[IxDA Discuss] [EVENT] Re-cap of Tonight's IxDA Los Angeles event "Re-Invent 3.0: Augmented Reality"
Tonight IxDA Los Angeles & The Designory Inc. presented "Re-Invent 3.0: Augmented Reality" at the beautiful Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook in Culver City. Despite the rain, 70 people showed up to play with augmented reality demos, eat delicious food from Urban Green Cuisine and hear from design agencies that focus on leading-edge technologies and new digital experiences such as augmented reality. I'd like to thank our speakers: Bruno Uzzan, CEO at Total Immersion and David Glaze, Group Creative Director at The Designory, Inc., for showing us great demonstrations that highlighted some of the new interaction possibilities, and reminding us that the obvious direction is not always the right one. I also want to thank of all of our amazing local volunteers who made the night possible, especially Jinsoo An who came up with the idea for the event and did most of the leg work to put the whole thing together. And last but not least, a big thank you to our awesome IxDA Los Angeles community members who attended, as always it is your participation that makes the events rock! The folks at Total Immersion would love to hear from the global community about new ways you'd like to see augmented reality technology evolve. Right now the technology merges realtime video with 3D animation and allows for interaction without requiring markers. The most exciting thing is that these technologies can work with almost any digital camera as long as the gestures to interact with the system are broad. A child can hold a baseball card up to their laptop camera and see a 3D image of the player in action or hold up a toy box and see the toy in action. This, as Bruno Uzzan mentioned, is just the beginning. Please reply to this thread and share your thoughts about ways to utilize and expand this technology. If you attended the event, please share feedback about the event at the IxDA LA local site: http://ixdala.ning.com/events/reinvent-30-augmented-reality Let us know what you liked and what could be improved. Our next event will occur in early December and will probably focus on Mentoring. Thanks again and see you then! Kind regards, Angel Anderson IxDA Los Angeles Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Thomas, In my experience, it depends. Obviously, issues stemming from visual design decisions made after the wireframe stage will not be caught in wireframe tests. At the opposite end of the spectrum, misfits between the designed workflow and the habits/expectations of the target audience can be caught very early, often in storyboard tests. A final product test can mislead as much as a mockup test if, for example, the browser in the lab reveals more of a web page than the browser the customer uses, or the network connection is much faster in the lab than in the field, or customers have a far different attitude about made-up data than real-life data. I wouldn't recommend uncritically extrapolating a lab study of a product at any stage to the eventual experience of the users. But testing at various stages of development helps to catch important issues that get harder to remedy as time goes on. Larry On Oct 1, 2009, at 9:51 PM, Thomas Petersen wrote: If we are talking wireframes or any other replacements for the real thing whatever you will find have very little if anything to do with what you find in the end. The real issues arise after the launch not before and the real question is not how many participants but at what point participants should be used. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A vision for the 10-finger desktop
I have one of the Fingerworks Touchstream LP keyboards and have been using it for years. I can perform two hand gestures and navigation with both pads at the same time and I love it. Here's a link to the gesture guides for fingerworks. http://www.fingerworks.com/userguides.html I think that by using chord modifiers instead of a global and local app launcher bars at the ends you would reduce the strain of reaching for the edges. (I only say this because with the touchstream I no longer have to reach for the shift key on a keyboard anymore.) Great work on the video. Cheers, Sean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46632 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] back on magic - frog design
In my vision the two views collapse into one. One thing we that we can readily agree on is that design "lives" in the minds' eye of the one experiencing it. No matter whether the design just allows survival (usability, function) or affords magic (rising above seeming constraints). Given that design lives in the mind of the "experiencer", then surely magic also arises there too. So what is magic then? It arises when design *effortlessly* connects intention with result - it meets the goals of the user with such little impediment that it *almost seems like magic*. With design, I believe magic *must be a meaningful surprise. * As an example of where there is meaning and thus magic: suppose I found a way to effortlessly let you connect with the computer such that subtle movements of ones fingers could control appliances, on/off switches on the wall and other such things from a distance...well that would be magic! There is great meaning to this interaction, I can control things I already do, but now with a great ease - thought-to- action with almost no impediment. As an example of where there is no meaning and thus no magic: suppose I found a way to let you effortlessly open a ketchup packet with a subtle brush of the fingers on the ketchup packet...well that would be banal. There is little value to this interaction, a problem not needing to be solved. While the technology may be magic, it is doubtful that anyone would care much as it isn't a meaningful problem to anyone. I would argue that the goal of the designer is bound to the problem at hand. When the stakes are opening a ketchup packet, maybe usability or function is just fine. But when the stakes are much higher, when audience may be eager for a tighter connection between effort and result then magic may arise in the design. Navid On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 5:54 PM, Dave Malouf wrote: > I for one WANT to manipulate the world towards change. My change. My > ideals. > That fear is dishonest because every form of design is a manipulation, an > insertion into the cultural pool. Anyway, I found it interesting that it > isn't just us talking about this. > > -- dave > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] back on magic - frog design
We were talking about magic a while back (so long ago that on the web site I can't add to the thread). But it is hear for reference: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=46102 frog design had a design leadership meeting and one of the aspects they seemed to dive deeply into is "magic". I like the discussion. http://designmind.frogdesign.com/blog/at-stake-a-unified-understanding-of-design.html-0 I for one WANT to manipulate the world towards change. My change. My ideals. That fear is dishonest because every form of design is a manipulation, an insertion into the cultural pool. Anyway, I found it interesting that it isn't just us talking about this. -- dave -- Dave Malouf http://davemalouf.com/ http://twitter.com/daveixd http://scad.edu/industrialdesign http://ixda.org/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Measuring forms performance
