Re: [IxDA Discuss] The magic place between user research and design - tips stories
Thanks ALL for the advice so far. As you are connecting the wires (thanks Paul), are there questions/process you apply to determine when to involve users. For example: Have seen research where questions are asked of the product and its users, where best practice, usability principles or better design would have helped in the first place i.e. it was not the right time to involve users. So there is an important value in involving users and a value placed on the questions you ask towards clear recommendations. So question: what cues do you look for to determine when to involve users as part of your user research planning? Does this form part of the magic? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48929 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] The magic place between user research and design - tips stories
Thanks Richard and yes. Think you need to be upfront and clear with the people who are receiving and using the research that it will be delivered as something that can be communicated clearly and is a design piece in itself. Think there is lots to be said for pairing a User Researcher and Designer roles as they are complimentary skill sets. Some people are lucky to have both and perhaps thats another question all together. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48929 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] The magic place between user research and design - tips stories
Thanks Dan. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48929 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] The magic place between user research and design - tips stories
Thanks Dan. This is particularly interesting - Create design principles based on what is known from research, plus the best ideas from concepting I see this helping get more people aligned around a product framework that may map to the UX Vision and/or how products fit together strategically potentially to business goals. Have seen many, many instances, unfortunately, where Product/Design Teams work in isolation of each other and dont have anything to link them together resulting in a broken UX. Be pleased to hear more about how you document and communicate design principles. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48929 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] request for pointers to usability opportunities in Germany
Suggest start here - http://www.uid.com/ and expect there will be a chance to meet with other Usability companies at the UPA 2010 conference in Munich - http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/2010/index.new.html rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48640 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] UX in China
Hi Dian: Cool! We have been running a UX company in Hong Kong for the last 10 years now and be pleased to help. Suggest there is UX activity in cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen as Itamar mentions. This may also provide some perspective: * http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/08/user-friendly-2008-looking-backward-and-forward-in-china.php (a post conference report) * http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2009/en/index/index.aspx?MeetingID=1 (good place to meet with the UX community) * http://jeffparks.ca/index.php/show-notes/daniel-szuc-on-ux-in-china/ (a perspective) * http://www.infodesign.com.au/uxpod (interview 34 as your scroll down) * http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/01/14/apop011410.DTL rgds, Daniel Szuc - www.apogeehk.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48539 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 can I get the best out of a UX discovery workshop
Thanks Melanie and looks like the workshop will provide some starter insights as you design the journeys forward. Suggest and repeating, set the expectations with the people you need to provide the journeys to i.e. people expecting results; that this is a starting point and probably will not provide all the answers, as expect you will need to validate post workshop. Nice to have the opportunity to run a workshop like this :) All the best and happy NY! rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48067 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] Mint (ok now Intuit) CEO gets it
Agree its useful to help the business. But ... Suggest that you need time to understand the business well you are either working for or consulting with. It takes time. Other considerations: * Know which part of the business or product you want to focus on. You will not be able to solve all of the issues at once * Uncover the strategy or lack of strategy in the business (you will be amazed at how many companies lack some sort of strategy or vision) * Be aware that selling ROI is not for everyone. * Be sure you have done your home work i.e. start on something that can show a quick win before making too many statements on how you can save a business lots of money. A MBA might help, it may not ... knowing someone in the business who understands the business well, can be objective but also understand its politics and also believes in what you have to say about UX also goes a long, long way. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=47787 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] UX trends for big corporations
Hi: UX trends and future expectations: (lots of guess work here) * Less outsourcing of strategic projects (keeping core business in house) * More effort upfront to define focus, create designs/prototypes to test a business case and iterate without blowing big budgets first and wasting effort * Changes in the ways teams are structured both on paper and physically (breaking down functional silos) and getting different disciplines to sit next to each other and talk * Mobile design having positive impacts on simplifying desktop applications and enterprise * More emphasis on customer support/call center UX (reducing the cost center thinking) * Focus - reducing, simplifying, rethinking technology investments (being smarter in those investments as technology integrates further and further into business) * Business copying consumer UX on their internal systems e.g. I want it to be like Google I want it to look and feel like Facebook (and the pluses/minuses it brings) * Increased demand for Designers who can help Management articulate strategy and communicate that vision across the business. * Better understanding of the social strategy both in and outside of business and how that can help you better work together to creating better stuff :) Add you own ... rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=47128 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] Participant Discussion Guide
Hi Erik: Some thoughts ... * What do you want to find out? * What does the Product team want to find out? * What issues are people currently having with the product? (do you need to confirm or question this through your research?) * How can you explore further to see why they are not using the service after registering? * Are they satisfying their needs elsewhere? Where? Why? * What do you want to do with the results? * Who do you need to communicate the results to? Some other ideas - http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/07/finding-gold-in-your-user-research-results.php rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46810 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] Google Wave - Very first impressions
On initial looks Google Wave as a product feels disconnected from existing Google products like Docs, mail, RSS feeds, Gtalk, calendar and your existing Contacts List. My question is how would this replace other ways people are already collaborating on Google? I do like the idea of a wave component but yet to see this play out as a platform in its own right. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46426 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] Dear CEO:
Also like the idea of showing and letting people talk about experiences they love and why. This can be a nice lead into a show and tell about example experiences that are well crafted and well thought out. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46405 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
Hi: Testing with a smaller number can yield useful insights and you can reuse other portions of your budget to re-test on what you have found out from a first round of testing. Never understood the need to see the same problem repeat over and over again, when the monies could be better spent prioritizing it, mapping it against a business goal and seeing how/where to fix it. My question is: Where does the question of statistical significance in usability testing come from? It seems that when we have faced this question from business, its situations where the business: * Is testing for the first time * Knows little about Usability/UX/iterative research * Trying to win an internal battle against another team (yikes!) * Taking the need for larger numbers of participants from other methods like surveys or focus groups (historical) * Dont trust the results from a Usability Test (maturity) * Left testing too late so want to test with larger numbers to cover their behinds (political) * Fill in your own :) Something always scares me a little when we are asked the statistical significance question when the same question is not applied to other parts of the business. Perhaps the question comes from a lack of understanding and maturity around what we do? Be pleased to see this question disappear forever! Suggest by identifying where the question is coming from we may all be better in finding ways to better inform/education the business. Thoughts? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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] Incentives for UI testing
We generally pay cash as it seems to work best in our market and for the domains we have worked in. Also, again depending on who you are recruiting, cash is a nice substitute for a time in the participant's day that you may be taking away from their family, friends, business etc Not really seen the incentive impact the quality of the participant's feedback rather if people are passionate and interested in the domain it usually results in useful insights. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46204 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] Feature prioritization
Thanks Martin. Makes perfect sense. Suggest there are also features people expect when the look at a product and around that, expect those features to move from start to end well without getting in the way. If you can add something that delights them further, something not expected (like the one you mention in the ipod), it helps. The article referenced also triggered some thoughts around taking out stuff that may not matter as much to the user and doing the simple stuff really, really well first, getting the core right and then building from there. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45996 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer continued...
