interaction model is a foundational requirement for any digital system and contributes to a cohesive, overall UX architecture."

(Jim Nieters ~ UXmatters)

PJB @ 12:04 PM | Classification: Interaction design - User experience | Permalink

Global UX: A Journey

Old borders evaporate, new ones emerge.

"In our increasingly connected world of 2012, we have more ways of continually learning to better understand, communicate, live, and work with each other, both locally and globally. The old boundaries, borders, and divisions are slowly disappearing, and established systems are starting to break down, making it challenging to learn what this new world means to all of us. When it is easy to become a friend of someone who does not live in our neighborhood or even our country, our assumptions about other people start to change. Similarly, the UX research and design professions are seeing a shift that edges us beyond the boundaries within which we live and work, forcing us to look outside our window when designing and improving the products and services we work on."

(Whitney Quesenbery and Daniel Szuc ~ UXmatters)

PJB @ 12:00 PM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

Content strategy in technical communication

Also, content strategy can learn a whole lot from the field of Techical Communication.

"In this webcast recording, Sarah O'Keefe explores how to develop a content strategy specifically for technical content. That means stepping back from the temptation to focus on tools and instead taking a hard look at what the users need and how best to deliver it."

(Scriptorium Publishing)

PJB @ 11:32 AM | Classification: Content strategy - TechCom | Permalink

The 9 Principles of Lean User Experience

But when does a startup become a non-startup?

"These principles describe how best startup teams have always worked. By attempting to describe Lean UX, we hope the approach can be repeated, taught, and practiced deliberately to make startup teams more successful, more quickly."

(LUXr: The Lean UX Company)

PJB @ 10:23 AM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

January 20, 2012

Content Strategy and Responsive Design

Keep, hide or move. But are you telling the same story different on the desktop, the iPad or the smartphone?

"Responsive design can have a major impact on your content. I'll tell you how it works, how it can affect your content, and why you should-and need to-care."

(Sean Tubridy a.k.a. @tubes ~ Brain Traffic Blog)

PJB @ 9:36 AM | Classification: Content strategy - Technology - Visual design | Permalink

January 18, 2012

Positive UX: Optimal user experience is more than the absence of usability issues

Less usability, more friction.

"In this article I'll be applying a similar approach to introduce Positive UX; the idea that good UX isn't simply the absence of usability issues. I intend to draw parallels between the fields of well-being and UX in order to illustrate the factors that define and foster Positive UX and the implications this may have on measuring good experience with the web."

(Rob Howells ~ Humanising Technology)

PJB @ 4:33 PM | Classification: Usability - User experience | Permalink

Introduction to Metadata: Online Edition, Version 3.0

Useful reference work from 2008.

"An online publication devoted to metadata, its types and uses, and how it can improve access to digital resources."

(Edited by Murtha Baca ~ Getty Museum)
courtesy of xanderroozen

PJB @ 9:53 AM | Classification: Metadata | Permalink

January 17, 2012

An Important Time for Design

Design as seen by many non-designers as the new silver bullet. Forget it!

"It's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that design has a massive role to play in the evolution of the web and the next generation of web products."

(Cameron Koczon a.k.a. @FictiveCameron ~ A List Apart)

PJB @ 1:02 PM | Classification: Information design | Permalink

January 16, 2012

The art of linking

Hyperlinking used to be called hypertext, hypermedia or hyperspace.

"Linking is the essence of the Web. Web professionals must focus primarily on links, rather than the content or technology."

(Gerry McGovern)

PJB @ 10:10 AM | Classification: Hypertext | Permalink

Thinking Aloud: The #1 Usability Tool

But the thoughts coming out are not always usable.

"Simple usability tests where users think out loud are cheap, robust, flexible, and easy to learn. Thinking aloud should be the first tool in your UX toolbox, even though it entails some risks and doesn't solve all problems."

(Jakob Nielsen ~ Alertbox)

PJB @ 9:25 AM | Classification: Design research - Usability | Permalink

January 13, 2012

Affective Computing, Affective Interaction and Technology as Experience

Technology moving into the fibers of our emotions.

"As Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Interaction Design moved from designing and evaluating work-oriented applications towards dealing with leisure-oriented applications, such as games, social computing, art, and tools for creativity, we have had to consider e.g. what constitutes an experience, how to deal with users' emotions, and understanding aesthetic practices and experiences. Here I will provide a short account of why in particular emotion became one such important strand of work in our field."

(Kristina Höök a.k.a. @ProfessorHook ~ Interaction-Design.org)

PJB @ 9:19 AM | Classification: Information design - Interaction design - User experience | Permalink

January 12, 2012

Service Design, Interaction Design & Design Thinking

DTDT no. N.

"If design be seen as the integration of art and science, or applied arts, it can be broken into several distinct, but closely-integrated components. One of these is craft, and the tangibility of design - as a means of both exploring and communicating a concept."

(Steve Baty a.k.a. @docbaty)

PJB @ 2:18 PM | Classification: Interaction design - Service design | Permalink

January 11, 2012

Using Content Modules to Improve Efficiency and User Experience

Re-usable patterns, templates, components, modules, elements, and 'what-have-you' for content is the future.

"Content modules are small chunks of content that can be placed on standard web pages, typically in the right side-bar area or at the bottom of the page. Each module contains content that can be automatically (or manually) updated or changed based on certain criteria. Some types of pages, such as a home or landing pages, can be built almost entirely by using content modules as building blocks."

(@KathyHanbury ~ E3 Content Strategy)

PJB @ 12:02 PM | Classification: Content strategy - Patterns | Permalink

January 10, 2012

Yet Another Technology Cusp: Confusion, Vendor Wars, and Opportunities

The Technium does its work.

"There is a technological revolution in the air, not because new principles and technologies have been discovered, but because so many past technologies have simultaneously reached a state of maturity that they can be incorporated into everyday technology. These cusps in technology produce new opportunities, but until the marketplace settles down, they also deliver considerable confusion and chaos. Each of the changes discussed here seems relatively minor and inconsequential, but taken as a whole, they pose considerable problems and potential risks which I summarize in the afterward."

(Donald A. Norman a.k.a. @jnd1er)

PJB @ 8:11 PM | Classification: Information design | Permalink

Does Culture Matter for Product Design?

This is not a variant of Catholic math, Buddhist chemistry or Protestant engineering.

"Note that the arguments of this essay are specifically relevant to industrial and interaction designers. So even were one to accept that the impact of culture upon mass-produced products is minimal, other areas of design are apt to be far more sensitive to culture. Because social interaction is still the major source of cultural variation, I would expect service design to vary considerably from culture to culture. As social networks pervade the communication and internet space, they too will vary with culture. Other areas of design will have their own special sensitivities to culture."

(Donald A. Norman a.k.a. @jnd1er ~ Core 77)

PJB @ 8:07 PM | Classification: Interaction design | Permalink