Hi all I have a client who is about to choose a web metrics tool. They are currently using Web Trends but they want something that will allow them to monitor the performance of their web forms, particularly so that they can track whereabouts in the form a user gets to before bailing out. What are your current recommendations in this area? Thanks Caroline Jarrett Effortmark Ltd Usability - Forms - Content Phone: 01525 370 379 Mobile: 0799 057 0647 International: +44 152 537 0379 16 Heath Road Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire LU7 3AB UK Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Critique: Ranker.com
Eugene Kim wrote: > BTW, any more critiques of the actual list creation process? Thanks! Sure. Naming the list *after* it's content has been selected would be nice considering the variety of possible lists. The ability to rename the list at any time would be useful as well. Just came across this issue in one of my projects. -- Oleh Kovalchuke Interaction Design is design of time http://www.tangospring.com/IxDtopicWhatIsInteractionDesign.htm Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Persona Workshops
Following up on Chris' comment, with which I wholeheartedly agree, I've had some success with the following (assuming that you've conducted and recorded your research): 1. require all attendees to watch or listen to at least 1/3 of your interviews (or they'll be skewed) 2. have them note key takeaways 3. bring their key takeaways, along with your probably more fastidious notes about goals, motivations and behaviors for each interviewee to the workshop (also bring transcripts or detailed notes) 4. chart the key takeaways against one another with sticky notes on white boards or giant stickies (so you'll create scales for sets of related takeaways, like married or single, loves technology or hates it, only probably more complicated than these examples) 5. fill in points for each interview against each scale where you have information 6. add your own scale and info too 7. look at these for patterns, those patterns resolve into skeletal personas 8. give them a few details, like name and gender 9. ask them to prioritize those (probably this is something only they can do, you can't except to make recommendations) Then you'll have prioritized skeletal personas that you can take away and apply any additional diligent review or analysis, and fill in all the details (which will need reviewed and revised of course) and document them. I really like "The User is Always Right" by Steve Mulder with Ziv Yaar, which has some specific and concrete analytical methods that might give you some other ideas. (http://www.practicalpersonas.com/) Two key rules of thumb: You need to keep participants limited or it will get out of hand. Requiring that they watch more interviews is a way to help with that. And you have to stay on your toes and not expect things to go exactly according to script, because they assuredly won't. If you're not comfortable with that and don't have a pretty solid background and alternative ideas, you could end up painted into a corner with no way out in front of a room full of clients. It's not easy. Good luck! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46648 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A vision for the 10-finger desktop
I thought it was a very interesting video. Good work! I expect Apple, who have the vertical integration you mention, must have done a lot of thinking on this already. However, the real power comes when software developers like Adobe support multi-touch in their apps. It will be interesting to see how they enable us to use transformation tools and apply filters. Have you considered how pressure could be integrated into gestures? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46632 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A vision for the 10-finger desktop
I think its a great vision! There are some novel ideas in both the hardware and software concepts. Personally, I think a better arrangement for the keyboard would be to have the trackpad split and have the left and right halves be placed left and right of the keyboard. I really liked the menu display, with the main menu items in the middle and then submenu items above and below. However, I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the traditional overlapping window manager is the problem. Why not combine some of the gestures with a traditional virtual desktop, so that every app is maximized in its own virtual window? The zooming part of the interface would still apply nicely, and it would allow users to form memories of where a particular application "physically" resides in a larger virtual workspace. They could easily zoom out and scroll the workspace using the gestures. In your design, you've essentially incorporated the memory limitations of a traditional taskbar...that is, that the organizational structure is simply a product of the order in which applications are opened. The ability to rearrange the order of items is nice (I wish XP had that), but IMHO doesnt address the main problem. On the subject of still needing a mouse, I wonder, what if you had a "legacy mouse mode" in the trackpad, so that you rest your hand as if an invisible mouse were underneath it. Then move your hand normally and use the index finger to click. It might reduce the learning curve and may help with accessibility concerns that others have raised. All critiquing aside, it was an awesome presentation! Thanks for sharing! Brian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46632 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A vision for the 10-finger desktop
To give you some feedback on how it would interest non-IXDA types, I posted the video on my FB profile and half of my techie friends reposted it within 24 hours. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46632 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Todd, I do want to add that I do agree with you completely, though, about how Remedy and its many competitors are absolute garbage when it comes to user interfaces. I'd like to add most CMS applications to that list as well. I also agree with your point here: "This is a methodology issue, not an issue with usability testing. If that's how your testing is done then change it. If you don't like the way it's conducted, then change it. It's up to you." It really is the process that is the problem, not usability testing (which is different than UCD, by the way, for those of you that seem to be using them interchangeably). If you don't have a process in place to make use of the testing results, then of course the testing itself is a waste of time. You need to PLAN for usability testing at the beginning of a project. It isn't something you can tack on at some point and expect it to improve your application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 10gui responses?