Hi Thomas: Can you explain these a little further for me, I am not understanding the concept of transcendence (and perhaps others who are listenings in, perhaps painfully, may want to help out) 1) Recommendations does not mean transcendence that is exactly my point. Transcendence is when the quality of the recommendations transcend into the quality of the actual end product. 2) There is no process that ensures that whatever findings you have in your UCD process will transcend into the pixels and the programming, i.e. there is no transcendence. Do you really need to test if your navigation makes sense for the umpt time even though it's a bar in the top and a left menu navigation on the left? - No you don't but this is where we may have a misconception or mis-communication around UCD, its value and have said along the way that users need to be brought in at the right time and place to inform design. Again, does this mean involve or invite the user in at every single point of delivery, maybe yes and maybe no, but the value of user input is still high on my priority list. Coming full circle, companies do care at some level about their user (as they pay the bills), how much care and how much their users are involved varies. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46034 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
Hi Thomas: I see it as not giving lip service to the user. For example, lovely posters pinned up in the office saying things like customer commitment with pictures of flowing rivers ;) Or your call is important to us when clearly its NOT! Its about a focus to say who are we designing this for and constantly applying hard questions, without compromising the user experience, that this will make people love the product, tell their friends about it and commit to the brand (somewhat blindly) So caring about the user should really resonate closely with the organizational culture towards building great stuff. Its almost an intangible buzz in a place that makes you want to be a part of it. Is it a methodology? Perhaps ... but I see it more as a constant state of thinking. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
If you are in a business you are forced to focus on revenue and budget not on your users. Yes and perhaps thats the nature of business - make money, save money, profit and hopefully along the way do good. Perhaps business needs to change its model in a sustainable world? (but that's another discussion) But ... Why can't a business focus on all 3? Why are these mutually exclusive? Why not find a balance of all 3? Suggest by pissing off your user base long enough they will be sure to move on (unless of course they have no choice, as was the case with mobility a few years back) know what they want Disagree and suggest users do know what they want, its just that they may not always know how to articulate it. Or perhaps due to the research approach don't feel in a position to offer the best feedback they can (again another discussion) Users certainly know when they have experienced a crap product or service and in some cases have nice ideas on how to improve upon it. Its embarrassing at times to have users tell us things that should have been addressed by the business much earlier (again yet another discussion) Thomas, out of interest - How do you think about your target users in the work you do? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer continued...
Hi Thomas: Tried hard to avoid definitions, but ... *sigh* what is your definition of UCD? There is no transcendence from these findings into the actual design and implementation. - Don't agree. There are plenty of instances where Usability Testing, as an example method, has provided clear findings and solid recommendations towards improving the design or in some cases completely realigning strategy or UI frameworks. some good developers and designers to follow that through who care equally and who have a genuine interest in making interfaces and user experiences that are easy to use. - Agree but still think you need to involve users along the way. Does it have to be a pure UCD process, maybe not, but again this is where the right balance of focusing on user needs, knowing what research they are based on, following best practice, listening to the business, using design patterns (to name a few) and involving users at the right stages is is helpful. What bothers me even more is that it seems as if UCD ignores any kind of accumulated knowledge and insist that every project should be using the UCD process. - Dont think it should and what do you base this on? Yet the real experts where those who didn't use UCD IMHO, apple. - Do we know this about Apple? Do we know that Apple didnt apply some part of UCD in their process? I dont see this a whole or nothing approach with process - following UCD or not following UCD, its a mix of the right approaches that make all the difference - time, budget, culture, usability/UX/design maturity also play a role. They know what they want in the old paradigme but that is hardly different than what any good interface desiger or UX knows through the accumulated knowledge they have or by conducting reasearch into mapping what kind of problems users are going to make. - Perhaps but we have also seen many cases where the user articulates what they want clearly, it confirms what we thought and it helps the business communicate the voice of the customer to help make their case to management. I am all for doing user research and finding out what kind of problems users have, but to claim that they can suggest how to solve them is flat out wrong, how would they know? - Some do and are becoming savvy enough to know. Part of our job is to know what suggestions to use and not use for our user base. This includes looking for patterns in data and finding insights that make a difference. Will conclude by saying that no one process solves all problems, but think its a flaw not to involve users at some point. Does it have to be the purist UCD approach, perhaps not ... For the rest, would make for a good face to face discussion at Interaction 10 or maybe a panel? *yikes!* Good stuff! rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46034 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer continued...
Lets take it for one more spin around the dance floor :) Maestro if you will ... one, two and ... rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46034 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] Feature prioritization
Thanks Robert and enjoyed this - http://www.goodproductmanager.com/2009/09/24/product-management-is-more-than-prioritizing-features/ rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45996 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
You have to care about the actual product and not the process. - Like this from Thomas Petersen and suggest you also have to also care about the users and there are plenty of companies who believe they do, believe they know their user or are simply not in a position to care (due to a whole host of reasons) Follow the user and all else will follow - http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html Perhaps not everyone in Google cares about the UX or great design but having it as a top philosophy in a company that is by all accounts predominantly Engineering driven cannot hurt the cause. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 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] Feature prioritization
Hi: Was reading this article on The Good Enough Revolution - http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/17-09/ff_goodenough and this quote stood out to me: Even so, it's easy to imagine that feature creep will one day seep into the Flip. After all, the company recently released models that record in HD, so why not image stabilization or a bigger LCD—or hey, how about a touchscreen! We will always prioritize accessibility over features, Fleming-Wood insists. And thought this worked in well with recent discussions on the list on Apple's product strategy. So my questions are around prioritizing features: * How do you it now? * Who is involved? * What questions do you apply when doing it? * Is it something you can score? * How can user research help? * How do we move away from the features/more is better attitude? * How do you plan to introduce features over time? Over to the community brain ... compute :) rgds, Dan 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
Suggest part of this is selecting a few things to do and do them well rather than do many things badly. Apple seem to have a knack of choosing a few things to start with and then build up from there. Its a refreshing move away from trying to build everything under the sun. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 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] nice read: On Apple's connection with the consumer
Good discussion. Stepping slowly away from definitions for a moment, perhaps its useful to look at the underlying thinking towards an attempt to build a successful product. For example: * What functions are being designed in the first place? * How are we helping to prioritize these functions towards market launch? * Do these functions have value in the first place? How do we assess this? Who helps assess this? * Is the product team thinking about the user at all? Do they care? Are they rewarded for this thinking? How is this thinking being informed? * How do they think about the user or re-focus on the user at various points? (using what tools?) * How do they get other people in the product team to all march to the same beat? (vision?) Of course you can involve users from the start, but if the product strategy is crap to begin with then it may not be the best time to involve them. So ... and this may have already been mentioned in the discussion, its not whether we should involve the user, rather its when is the right time to do it? (based on what?) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45895 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] Need tips on how to formalize usability activities in a big Internet business organization
do we need an official policy to state that what kind of projects should always involve user testing Hi Shuan: Where would this policy come from? I ask as it something like this can be seen as imposing or enforcing a rule onto people or a process that is not ready for it. The last think you want to be seen as is the usability police I have seen UCD embedded into process that ensures that Usability is included, but may not always promise product success. So its also a question of whether the right questions and Usability methods are being applied from the start of the project, where the sweet spot is for both design and UX. Suggest when considering how to involve your customers/stakeholders into your product design and development avoid the use of jargon and find simple ways to get user feedback at the right time and more importantly ways to communicate this back into the design quickly. Usability Testing may be one place to start or a hybrid approach of interviews/usability testing and design may work well too. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45733 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] UX Presentation to the CEO?