Beware, crosspost: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=46641#46641 Insightful analysis there as well. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46673 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Todd Zaki Warfel wrote: "Most of these tools are horrible from a UX perspective. They were designed by engineers, focused on the technology first and slapped some lipstick on it to make it look tolerable." Hey Todd - don't go saying that engineers provide poorly designed interfaces. GOOD engineers definitely take the time and effort to come up with a good user interface when the product being engineered is going to be used by a user. I would say that programmers and computer scientists may fit your statement a little better, but a true engineer takes the entire package into consideration. Engineer is a professional term that gets thrown around way too much in the realm of software development. Engineers are trained to perform that role, and part of that training includes designing things properly, which includes the UI when designing an end-user product. I would guess that 90% of the people in the realm of software development that are called engineers should not be based on training alone. Now, of the remaining 10%, I can't really comment, but I would guess that more of those people actually perform the role admirably. Sorry, but as an actual engineer, it really bugs me to see the term misused as often as it is. :) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 10gui responses?
Interesting concept, but as the video mentions, fatigue is an issue. I wonder about how this interface would contribute to fatigue. As I type this entry, both my hands get respite from resting on my thumbs. If, as proposed in this video, I'd have to raise my non-dominant hand from the surface while my dominant hand uses 4 fingers to move an object, I'll tire out quickly after a solid day of using Photoshop. I'm wondering if following the modifer-key 'design pattern' of the keyboard would aid this interface (such as pressing 2 fingers of your right hand to trigger the "move object command" and pressing 3 fingers of the left hand to move the object). I'd also like to not have to raise my thumb much, it'd be less stressful to be able to drag the thumb around than to keep it raised during most of the activities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46673 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 10gui responses?
FWIW, there's an active discussion of the 10Gui interface here: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=46632 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46673 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 10gui responses?
Hey Jerome, good to see you here. I've seen that interface (or a very similar one) before. The biggest problem in my mind is that most users have enough problems using a mouse, where they only need to use one hand and (at most) a couple of fingers on that hand. Now forcing them to use all ten fingers to work with their applications and manager their workflow? That would be a disaster. Also, from an accessibilty point, this causes serious problems. What if a person has lost a finger, or a hand? Or doesn't have good mobility in fingers/hands/arms? The standard X/Y coordinated plane with windowed applications, provides a much simpler interface where other input devices can be created and mapped to allow for better accessibility to those that may have a handicap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46673 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 10gui responses?
the concept is really interesting and I like it quite a bit. I wonder what testing would reveal about the learnability? Some commands that use two fingers and others that use three might be tough/confusing/frustrating for users in the beginning which could lead to errors and ultimately low acceptance. Just a thought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46673 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 10gui responses?
Interesting rethink of window management. I like how it's setup. The zooming in particular is very nice. My only issue would be the input device configuration. I think that's the major drawback with this setup at the moment. Would this multitouch surface sit in front of your keyboard? Would the keyboard/multitouch configuration be one unit? Perhaps a virtual keyboard projected onto the screen? http://subimage.com http://twitter.com/subimage On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 8:02 AM, Jerome Covington wrote: > I'd be interested in knowing reactions of the IxDA community to this > proof of concept. > > http://10gui.com/video/ > > -- > Regards, > Jerome > jeromecoving...@gmail.com > http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromecovington > http://delicious.com/jeromecovington > http://twitter.com/jeromecovington > http://www.fbook.me/jeromecovington > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org > Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Hosting suggestions for IxDA.org
Thanks very much, folks! Got multiple additional rec's for Media Temple offline, and one for Acquia as well due to the Drupal connection. We're investigating our options. Cheers, Liz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46570 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How do you avoid canned designs?
This reminds me of the point of this article: http://www.rbguy.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/10/11/791270/-Sometimes-They-Even-Talk-Alike (Despite the url, it's not an explicitly political article and I'm not pushing politics here) "In 2008, the Toyota Prius was the best selling gas-electric hybrid car in the world. In Japan, it was frequently at the top of the list of bestselling cars overall. In 2009, Honda introduced their new hybrid model, which looked... a lot like the Toyota Prius. The reason for this wasn't some plot among Honda designers to confuse their product with the Toyota. It was merely a case of form following function. Both automakers were trying to craft a vehicle that maximized available interior space, and provided the best gas mileage possible. To reach that second goal, they needed to minimize the drag caused by air flowing over the car. The result was two vehicles that, if not identical, could pass for siblings. The same rules hold true in many areas of commerce. An Apple iPhone looks a lot like a HTC Touch looks a lot like a Blackberry Storm, because all of them are trying to give their users the largest area of screen possible while keeping the shape and size of the device suitable for the average pocket. From bicycles to washing machines, there are few pieces of technology that really stand out from the crowd. Chances are that two items designed for the same task will have very similar forms." It then extends the description into evolutionary biology: "The reason that Ichthyosaurs look much like dolphins is because both are performing the same role in a similar environment. Both are predators that hunt their prey in the ocean. The large eyes come because sea water is clear and sight is an important aspect of tracking and capturing fast-moving fish in shallow water (those few species of dolphins that live in the muddy waters of rivers are either nearly or completely blind). The long snout filled with banks of sharp, narrow teeth is an excellent mechanism for catching fish. Most of all, both had the same major problem — moving quickly and efficiently through water. " And so on... Wall of text brought to you by realization that I could sometimes contribute something besides being snarky! Cheers, Scott On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 4:02 AM, Chris Grayson wrote: > Well, generally speaking, all cars have four wheels on the ground, and > the driver sits in a chair with a steering wheel -- same user > interface. But you won't confuse a Corvette for a dump-truck. There > is a lot that can be done with design, even with a near identical IA. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46649 > > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org > Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- "You always have the carny connection." - Clair High Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Beautiful. On Oct 13, 2009, at 11:19 AM, Harry wrote: In other words - "You can fix it now on the drafting board with an eraser or you can fix it later on the construction site with a sledge hammer" - Frank Loyd Wright Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel Principal Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Hosting suggestions for IxDA.org
I've been on a vps from www.linode.com for nearly a year now - it's been a great service and great value - highly recommended. You do have to manage your own server, but it's not hard if you have someone with some linux experience, and it gives you flexibility to run whatever you want on it. 2009/10/13 Ben Rossi > I've been very happy with MediaTemple. Their support and turn-around > on questions have been quick and accurate, and the price for > offerings is definitely competitive. > > I recently moved over to a Virtual Server, so I'll report back in a > few weeks once I have the time to migrate all my sites. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46570 > > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org > Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help > -- http://formd.net Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
In other words - "You can fix it now on the drafting board with an eraser or you can fix it later on the construction site with a sledge hammer" - Frank Loyd Wright Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
(I know better than this. But I haven't had enough coffee to have good judgment yet.) On Tue, Oct 13, 2009 at 1:03 AM, Thomas Petersen wrote: > > What happens often is that those responsible for the usability tests > provides their findings to the designers but that there is no actual > transcendence from the usability testing phase into the actual design > and development phase. > > This sounds like a communication problem, not a process problem. Any process is only as good as your willingness to work it. > A much better approach IMHO is do you research, design the monkey and > let it loose in the jungle. THEN look at how users behave. > > In most cases that gives you plenty of information about what to do > or not to do and whether to invite users of your product or not for > qualitative studies. > > To torture your metaphor: If you design the monkey, put it in the wild, and then come to realize that maybe it should have opposable thumbs, it takes radical surgery to add thumbs. And it's not guaranteed to work; more often than not, you'll end up with a Franken-monkey with thumb-like appendages. But, on the other hand, if you could somehow animate the monkey's skeleton early on, you could observe it struggling to open a banana and quickly realize "Oh, hey. Thumbs would be good." Then you can add thumbs into the design early on, when you still have time to recognize the impact of thumbs and adjust the rest of the monkey to accommodate (i.e., "Maybe we don't need those nostril-flaps and muscles to allow the monkey to block out bad smells now; he can just pinch his nose closed."). Testing early helps you adapt early so that you can avoid costly rework. (Not to mention not squandering the goodwill of your first wave of users.) I hear you saying you value the ideas behind usability testing, but that your negative experiences with it have invalidated it for you. "I've not been successful with it" is a very different thing than "it doesn't work." Will Sansbury Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Anthropomorphic representation of service/system
I'm currently working on a system which will filter information for its users and was thinking an anthropomorphic representation of the filtering AI might be a good idea to let the user relate to how it all works. Does anyone know of any good examples of this? The only use of it I can think of is Clippy from Word...and that's not something you want to bring up on your side of an argument. Although I think the idea was basically a good one, it was just poorly executed. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Advice for IxD Grad Student
In my experience, American design firms seem more likely than technical firms to have organized winter internships. (Can't say I know why.) One (off the top of my head) such winter internship is that of Smart Design: http://www.smartdesignworldwide.com/contact/jobs/sf.php?id=31 but of course I'm sure there are many, many others. Good places to find IxD internship/job postings are the CHI-JOBS mailing list (through the ACM), the LinkedIn groups for User Experience and Interaction Design Association, Coroflot, 37signals/Signal vs. Noise, Good Experience and the archives of the various IxDA/IxD mail lists. I mention archives because often times a firm will only think to post to this list one particular year - but that doesn't mean the internship isn't offered in later years. ;) A caveat: I've pointed you to sources for both design firm jobs and in-house team/technical sector jobs. Working for a design firm and working as an in-house interaction designer at Google or a technical startup can be two entirely different experiences (and, indeed, often attract very different candidates.) I think it's worth thinking carefully about which type of environment appeals to you before spreading yourself too thin applying to both technical and design firms. Not to say you can't apply to both (and even have a career that jumps between the two), but as you noted, interaction design is insanely broad - and because it's so broad, companies are going to ask you not just "Why Interaction Design?", but "Why Us?". Oh, and on that topic, one thing I underestimated when I moved into Interaction Design from Computer Science was the importance of the cover letter to answer "Why Us?" convincingly. I find a lot of good job leads just in my normal routine of reading things I find interesting in the field. As I'm learning about things, I invariably take a look at the authors (who are often fairly estabilshed in something I find really interesting) and say "How did they get where they are?" You put their name into Google, and you see in their biography that they got a degree in Foo-ology and worked at BarFirm before doing what you find so interesting. 