Hi Navid: Suggest asking yourself: 1. what you want the CEO and the Executive team to know and action after he listens to the presentation? 2. what homework/research you need to do about the CEO's organization and its culture? (how receptive are they to the UX message?) 3. what problems the CEO may be facing and how the presentation can help? 4. what you want to happen after you present? Avoid UX jargon, keep it simple and engage the CEO in example product experiences that delight him and talk about why. rgds, Dan PS Also don't wear Crocs when you present (even if they are comfortable ;) I tried this once ... :) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44848 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] Just Because You Can Innovate Doesn\'t Mean You Should
Hi: Somethings I think we assume innovation needs to translate into something big or mind blowing or revolutionary. Perhaps, those who innovate and improve micro interactions to help delight us is already a good start. For example - Auto saving in gmail :) What other micro interactions could we improve? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44405 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] Company goals vs. user goals
fundamental problem is not usability but education. Yes and it may also be a problem of culture and values See: http://www.dmi.org/dmi/html/publications/news/viewpoints/connect_vp_sp.htm http://www.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664 http://johnnyholland.org/magazine/2009/08/value/ rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44399 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] Company goals vs. user goals
User and business goals should be closely aligned and there should be alignment amongst the stakeholders in the company. Often, there isn't so people go with whatever they feel is right. Suggestion: you may want to take 2-3 business goals and key user journeys on the web site and see how both could be improved i.e. assess current metrics, understand business/user needs, make changes/tweaks to the design and assess if there are improvements. If you can demonstrate the improvements/success on few key journeys you can scale this up to other stuff. Note - these do not have to be big changes. You may also want to revisit what you know about your users now and what you need to learn more about to continue to communicate this to your VP etc This opens the conversation to not just personal opinions but informed design as you go along. rdgs, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44399 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] good read: Jonathan Ive on The Key to Apple's Success
Good reading and this stood out for me: Ive also had bad news for anyone looking to foster a design or innovation-driven culture within an enterprise that doesn't at heart get it. Unless the disciplines are acknowledged and embraced as core values by every employee, they won't gain traction. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44155 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] Online customer service saves call center costs?
Hi Elizabeth: A starting point - Customer Support on the Web: Don't Call Us, We'll Call You With some references at the end of the article - http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/11/customer-support-on-the-web-dont-call-us-well-call-you.php rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43839 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] Going beyond Usability: The need to design for Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust
Questions: * Doesn't persuasion assume that people are persuaded to go to the product in the first place? * What makes that happen? * What other factors that make up the success of a product? * So yes we can persuade through the interface itself but what else do we need to do to increase people's chances of using something and letting other people know about how good it is? For example, is there anything persuasive about the Twitter UI? Or is it that the conversation itself in Twitter persuades me to continue to use it? Is this covered as part of PET Design or other like books, articles? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43652 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] Favorite Discount/Rapid Research Methods
Hi: Suggest we work best when we are less precious about the methods we use and get creative about what it takes to speak to people to drive insights. So as a starter list: * Have conversations * Find natural environments and get out of meeting rooms * Understand your goals (what do you want to find out) * Recruit for behaviors and not segments * Let people express their concerns, positives, dreams etc * Report back into the design * Improvise - if something is not working, try something else from the script, but keep your goals in mind. Rolling research is the best and it means you don't have to hold on to dear life to the one focus group (run once a year ;) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43456 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] Going beyond Usability: The need to design for Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust
Thanks Brian. To drill down further, does persuasion assume that the core value of a product has already been identified? So if people are already using the product, some form of persuasion has already occurred both in and outside the product? So if I know why I am using something in the first place persuasion becomes easier after that point? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43652 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] Google OS and UX
Hi: 2 recent reads: (thanks for pointing these my way Jared and Brian @ www.uie.com) * http://www.technologyreview.com/web/22987/page1/ * http://daringfireball.net/2009/07/chrome_os_context Specifically this stood out to me - From a user-level perspective, Chrome isnÂ’t going to look, act, or work anything like Windows. And thatÂ’s why Google has a chance to make something that might actually prove popular in a way that Ubuntu hasnÂ’t. - http://daringfireball.net/2009/07/chrome_os_context Got me thinking about the UX of Google's O/S: * Obviously, what will it look like (have you started to visualize it?) * What would your expectation be for OS install time? * What happens when the PC is not connected or disconnects from the internet? (do applications still work? Is this an extension of Google Gears?) * Will extensions (as we know them in Firefox as add-ons to the browser) be extended into the web page (as tried with Active X controls?) * What design goals would you create if you were developing a OS UX from the ground up? * Other thoughts? rgds, Dan 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] Going beyond Usability: The need to design for Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust
Thanks Adrian and helps :) If persuasive is applied more strictly to design and architectural choices, then persuasiveness in user experience would comprise of elements in the designers original control: things part of the design process. Communication wouldn't fit here: we don't control communication itself, only its medium. Thats the heart of it. When designing for persuasion, does it extend to the whole piece? To the whole channel strategy? To the whole UX? For example: - Web - Page Components - Architecture (physical and platform) - Copy - Retail - Pricing - Sales techniques - Call Center - IVRS _ Brochures - Add your own Each should feed into the other to help persuade a person to do X? Or persuade a person to love your brand? It all seems part of an overall communications strategy (its not to deceive but to communicate in a way that moves people towards the goals you set for the business etc). When done right, it feels right, like everything is moving as one to give you just what you need, when you need it. Rather than broken pieces, developed in silos frustrating people. rgds, Dan On 15 Jul 2009, at 7:06 AM, adrian chan wrote: What's persuasive in design terms differs from what's persuasive in terms of interaction. When the interaction is communication, it consists of an open-ended series of transactions. That's persuasive enough for most to make themselves available to communication, if not interested and actively attentive to it. In short, yes, communication is itself a persuasive mode of interaction, but at the risk of changing what we mean by persuasive. If persuasive is applied more strictly to design and architectural choices, then persuasiveness in user experience would comprise of elements in the designers original control: things part of the design process. Communication wouldn't fit here: we don't control communication itself, only its medium. There are aspects of twitter's design that exhibit what we mean by persuasive design: number of followers, which ties to social rank, personal status, individual social competence and relevance, influence, and other things signified by the number. The number is not just a number, but is a sign: it is a number in absolute terms but also a sign of social status in relative terms. Also notable in twitter's design is that twitter places your message in line with those of people you follow. An accurate design would place your post in line with people who follow you. Those are the people who will see you and your post. People following you are in fact the people who would read and respond to your tweet. Design wise, twitter and apps like seesmic and tweetdeck are an example of persuasive design in how they achieve this sleight of hand: you tweet and see the people in front of you (who you follow), not the audience behind you which in fact sees your tweets (who follow you)... In general persuasion seems to me a good shift of emphasis for some product designs to affect, emotion, and nuanced connections a consumer may establish with a product based on projection, internalization, identification and other ways in which we externalize feelings and mediate them and their expression through objects. Strictly speaking i don't think persuasion should be applied to communication and social interaction environments, lest we confuse design elements with actual interpersonal exchanges. adrian 415 516 4442 Twitter: /gravity7 Social Interaction Design, Expertise, Consulting (gravity7) (gravity7 blog) (slideshare) Sr Fellow, Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) Adhocnium Member (adhocnium) LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/adrianchan) Facebook (www.facebook.com/adrianchan) On Jul 14, 2009, at 12:18 AM, Daniel Szuc wrote: For example, is there anything persuasive about the Twitter UI? Or is it that the conversation itself in Twitter persuades me to continue to use it? 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] Palm Pre
Today we visited a Sprint store and played with the Palm Pre for the first time. Apart from making comments on the phone itself (for a later time perhaps), the first that struck us is that you we were playing with the phone in the context/environment of a Sprint store. A very, very different experience to playing with the iphone in an Apple store. It all plays a part and forms one's first impression of the product. There is something strangely alluring about Apple stores. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42837 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] Palm Pre
With Smartphones becoming more popular and affordable - what are the critical differentiators when selecting between phones? When products start to assume similar looks, what makes something stand out from the crowd? For example, battery life. Others? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42837 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] Good design examples of conversion.
Like - http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-converter rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42546 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] Google Wave
Yes and also see this all moving towards and idea of having a copy of stuff on your PC and copy of stuff on the Google cloud. Gears is already a move in that direction. The idea of consolidated communications (including voice) seems to make sense. Also seems like people are not as concerned about their stuff on a cloud as say they were a few years ago (the idea of the Google Utility taking shape) So the long term goal of more and more reliance on Google. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42388 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] Examples of Good Customer Support Sites
This may provide some direction - Customer Support on the Web: Don't Call Us, We'll Call You: http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/11/customer-support-on-the-web-dont-call-us-well-call-you.php rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41923 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] Announcing our new IxDA Board Member
Congrats Doc! rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41830 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 pitch UCD process (or design thinking)?
Hi Kelvin: Here are a few tips I have applied and learned: * Understand the project/product/users/product team etc - what problems is the product team trying to solve and learn how can you help. Start with their needs first and foremost. * Use terms people understand - if they want you to run a Focus Group (but you think its better to run a Usability Test or something else), call it a Focus Group and educate around it. Don't spend energy up front trying to convince them that your method is better. * Start small and grow - start with a UX method that provides some real insights and then build around that. Sometimes it may not always be the perfect approach. * Use examples people understand - show products that have benefited from good research or improved design and why people love it. Speak to people's emotions and make them passionate about why you can help. * Find allies - People in your organization/other product teams who can provide good stories about where user research or design or usability testing or has helped improve a product forward. * Avoid jargon - UCD and other like terms for people outside of our field sound scary and may be another thing they have to learn in addition to their own job. Just as Engineering terms can sound scary to us. Its less about convincing them that your way is better, rather showing how the stuff we do may be able to compliment their approach. Find a common language. Lead with what people understand. * Turn insights into actionable design improvements - again less about the focus on the academic and more about what you can do to help improve the product. Also see - * Selling UX - http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2008/10/selling-ux.php * Selling Usability in(to) Organizations - http://www.slideshare.net/dszuc/selling-usability-in-organizations-presentation * Selling Usability - http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Usability-Experience-Infiltration-Tactics/dp/1442103736 rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41562 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 to get better results from developers
Good post. What is the reward? If I am rewarded for working to specification and implementing on time with little regard to what works for the business or customers, thats what I will do. If I am rewarded for overlaying nice visuals on top of a business problem that has not been articulated properly, thats what I will do. Much of this assumes you are all working to the same objectives towards something better. Often teams don't and that's where the problem lies. Its takes a leader to gel people behind a common goal. You often see this in sport where you see teams playing in sync and see how well they have been coached towards something more than the individual needs in terms of their preparation and willingness to abide by team rules i.e. I will give up my position on something, because I know it will make for something better overall. Easy to say, harder to do. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41485 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] Dynamics of Effective Product Development Teams
A few reads that may provide some clues: http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/995-if-youre-working-in-a-big-group-youre-fighting-human-nature and http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/webdev/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202601211cid=nl_tw_weekly and http://www.adaptivepath.com/blog/2007/09/24/is-your-user-experience-team-too-big/ rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41232 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] Process resposibilties: PM does initial requirements gathering with client?
How do folks manage requirement(s) priority and value? i.e. how do you know if what you are gathering is truly worth building out? It seems this is where many products fail. We build or design stuff that people don't need and we are evaluating the usefulness way too late in the project. The sweet spot seems to be helping a Product Manager identify if something should be built and a more effective use of resources as you iterate forward. Thoughts? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41112 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] Process resposibilties: PM does initial requirements gathering with client?