95% of the time, BarFirm is some lead I've already looked at, but the other 5% BarFirm winds up being some obscure but really cool player in the field that might just happen to be advertising on their blog for a summer intern. (Seriously, it happens - usually when you least expect it.) Let's see3 months of free time...working for a firm or company is great, especially if it's a firm that's really looking out for your development as a designer and a person. It's also the "safest" thing you can do (though as Susan notes, it's becoming less and less safe to play it "safe"...) That said, regardless of who's paying the bills, I think the most important thing is to design *something,* anything. Ideally, something you find interesting enough to keep plugging on, even when your first ideas fail. It doesn't matter as much what, or for who, as long as you're practicing new techniques (for both design and prototyping) and thinking about design and the world around you. It's absurdly cliche, but absurdly true. Let's say worst case scenario, no one hires you before your break begins. In your new-found free time, find a problem you find interesting and try to solve that problem through interaction design. Sketch in the park. Talk to your friends and do your own ethnography on, oh, say, dating. (People LOVE to discuss dating with you - I did this for a while and nearly wound up starting an online dating company just from the inertia of it all.) If you get a seed of an idea, iterate it on paper, and then muck around in some program or language to try to prototype it. Nothing may come out of the first few dozen attempts at this, but if nothing else you'll gain the ability to gracefully bounce back and forth between design phases, and will have a lot of interesting experiences to talk about once you land that interview. Most importantly, DOCUMENT YOUR WORK. Buy a scanner or sketchbook for your sketches, a notepad for your thoughts and a camera for your ethnography if you don't have those things already. It's one thing to be able to explain an end design, and quite another to be able to *show* someone the steps and thoughts you took to get there. You can always throw notes and sketches out if you decide you don't need them, but you can never recreate them after the fact if you decide you do. I guess I'm sort of trying to downplay the importance of any particular internship, and putting more emphasis on the importance of just practicing design (be it with real clients or for your friends/neighbors.) A great internship will give you wonderful sets of prompts and let you explore great techniques every day - but if that gig with IDEO falls through, the more you do things like this and design, the more you realize that all the design prompts you need to succeed exist all around you. . . . . . . . . .
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How do you avoid canned designs?
Well, generally speaking, all cars have four wheels on the ground, and the driver sits in a chair with a steering wheel -- same user interface. But you won't confuse a Corvette for a dump-truck. There is a lot that can be done with design, even with a near identical IA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46649 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Hosting suggestions for IxDA.org
I've been very happy with MediaTemple. Their support and turn-around on questions have been quick and accurate, and the price for offerings is definitely competitive. I recently moved over to a Virtual Server, so I'll report back in a few weeks once I have the time to migrate all my sites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46570 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Persona Workshops
Jan, I'd be careful about organizing a workshop where your clients/client reps assist in creating personas. if such a workshop is the first step in creating these personas (i.e. you haven't been able to perform any interviews, observations, etc.), you open yourself up to creating personas that aren't founded on any research and will be based on your client assumptions and prejudices. Obviously, you need to have client feedback to help guide what you're looking for and what they'll sign off on, but you could quickly see the workshop dive into a morass of people picking out a names for the persona's three cats and what color their Vespa is when such information isn't critical to what reflects real user behavior. So no, I don't have any ideas about how to run such a workshop, but I'd caution you to tread carefully if you do... Hope that helps-- Chris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46648 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] 10gui responses?
I'd be interested in knowing reactions of the IxDA community to this proof of concept. http://10gui.com/video/ -- Regards, Jerome jeromecoving...@gmail.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/jeromecovington http://delicious.com/jeromecovington http://twitter.com/jeromecovington http://www.fbook.me/jeromecovington Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
All good points, Bryan, regarding an internal UCD team having 8-9 apps thrown at them and asked to test them. This still gets back to a poor design process internally. It's a tough situation to be in and typically less than ideal, which is why I started my own firm—more control over my destiny, the type of work I select, etc. Point is that most of the "flaws with usability" aren't really a flaw w/usability so much as a flaw with the implementation of the process itself. It's kind of like focus groups or Six Sigma. I'm not a fan of either one, not because focus groups are a bad method, or SS is a bad process, but rather that their typical implementation/execution are screwed up. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel Principal Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A vision for the 10-finger desktop
Clayton, I think my attempt at a response was too long, so I'm trying this shorter one. My response has a lot of criticism, but I want to be sure you see this even if you don't see the blog post. ... Most importantly though, that putting yourself out there like this to criticism is HUGE. This is inspirational not only for what it offers directly but because it offers a point of discussion. I could have never done this level of articulation with someone to respond to as well produced as your demonstration. It has great thinking and there are real problems to address, or more importantly even if the problems aren't great, there are still places where we can hope to do better. All my classes will see this video and all my faculty. Thanx! blog post: http://davemalouf.com/?p=1730 Enjoy! -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46632 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Twitter mashups / aggregators
I appreciate the suggestions. Unfortunately, my challenge is not with finding a Twitter client to manage multiple users, it's with aggregating the information in a way that I can integrate with a blog. Last night, I busted out my PHP skills and came up with a couple concepts. The first is a page that retrieves posts from and responses to two Twitter accounts. The results are shown chronologically, with responses interspersed. Responses are kept visually distinct from the primary tweets. In addition, it lists all posts with a hashtag related to the blog. http://twitter.kosherblog.net/ The second concept is based on my desire to monitor social media for an upcoming or ongoing event that uses a particular hashtag. The site pulls tweets and flickr photos that match the tag, and displays them harmoniously. I may also integrate tagged YouTube videos. (Willing to take suggestions for other feeds to integrate.) Some examples: http://monitr.org/tag/ixda http://monitr.org/tag/winewednesday http://monitr.org/tag/kosherfest Go to http://monitr.org and enter any hashtag you like. In any case, I'd enjoy any feedback, and I'm happy to share any code with interested parties. Best, Jon Abbett On Mon, Oct 12, 2009 at 2:32 