Thanks Angel and suggest part of the answer lies in: * Asking the right questions up front to determine value and driving requirements based on research, need, gut feel, market gaps, fill in your own ... * Having faith that the folks determining a market need have done their homework i.e. what are they basing their decisions on? Sometimes I wonder. * Ensuring that people who are potential users of the products services being developed are invited to preview what the business is thinking about (and this goes beyond 1-2 Focus Groups) * Mapping Product Service decisions to a larger Product Strategy Have seen times where we are invited to Design, Review or Test something that does not appear to add value or fill any type of market need. When some basic questions up front would have changed the Product Strategy completely. But ... when trying to apply those type of questions, it can often be pushed aside in favor of delivering (as that's seen as the reward) or playing with a new technology or platform. Not necessarily the value of what you are building but implementing it on time and budget. This is also another interesting recent perspective on what we make and sell - http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2009/04/why-marketing-in-a-post-consumer-era-wont-look-like-marketing.html rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41112 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] interesting read, Brave New World of Digital Intimacy (On Facebook's new redesign)
Good read. Interestingly with the recent update to the Facebook home page, I find myself more engaged and connected with what is happening via that stream. Whereas before, I rarely checked anything on Facebook apart from photos and status updates. Also interesting how experiments in design could/should be implemented across a user population. How do you phase in a new design? What data points do you listen to in order to make it work well? What questions do you need to apply up front to assess user push back? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40902 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] JJG's IA Summit 2009 Keynote
Thanks Elizabeth :) Personally, I strongly agree that a wide-spread, formal embrace of the user experience terminology has the potential to unite all of our communities more tangibly from the point of view of the outside world. Me too! I admire his call for people to come together from the various UX communities. Me too! The UX movement has been developing organically for the past five years or so, and clearly is reaching the tipping point. Both IAI and IxDA %u2014 along with other orgs %u2014 should be at the table when it comes to harnessing this energy Yup and be pleased to be there. I also believe that bringing all UX practitioners to live in the same house would involve some challenging situations. I believe that it would naturally result in many members still retreating to smaller, shared spaces to geek-out with their fellow IAs, IxDs, Researchers, Usability specialists, etc. Yup it may and it may also still require difference conferences and orgs, but be nice to have the consistent UX thread run through all. Perhaps this is already happening? I think it is ... but we could do more. I'm extremely eager to hear from UXnet's leaders whether they envision taking on a more active role in the world at large to address this situation. Having a place where we can meet in person (say once a year?), have representation from all disciplines/orgs to talk to challenges we all face and how we want to advance UX (to name a few topics ... I am sure we all share some of the same pain?) Sounds like a nice UXNet initiative .. Lou? :) I also enjoyed this recent interview with PeterMe as it gave me addition background and perspectives - http://www.teawithteresa.com/2009/03/history-evolution-of-user-experience.html Note - I have attended the last 2 IXDA conferences, am a UPA and IAI member, on the UPA board (have made some great friends in all communities) and look forward to learning more from all disciplines towards helping make products better ... who knows ... perhaps in the process help grow the UX industry and help towards a better world to live in. rgds, Dan Title - the person who tries to make stuff better . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40597 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] Its Just UX
I see a wonderful opportunity for speakers from all disciplines to continue to speak at all conferences and talk to people about what it means to do IXD, Usability, User Research, Visual Design, IA, (fill in your own) and how it pertains to the umbrella and overall User Experience This way for people who cannot only make it to 1 or 2 conferences a year can have a taste of what other elements go into the UX. So perhaps Usability tracks at IXD, Design/IXD tracks at UPA and so on and so forth. Or a few select presentations from each conference that was received well and fits in to another program well? Or respective Boards speaking more often? See that this is already happening and its a healthy thing. Also generates cross discipline discussion and collaboration. At the end of the day, in project land, we all need to work together anyway to make great products? Yes? So we should encourage this more in our professional associations? This certainly should not detract those who want to focus or zero in on a specific discipline or conference. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40553 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] Its Just UX
Really like the sentiment from JJG! rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40553 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] Its Just UX
Out of interest, does anyone know the terms to describe what we do that are the most used or recognized in the industry outside of our own professional communities or tribes? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40553 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] looking for examples of how to best edit large forms
Check out - http://www.formsthatwork.com/ rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40496 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] Good intranet books
Good stuff here - http://www.steptwo.com.au/category/papers rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40482 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] Bowman leaves Google
Another perspective from Graham Jenkin who oversees the work of a team of designers focused on Google's advertiser and publisher products - http://www.grahamjenkin.com/blog/ Good reading. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40237 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] Bowman leaves Google
I think some of the gold in a Google Search design going forward includes: 1. Continued data mining on what people are searching for 2. Looking for patterns 3. Playing with how search results page design could be tweaked to display smarter results and providing contextual actions based on the keyword (or being able to do more with a single search result as a widget (save it somewhere, send it to someone, manipulate it) 4. Advertising inside a search result widget (maybe) We are seeing small snippets of this when you search for things like weather etc where the forecast displays in the search results. Would I want to change the search results screen immediately. No way. Would I want to edit bits of how results are displayed to see how users react. Absolutely and let the data speak to me. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40237 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] Bowman leaves Google
Hi: Re-reading Doug Bowman's post you can really feel his frustration. Reading between the lines I hear: * A culture that was born in Engineering (and still very much i that space - which is what makes Google great) * A culture that is looking at ways to embrace Design and User Research (and not purely relying on data and statistics to back up everything) * Understanding when to rely on data for large design decisions and when to go with best practice and the expertise of the Design Team * Looking at how to promote consistency across many product sets * When to hold onto what consumers understand as the Google Brand and when to start to try something new (but not for the sake of a re-design) * When to rely on Data to drive new products (would love to dig into some of those Search logs :) * Getting your top Designers working on harder, challenging and strategic problems * Giving your top Design Team the political power they need to experiment and make change happen Some interesting complimentary pieces - 94% of Facebook users hate new design - http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/web/94-of-facebook-users-hate-new-design/2009/03/20/1237055063673.html Google's Irene Au: On Design Challenges - http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/mar2009/id20090318_786470.htm?__vid__=Y29sbGVjdGlvblR5cGU9YWxpYXMBY29sbGVjdGlvbklEPXNodWFubG8Bc291cmNlPXkuZGVsaWNpb3VzAWNsYXNzPWJvb2ttYXJrAXR5cGU9Ym9va21hcmsBc3VpZD04ZjVhYzU1ODA1YjcyOTkxNGU5MGFiOTAwZjRjMjMzNQ-- Some of this also comes down to the question of who owns/drives the User Experience in an organzation? and then How do you get everyone (product teams) onto the same page? - have seen these same patterns repeat for the last 10-15 years. Data is superb, when you understand what you need the data for, how it will be interpreted and what it really means for your products. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40237 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] Developing an effective User Experience/Usability strategy
Suggest one of the hardest components of a strategy is implementation and getting people in an organization to embrace it, live it and play it out across all the channels (especially in larger organizations) Maybe its better to start on asmaller piece first and let the strategy blossom from there (as opposed to trying to take on everything) Be interested to know and learn where people have seen strategies play out as planned. Why do they think it worked well? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=40185 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] Looking for a Japanese Usability Testing Partner
Hi Joe: Pleased to help. rgds, Dan - ds...@apogeehk.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39644 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] Usability Evaluation Checklists - Products
Check out: www.usability.gov http://www.stcsig.org/usability/resources/index.html http://www.infodesign.com.au/usabilityresources/default.asp and ... http://www.sitepoint.com/kits/usability1/ rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38363 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] What is a Landing Page?
Hi: I see a landing page as the kick off point or starting point for like information, grouped (aggregated) together and should provide easy doorways to key questions the user may have. Example: Credit Cards - http://www.hangseng.com/hsb/eng/per/cre/home/index.html So yes home pages to key sections of a site. Also see: * http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2007/08/home-page-design.php * http://www.uie.com/articles/galleries_reprint rgds, Dan at http://interaction09.ixda.org/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38287 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] What is a Landing Page?
Hi: Agree and it should be a part of thinking about : (in no particular order) * Optimizing content on that page so that Search engines find it * Ensuring the content is based on user needs * Understanding the critical questions people have before they hit that landing page * Looking at other channels people use to get answers to the questions e.g. Customer Support (that could be easily answered on a landing page or provide doorways to the right content) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38287 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] Usability Tools and Products
Hi Rony: To follow on and support Dana's post ... Invest the budget back into your people and process (rather than the hardware alone) * Training and conferences (to name a few ... ) - http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/2009/ - http://www.uie.com/events/ - http://interaction09.ixda.org/ - http://www.adaptivepath.com/events/ * A space to run research (not a lab) and that can also double as a place to train and show of all your project work * A UX Sales Pack and stories to help you pass on the knowledge in your organisation * An UX Intranet or knowledge base for your team to share * A simple design process to help you and your team learn, design and test with your user base. Have fun! rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38056 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] say no to genius design
Hi: Thanks Jared and good reading - http://www.uie.com/articles/five_design_decision_styles Project Context plays a huge part as does company culture and acceptance towards our magic formulas. Side note - Would like to learn more about the Apple culture to understand how it really ticks. My guess is there is some UCD happening at Apple (but we prefer to believe its all coming from one or a few people only) Sometimes the approach one takes thinking through the design and evaluating its merit is just as important as the involvement of users (at the right time). So it comes back to a CHOICE/TIMING to involve users in order to inform your design assumptions. I am not sure what you call this but I can make up a cool name? :) Note -- We continue to do Usability Testing. We always use it as an opportunity to learn more about - * The project * The business * The users * The Product Development Process etc Is it always the best approach? No. But it does allow us to learn more. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37589 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] say no to genius design
Hi Andrei: I did read the article and Jared's point as you put in quotes makes good sense to me. Unless I missed your point? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37589 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] What to do in an environment run by engineers??
Hi Ali: Good question. Agree with this: If there is no pain %u2014 inotherwords, if the organization can't feel how their hard-to-use product is hurting them %u2014 then there is probably nothing you can do. - Jared Spool and this ... I've made myself blue in the face trying to convince both clients and coworkers (simultaneously, mind you) of the value of IxD-related activities in general. It nearly always fails until I am able to understand my clients' needs and then tailor my design approach directly to them. - Josh Evnin Both talk to an environment being receptive to the UX message. Or I call we call this organization ripeness. We talk to some of this here -- Selling UX - http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2008/10/selling-ux.php and here - http://www.slideshare.net/dszuc/selling-usability-in-organizations-presentation Quick tips: * Start with 1-2 engineers at a time (test your assumptions) * Don't try and sell the whole UCD process (it takes too long) and you will probably be pushing in jargon they may not have heard before. * Show how your UI/product improvements resulted in an improvement to business results (and share the joy with the team) Build from there ... rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37605 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] Strategic Interaction Design
Enjoyable reading and bookmarked! From Andrew Otwell - Finally and perhaps most importantly: what does a strategy look like? Is it a diagram? A narrative document? A phrase that the CEO repeats at every chance? A spreadsheet of numbers? From mark schraad: Years later, it is often hard to blame business folks for not understanding the importance of bringing design into the conversation early. But they are not taught that in business school. Well, unless you are lucky enough to got Rottman, IIT, Harvard, Berkley, Kansas and a handful of other schools where the design and business professors have continued dialog. Designers should help management articulate a strategy with a Design. In other words get out of the words, spreadsheets and business plans that people find hard to read. Get out of the numbers and show how Design process and the Designs themselves can help define, iterate and communicate strategy outside of the board room. Design and great products can illustrate that process :) Also see - http://www.apogeehk.com/articles/Six_techniques_for_advocating_design_in_your_organization.html (Six techniques for advocating design in your organizations) I often think that if employees can tell you what the company strategy is and how it fits with their work then its been well communicated. I believe many cant. Note - I often assume companies actually have a strategy. From Barbara Ballard - Strategy is the plan for how to compete. Yes it is and also on how to partner :) Finally, suggest you also need a Strategic Piece that you can adjust quickly to react to market forces. How could Designers help with this? rgds, Dan Szuc in Shanghai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36819 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] Strategic Interaction Design
And some related pieces to my previous post - * The Experience Vision - http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2006/05/31/the-experience-vision/ * SpoolCast: Product Evolution with Adaptive Path%u2019s Peter Merholz - http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2008/07/02/spoolcast-product-evolution-with-peter-merholz/ rgds, Dan Szuc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36819 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] Ux Trends to watch out for in 2009
Here is one : User Experience and Customer Experience to become even more adopted terms in industry (without the industry fully understanding what make up these terms and why its important) So here is a second: The UX community (independent of your stripes - IA, IXD, Usability blah blah) to do more in the way of educating the market outside of our comfortable communities as to what it is and how to implement the thinking into organizations. And finally a third: Working out how we can all work in tandem to help with number two above. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37096 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] 10 Most Common Misconceptions About User Experience Design
A nice follow up article to this piece would be where UX is working well in organsations and why - what are the themes/structures/team mixes/skill sets/approaches etc that have helped make it successful. Not looking for a magic formula here but rather variables to better understand where UX is thriving and why. Be nice to also hear from the same experts to hear what they have seen in their projects and many years of experience in the field. Then open it up to the community about what is working for them in addition to frustrations in getting heard. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37038 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] Product design 101 primer?
I like this -- http://www.infodesign.com.au/articlespresentations/articles/humansadesignersguide.asp rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36974 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] Interactin designers in China?