PM, rajit wrote: > http://cotweet.com also allows the management of multiple twitter > accounts as does http://brizzly.com/. I use all three but for > managing multiple accounts (in my case on behalf of clients) I find > hootsuite to be the easiest. > > > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > Posted from the new ixda.org > http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46639 > > > > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! > To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org > Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe > List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines > List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help > Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Hiya Todd, You are correct, but I wasnt citing a problem with usability testing per se just its realistic implementation in less-than-ideal conditions. Point being, usability testing can be a godsend, given the right discipline and structured approach (such as from a contracted agencys perspective, or with a well-funded internal team). Usability testing occasionally fails due to external factors beyond the practitioners control. In the example given, the practitioners in question were my in-house UCD team, who, in a given week, would have 8 or 9 apps thrown at them for quick studies, wireframes, mockups, reviews, etc, with less than three weeks for full testing with no lead-in, intro or in-depth research time for getting the tech right before starting. Ø Sounds like somebody picked the wrong UCD/consulting company to do the work. If the team doing the research doesn't involve the design and dev team then you have a problem. Its easy to blame the practitioners in the example given, and we heaped our share of blame on ourselves for not being able to do more, faster, to alleviate the tremendous usability problems across our organization. On the other hand, the point I tried to make was that an underfunded corporate usability team, just as an underfunded contract UCD agency project, has an uphill battle to get UCD right for any given project. The difference, of course, is that an agency can turn down a project that wont pay the bills. Bryan Minihan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] IxDA Atlanta Social--Billiards & Beer--Oct. 14
Good games don't just happen. Somewhere, sometime, someone had to fine-tune the rules and constraints that make our favorite games rewarding, whether it's chess, football, or (in our case this month) billiards. Join us at Gordon Biersch in Buckhead to discuss what makes a good game, and how game design principles can be applied to interaction design. Appreciate classic versions of billiards or try out your own rules... it's up to you. :-) More info, including links to relevant articles, and RSVP at http://ixdaatlanta.ning.com/events/ixda-atlanta-october-14-social When: Wednesday, October 14, 7p - 9p Where: Gordon Biersch, Buckhead (near Peachtree & Piedmont) (Posted on the IxDA list on behalf of the organizer, Josh Cothran.) Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
On Oct 13, 2009, at 9:05 AM, Bryan Minihan wrote: Case in point is Remedy, the incident management tool. I've seen a half-dozen practitioners tackle Remedy with scathing criticisms and very useful recommendations for improvement. However, Remedy has always been one of the worst-designed applications in the market (well, until last I saw it 3 years ago). It does no good to redesign the front-end of an application which provides no straightforward facility to improve same, except via field arrangement on the page. Sounds like somebody picked the wrong UCD/consulting company to do the work. If the team doing the research doesn't involve the design and dev team then you have a problem. When we, we being my company Messagefirst, do research work, we start by understanding the business objectives, goals, support problems, technology behind it, etc. We do our research. We meet with the core team to do an initial review of the findings and work them to figure out which research findings are more critical to their business for the coming 3-9 months. Those are the ones we'll focus on for the research report/readout. The other items don't get left out, but are added in as additional findings. Our recommendations, or considerations as they are sometimes called, do involve the design and development team to provide some guidance and direction w/o locking them into a solution. We like to give the designers and developers some flexibility to pick the most appropriate design/development solution based on the stated problem and consideration/recommendation. And we typically help provide guidance and feedback once they come up with the solution. Now, as to Remedy, couldn't agree more. We're working with a client right now to redesign their help desk/incident management tool. It's not Remedy, but a competitor to Remedy. Most of these tools are horrible from a UX perspective. They were designed by engineers, focused on the technology first and slapped some lipstick on it to make it look tolerable. But once again, Bryan, you are citing a problem with a design process, not usability testing itself. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel Principal Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
On Oct 13, 2009, at 5:03 AM, Thomas Petersen wrote: My problem with the current state of usability testing is that it most often test in pseudo environments that tell you more about the quality of your mock-up than of any finished product/service. This is a methodology issue, not an issue with usability testing. If that's how your testing is done then change it. If you don't like the way it's conducted, then change it. It's up to you. What happens often is that those responsible for the usability tests provides their findings to the designers but that there is no actual transcendence from the usability testing phase into the actual design and development phase. Again, this sounds more like a failure of a design process than usability testing. If your process is broken (and by your, I mean collectively, not you specifically Thomas) then fix it. What you're talking about is a design problem. There is a problem with the design process that doesn't incorporate research findings into the designs. This is a design problem—the design of the process. It's really an opportunity to fix it. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel Principal Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
People, Let's take a breath and reset for a moment. The point of user research is to learn about who users are and what they do. The point of usability testing is to observe someone interacting with a design to learn *why* things work or don't work for them. Though participants often give their opinions, what we care about is how easily participants can reach their own goals with the design as they perform tasks that are realistic. It is important to have participants who are like the real users. There are ways to do that that aren't that difficult or expensive. Usability testing is not scientific. Especially if you're evaluating design concepts and prototypes. There's a lot of art and craft involved in learning from humans. BUT usability testing can be very useful for experimenting with design ideas and eliminating frustrations that may have been introduced by drawing the wrong inferences from your earlier research about users. Usability testing is one tool. It's not the only tool. Dana :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: Dana Chisnell 415.519.1148 dana AT usabilityworks DOT net www.usabilityworks.net http://usabilitytestinghowto.blogspot.com/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