Hi Joe: Here are some links that may interest: * UPA Hong Kong -- www.usability.com.hk * User Friendly 2007 - http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2007/default_en.htm * User Friendly 2008 - http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2008/en/index.html * Usability in Hong Kong - http://webword.com/interviews/szuc.html * Usability in China: Encore - http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000159.php * Design in China - taking a great leap forward - http://www.apogeehk.com/articles/Design_in_China_takes_a_great_leap_forward.html Please to provide further insights as we have watched the UX community grow over the last 10 or so years. rgds, Dan - www.apogeehk.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36625 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] Dominating the space
Suggest any product that starts to lose focus on its core strengths and starts to compete on functions and features is entering the start of their own decline. If products extend nicely on their core, they have a better chance of success. Makes me think about what happened to Palm? It seems their products are in need of a major overhaul. Its all been said before, but the eco system of a product set plays a critical role now as products start to copy each others UI and form factor. Hence the continued importance of upfront and ongoing research to bridge into design to help differentiate. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36526 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] Regional user testing techniques
Good thoughts Ripul. Also suggest involving the local partner as early as possible in the planning for a local study. * How can a local partner input to the research plan? * What could they tell you about local users based on their experience that could impact the direction of research plan and what you want to find out? * Could specific questions be answered through other techniques like a usability review before involving local users? * Are there ways to break up the study into different stages to help one activity inform the next? Suggest there is a difference in thinking between partnering on a local research study and simply outsourcing a piece of work. We have seen both :) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35326 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Building UX Teams
Hi Linda: Your question = What makes a good UX team? Have you been part of a great UX design department? How would you go about building an excellent UXD team? Some thoughts on what makes a good UX team: 1. Can communicate clearly 2. Is able to teach methods and empower those outside of the UX team to find insights to improve UX (so does not keep UX all to themselves) See next point. 3. Can sell UX organizationally - http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000335.php 4. Can help the business improve products and services and pick the right projects to work on (rather than just talk about design or UX for its own sake) 5. Can prove their value - http://www.apogeehk.com/articles/Value.html 6. Has a simple set of tools and knows when to use them at the right time to find the right answers (but does not get caught up in the tool itself) - See: Choosing the Right Usability Technique (Getting the Answers You Need) - http://www.wqusability.com/publications.html#workshops and http://www.sitepoint.com/kits/usability1/ 7. Can walkthrough results and bridge research into design - http://uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000199.php 8. Can build relationships - http://www.apogeehk.com/articles/Six_techniques_for_advocating_design_in_your_organization.html 9. Has a strong manager who can filter work opportunities, advocate for UX organizationally and know how to manage a team with varied skill sets 10. Fill in your own :) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35869 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Regional user testing techniques
Talk to researchers directly in the markets you want to test in and let them help you get the answers you are looking for. Depending on what you are looking to find out, this will determine your approach and then local researchers (with local language, experience in their market and understanding of the nuances in that market should will help you get the answers) Also ensure that if you have observers from other countries in the study, that they are well briefed on what they are seeing and what it means for the development of the product going forward e.g. localization or value proposition in the market being studied. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35326 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Regional user testing techniques
Hi Pieter: For me localization goes well beyond purely a choice of language but a willingness to invest understanding the market you are selling a product into. This could mean (and not limited to): translating a product into a local language, understanding if a specific piece of content needed to exist in that market at all, a rolling plan to talk and design with your users in that market (not always driving or pushing functions on them from another model they may not understand in the first place), what works for them?, talking to people who sell your product in that market (how do they talk to their customers?) etc etc Its a real investment and often we see only a translation of content (where the content strategy may be driven from one market that is only looking at translation or process from one market e.g. USA and not the bigger picture) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35326 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Any thoughts on placement of company contact information?
Keep contact information up front and easy to find on your web site and be fast to respond when people do contact you via email. Its nice when you hear wow that was quick or thanks for responding so quickly -- it seems that there are people who have experienced very slow response times from companies. Its also surprising the relationships you can create without picking up a phone these days but of course it also nice to hear a voice. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=35710 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Can an interaction designer creat (great) interaction without (great) visual design skills?
The visual design fades quickly ... a stellar interaction design remains constant and is what keeps people engaged with the product. If the visuals are nice but the IXD is crap, no amount of nice visuals will help the product. Its like applying a nice skin on a flawed IXD/wireframe/workflow. Note -- Both are important but IXD has a lasting effect. :) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=34316 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Do you regard Interaction Design as good name for your design practice? else, what's your prefer?
I lead with whatever the audience and market I am in understands, and underneath that aim to paint a larger UX picture. The rest is just jargon :) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=34155 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Design / IA opportunities in Asia
Hi: The UX/design/IXD market is still maturing in Asia and here are some initial pointers - * UPA China's User Friendly 2008 - http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2008/en/index.html (good place to network with the China UX industry) * UPA China Hong Kong Branch - www.usability.com.hk (we occasionally post jobs here) and see - http://www.usability.com.hk/jobs.htm Design Agencies that incorporate or look into Usability/UX as part of their design process- * Heathwallace Hong Kong - http://www.heathwallace.co.uk/contact-us/ * Agenda Asia - http://www.agenda-asia.com/ * MRM - http://www.mrmworldwide.com Also ... * Philips Design - http://www.design.philips.com/about/design/profile/whereweare/index.page * Yahoo Hong Kong, China and India - http://careers.yahoo.com/uedjobs.php Other companies in the region who have started UX teams include: Global Sources, Google, IBM, Alibaba, HSBC Hong Kong, Tencent, Huawei (to name a few) etc All the best in your search and please let me know if you need further help. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=33853 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] G1 Android - case study in inconsistency
Having moved our company email to Google Apps, I am excited at the prospect of having a phone that can connect seamlessly to my contacts, email, chat and calendar. The stuff around the platform should improve with different handset manufacturers jumping on board and integrating it with different aspects of the hardware (this appears to be a sell point for Android) One feature I like is how the UI adjusts itself based on angle of the phone to give a direction in street view using Google maps. Also be interesting to see how mobile search plays out on the Android. Expect performance, battery life and stability will be important factors as well. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=33456 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Why Understanding Business Models is Important to Ix Designers
If you have piss off your customers, you have no business. The magic is when you can achieve a delightful UX and make money for the business. Customers also have to understand the value a product or service brings to their life and how its different to what they are using now. If you cant do this, again you have no business. Value - Tick Usable - Tick Delightful - Tick Better than my alternatives - Tick Stable - Tick Secure - Tick Friends rave about it - Tick Where do I sign up? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=33433 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] [EVENT] IxDA Shanghai Face-to-Face Meeting: SEPTEMBER 27, 2008
And for those attending the event in Shanghai, we hope to see you all in Shenzhen in October 2008 for User Friendly -- http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2008/en/index.html rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=32957 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Jazzy point for a UX pitch to a bank
Touch on cross channel experiences and what it truly means to self serve in delightful ways. Also talk about how banking products could be simplified and presented in ways that people can understand to potentially increase leads. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=32589 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] User Friendly 2008 conference in Shenzhen, China
DDF.UPA China warmly invites you to User Friendly 2008 for 5 days, bringing together 1000+ usability practitioners, designers and technologists from across China and internationally. The theme of 2008 is Innovation for Asia. Please come to Shenzhen to continue the tradition of sharing, friendship and learning as experienced in Beijing (User Friendly 2004), Shanghai (User Friendly 2005), Hangzhou (User Friendly 2006) and Beijing (User Friendly 2007). Date: Oct 24th,25th,26th and 27th, 2008 Venue: Marco Polo Shenzhen Hotel, Shenzhen, China Language: English/Chinese (Interpretation will be offered in Main Venue ONLY) See -- http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2008/en/index.html http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2008/en/program.html rgds, Dan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] how to present UX to the whole agency
Sell in simple tools that return useful results, communicate those results quickly and iterate back into the design quickly. Also integrate this into an existing process without being too negative on current approaches. Play nice and win friends. Finally company culture plays a huge part -- is the culture receptive to anything customer related and will they be open to UX in the first place? - Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31958 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Testing persuasiveness
Instead of asking how well it works, I want to know how well it convinces. When I think of convincing ... : * Convincing me to trust * Convincing me to buy * Convincing me to go to next step * Convincing me to read * Convincing me to submit something * Convincing me enough to tell someone else about it Perhaps mark the components on the design that will help convince the user (according the the attributes above) and then see how well these are used/commented on/seen etc as part of the task they are looking to complete. Thoughts? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31828 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] prototype philosophy
Participants get scared using such rough prototypes to elicit consumer feedback at the beginning, but they are won over when they see the benefits of co-creation, Especially like this quote and making the first move to sketch, feel its ok to get it wrong and then keep reworking it forward. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31696 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] I love the cloud, but...
Keep a copy locally and a copy on the cloud :) Google Gears has the right idea ... rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31149 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] [Hk-Discuss] [reminder] F2F meeting: Jul 29 (Tue), 19H30 - Fringe Club HK (MTR Central Exit D2)
Hi Adler: Wishing you a good meeting. Reminding all to attend User Friendly 2008 -- http://www.upachina.org/userfriendly2008/en/index.html (Shenzhen, China -- Oct 24-27 2008) rgds, Dan On 28 Jul 2008, at 11:59 AM, HK - Interaction Design Association wrote: reminder, Jul 29 (tomorrow) -- Forwarded message Hello IxDers! After a few F2F in other ways/places (seminar, ReD conference), it's time to pay a visit to our regular place. --- When / Where Jul, 29 (Tue), 19.30, on the Fringe Club in Central. (MTR Central Exit D2) --- Topic [1] How do we adapt Interactive design to the age group targeted by the product? and how do we adapt the design when it's for learning a foreign language ? (by Denis) [2] Conferences, workshops, seminars in 2008. What are your plans and/or suggestions for organising one in HK. Best, Adler (98145027) Our group in FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=9768896230 [When replying to this message, please voluntarily TRIM REPLIES to include only relevant quoted material.] ___ IxDA - Hong Kong Local Group - http://hk.ixda.org ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) List settings: http://lists.hk.ixda.org/listinfo.cgi/hk-discuss-hk.ixda.org Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Should persuasion be left to marketers?
A lot of marketing is just getting in people's face to build brand awareness. - Agree. What does marketing get rewarded for today? What are their KPIs? Side note -- Have seen more marketing departments over the last 2 years take more notice of terms like UX and CX which is a good thing ... but they are not entirely sure how to create a holistic CX. Has anyone seen similar trends in your respective markets? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31083 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Should persuasion be left to marketers?
Should the persuasive elements of a site design be left to marketers? Suggest part of this answer rests with the users of the product. If the product delights and if there is real value they help persuade others to use it. A reasonable proportion of trying services like flickr, twitter, gmail, delicious etc have come through invites and word of mouth. The rest is just the cherry on top :) In fact, expect users are becoming smarter and even less susceptible to marketing. Side note -- We have asked Product Teams if they actually use the product they are working on? AND If they are not using it, why not? (there are often some interesting underlying reasons as to why) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31083 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Hotel Websites: Flagship User Experience
John suggest you can also think about what makes the booking process that little bit special? Is it something the customer receives on arriving at the hotel (box of chocolates etc), is it sending a map of the area and eating places around, is it a % off the next visit, is it a free www.flickr.com account for people to save their photos to when and after their visit? Its the little things that can make for a nicer and well rounded user experience. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30965 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Any good example of good user experiences design in broadband providers websites?
Angelo: Before providing a list of sites or designs - what key questions do you think people would have of broadband providers before arriving at their home page? What are the types of things they would want to be able to do through the web site? (before visiting a shop?) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30966 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Hotel Websites: Flagship User Experience
Hi John. We have done a few research pieces for hotel groups and you may want to check out: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Default.htm There are also a number of factors travelers from different segments look at in pre, during and post the booking process. So my advice would be to look beyond just the online channel part of the total experience. Other basic discoveries included: a brief booking process, the ability to remember a profile/preferences and of course key information about the rooms (you would be surprised how important the bathroom is to people) but is often under sold on hotel web sites. There is more and be pleased to share as you go along ... rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30965 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Banks and the homepage
Hi Diego: Some of the answers depend on what paths/content the business would like to drive through on their home page to either make or save the business money. Our experience suggests that when users arrive at a Banking Home Page they tend to ignore most links and click directly on the login to access their relationship with the bank (either personal or business) Also see: * Home Page Design -- http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000212.php * Is Home Page Design Relevant Anymore? - http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2005/09/29/is-home-page-design-relevant-anymore/ * Usability Tools Podcast: Home Page Design - http://www.uie.com/brainsparks/2007/08/06/usability-tools-podcast-home-page-design/ * Chinese Banks Homepage Usability - http://www.apogeehk.com/research_chinese_banks.html Unfortunately, usually the fight for real estate on the Home Page is less to do with actually helping the business or user and more to do with the business units all wanting attention through marketing campaigns that are not aligned with other channels. Finally, I recently gave a presentation at STC on Home Page Usability -- http://www.stc.org/55thConf/sessions/search03.asp?ID=125 and be pleased to discuss further. rgds, Dan -- Daniel Szuc Principal Usability Consultant Apogee Usability Asia Ltd www.apogeehk.com Usability in Asia The Usability Kit - www.theusabilitykit.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30807 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Transitioning from usability into IxD
Hi Marie: Suggest one way to practice would be to take the findings from a usability test and start to sketch a wire frame to illustrate improvements from a previous design. As you make the changes to the wire frame, think about the story you would tell someone to talk to the improvements from the previous design. rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30389 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Prototyping at Apple
Important that people feel they are in an environment that allows and encourages failure towards something better. Allowing time to iterate also means you can test against assumptions. Unfortunately, there are companies that still operate in a traditional agency mode - throw a problem over the fence to the agency and expect an agency to come up with a pretty design solution (without any iteration or understanding of the process to get to a better solution) rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30176 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