I agree with you, Thomas, for a number of reasons... Rarely have I seen a project staffed large enough to have competent specialists in each role, required for the formal usability tests that many UCD specialists espouse. When I have, UCD practitioners who don't have a really strong link to the technology and development staff needed to implement the design, tend to test a lot of work that never makes it into production, because the UCD folks didn't know what the system was capable of, or didn't realize its limitations. Case in point is Remedy, the incident management tool. I've seen a half-dozen practitioners tackle Remedy with scathing criticisms and very useful recommendations for improvement. However, Remedy has always been one of the worst-designed applications in the market (well, until last I saw it 3 years ago). It does no good to redesign the front-end of an application which provides no straightforward facility to improve same, except via field arrangement on the page. Because most of my projects tend to fall in the 3-month range, and have fewer than 5 people, I tend to wear the UCD/PM/Designer/FE Developer hat. Yes, that's a rotten combination for collaboration and equal input. However, I wear all four hats with humility and hold everyone's opinion as valuable. Due to time and resource constraints, I have to be a "genius designer" most of the time, because there simply is no feasible alternative. I have a conservative design style, and rarely stretch beyond the norm, especially when 99% of what I design has been done before, just in a slightly different way. I still conduct usability tests, and formalize them as best I can, with representative real-world subjects from the actual target audience. However, my biggest rule in usability testing is: Never test what you already know. As long as you are honest about what you know, and as long as you have enough experience to "know a lot", then your usability tests should primarily be confirming designs that have to deviate (for domain reasons) from the norm. For example, most web sites of the enterprise business app variety have a lot in common. Most of them even have comparables in the outside world (travel, billing, time-tracking, project management, portals, etc). When I'm faced with a unique technology limitation for an otherwise-basic application, I test the difference between what I know will work, and what I have to do for the technology. Somewhere between "usability testing is a waste of time and disservice to your users" and "releasing any product without UCD is blasphemous" is the middle ground where low-budgets, overworked project teams, and unyielding technology lay. FWIW, I design corporate business apps, portals, ecommerce and social networking _web_ sites (in order of frequency). Your mileage and experience may vary, and I wouldn't insist that my method works for everyone/anyone else. Bryan Minihan -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Thomas Petersen Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 5:03 AM To: disc...@ixda.org Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants I for one have never said we shouldn't do user research, in fact I think that is one of the most important areas. My problem with the current state of usability testing is that it most often test in pseudo environments that tell you more about the quality of your mock-up than of any finished product/service. What happens often is that those responsible for the usability tests provides their findings to the designers but that there is no actual transcendence from the usability testing phase into the actual design and development phase. Figuring out where most users think a button should be have very little if any bearing on the quality of the finished product. It might sit exactly where the users wanted it yet there is still no conversion. Through the years I have seen this again and again which have made me suggest to my client's only to do usability tests if they are trying to test something completely new and even there I would be hesitant in some cases. I have no problem doing usability tests if they make sense, but it's at least my experience that they don't make sense in any close proximity to the amount of cases they are conducted and I find it rather troubling for the state of products and services that so many UX shops are popping up that only do the first part. A much better approach IMHO is do you research, design the monkey and let it loose in the jungle. THEN look at how users behave. In most cases that gives you plenty of information about what to do or not to do and whether to invite users of your product or not for qualitative studies. But the current UCD mania is simply on the wrong track and will hopefully fade with time as companies realize, there is no safe way to good products and succsess. IM
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
More irony... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Oh they irony. You would dismiss my experience doing these tests and having done observations regarding them, observations that that I am not at all alone with by the way. Yet you have no problems stating among other things "Sitting next to a single user, watching them use a design, can be, by itself an enlightening process." No problems accepting that as valuable input, it's ok if a user critiques a design solution, they provide valuable input, But I am just stating an opinion. If it's an opinion it's an informed one and the problem don't go away just because you don't want to aknowledge it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
On Oct 13, 2009, at 5:03 AM, Thomas Petersen wrote: My problem with the current state of usability testing is that it most often test in pseudo environments that tell you more about the quality of your mock-up than of any finished product/service. What happens often is that those responsible for the usability tests provides their findings to the designers but that there is no actual transcendence from the usability testing phase into the actual design and development phase. Saying this over and over again doesn't make it true. These are your opinions. They are not facts. Repetition won't change that. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
On Oct 13, 2009, at 3:59 AM, Thomas Petersen wrote: 12 years of experience among other things. Got it. Opinion, not fact. Thanks for clearing that up. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
I for one have never said we shouldn't do user research, in fact I think that is one of the most important areas. My problem with the current state of usability testing is that it most often test in pseudo environments that tell you more about the quality of your mock-up than of any finished product/service. What happens often is that those responsible for the usability tests provides their findings to the designers but that there is no actual transcendence from the usability testing phase into the actual design and development phase. Figuring out where most users think a button should be have very little if any bearing on the quality of the finished product. It might sit exactly where the users wanted it yet there is still no conversion. Through the years I have seen this again and again which have made me suggest to my client's only to do usability tests if they are trying to test something completely new and even there I would be hesitant in some cases. I have no problem doing usability tests if they make sense, but it's at least my experience that they don't make sense in any close proximity to the amount of cases they are conducted and I find it rather troubling for the state of products and services that so many UX shops are popping up that only do the first part. A much better approach IMHO is do you research, design the monkey and let it loose in the jungle. THEN look at how users behave. In most cases that gives you plenty of information about what to do or not to do and whether to invite users of your product or not for qualitative studies. But the current UCD mania is simply on the wrong track and will hopefully fade with time as companies realize, there is no safe way to good products and succsess. IMHO You have to care about your users and you product and realize that the real test is the finished product, not a pseudo environment. It's not fair either to our clients or the users. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
If you do all your user testing on the same 5 people (an extreme case of 'favourites') then you're product is going to be heavily skewed towards their particular needs, opinions, goals and expectations. That's pretty obvious, isn't it? ... But this alone doesn't create a case for throwing user research out entirely. Quite a few epic failures relate to over-reliance on the vision of a "genius" without doing any research to ascertain whether the market exists, whether the business model is viable or whether the designed experience is fit-for-purpose. Wait, haven't we had this discussion before on this list? A few times? Harry Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
12 years of experience among other things. I have done my share of UCD which is exactly why I have abandoned it in most cases. But by all means, share your research data that proves that UCD provides better products/services than GD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
On Oct 13, 2009, at 1:03 AM, Thomas Petersen wrote: And to add to the chaos, a lot of these "favorites" are often experts users who turn into UI experts themselves, by playing dumb, which means you end up with a rather unrealistic picture of the usability of your solution. And you have exactly what research data to stand behind these opinions you've stated as facts? Oh, wait. Don't answer that. I know the answer. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
"Seems like a no-brainer yet some companies still test to a "pool" that isn't their target." And to add to the chaos, a lot of these "favorites" are often experts users who turn into UI experts themselves, by playing dumb, which means you end up with a rather unrealistic picture of the usability of your solution. Yet another reason to can this arcane pseudo-scientific field design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A vision for the 10-finger desktop
This is very intriguing! Obviously some good thought has gone into this. Nicely done! (Not sure about the cheesy music in the video.) I tweeted the link, fwiw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46632 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] How do you avoid canned designs?
I would look for how those two distinguish themselves and then use that to create two different solutions. There is always something that makes them different. That should be enough to make you able to reuse some of the design patterns while still providing that USP for the specific companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46649 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Chris Rockwell, Founder of Lextant - User Experience Consultancy, to Speak Wednesday, 14 October 2009 at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA (SW Virginia - Roanoke VA area)
Join Virginia Techs Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Center (HFEEC) & chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) and the Laboratory for User-Centric Innovations in Design (LUCID) for a fireside chat with Mr. Chris Rockwell, founder of lextant (http://www.lextant.com/), a user experience consultancy dedicated to informing and inspiring design through a deep understanding of people, their experiences and their aspirations. At the intersections of human factors, industrial design, and interaction design, Chris will share emergent trends in the field of design research including new techniques to understand desired experiences, an increasing need for research and design collaboration to inform design, and common problems industries are facing to understand and innovate for sustained competitive advantage in the experience economy. Date: This Wednesday, 14 October 2009 Time: 6:00 pm 7:30 pm Place: Surge 109, Virginia Tech Other: Refreshments will be served The Entire VT/Blacksburg Design/SW Virginia Community Invited. No RSVP necessary. Please e-mail Woodrow (wwwin...@vt.edu) with any questions. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] short term consultancy contract - trading systems UI design
Do you have experience of designing UIs for sales order management systems, i.e. Bloomberg, Charles River, Eze Castle, Fidessa LatentZero, Flextrade, Longview, MacGregor, Portware, Sungard, TradingScreen etc? I'm looking for an experienced resource to act as a consultant on a project to define a new UI across multiple trading systems. Would suit someone looking for part-time work/ to supplement the day job! Can be based anywhere in the world, but must have experience and a can-do attitude! ;o) Drop me a line if interested/ want more information... Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Persona Workshops
Hi all, I was wondering if someone would have any ideas for running an 'interesting and entertaining' workshop where the client reps will be involved in the process of creating personas. Thanks a lot for any thoughts or ideas on that. Cheers Jan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A vision for the 10-finger desktop
I wanted one when I saw this video, I immediately thought of how muscle memory could be used to remember how you interact with things. It could be much more intuitively designed, so that things came naturally, without thinking. At the very end of the video you showed a large track pad below the keyboard, one issue I have had with his setup (like on a 17" MacBook Pro) is that I would often touch the track pad with my palms while typing with the keyboard, it became cumbersome to keep my palms arched above the track pad. Another concept could be initiated by something I worked with in Industrial Design, a 3-D Sculpting pen called Freeform (http://www.sensable.com/products-freeform-systems.htm or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_sculpting) this may trigger a multi-motion interface, involving a more fluid interaction involving the feel of real 3-D life. It sounds like an exciting project to work on, let us know how it turns out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46632 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Twitter mashups / aggregators
http://cotweet.com also allows the management of multiple twitter accounts as does http://brizzly.com/. I use all three but for managing multiple accounts (in my case on behalf of clients) I find hootsuite to be the easiest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46639 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
