[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] Senior Director of User Experience - Richmond, VA - SnagAJob.com - Full Time
The Senior Director of User Experience is responsible for leading SnagAJob.com's UX team to help create and propose design strategies to meet our business objectives. The senior director position requires a deep understanding of strategy, usability, interaction and visual design and will be responsible for leading the team responsible for all of these initiatives. The senior director will wear many hats, think conceptually about design and be passionate about our job seekers. The senior director must have a clear understanding of each facet of the design processâinformation architecture and interaction design, research and usability, prototyping, visual design, brand integration, and content creation. Position Overview + Create a an IA vision and strategy that results in an outstanding user experience and is in line with and consistently supports our brand, marketing, product, and revenue strategies. + Evaluate the effectiveness of new and existing IA elements on SnagAJob.com, through performance metrics, customer feedback, the competitive landscape, and industry standard best practices in order to continuously evolve and improve our online brand presence and user experience. + Work collaboratively across teams - program management, product management, marketing, sales, and engineering to meet business objectives and execute on product strategy. + Champion our users' needs. Be the voice of the job seeker and employer in all product development and champion the research and understanding of these users through personas and other tools. Influence the business strategy and experience development on projects by representing the voice of the seeker and by providing information about best practices and current industry standards in brainstorming and requirements sessions. + Prioritize User Experience work to align with corporate goals and business objectives. Think holistically about SnagAJob.com initiatives and goals to create solutions that meet short-term and long-term objectives. Understand the complexity of design and make it simple for users. + Have fun. + Live our values: collaborate, be accountable, be passionate. Key Responsibilities + Define strategies aligned with business goals and market environment to create compelling, innovate user experiences + Manage a team of design and web development experts + Manage engagements and requests for team and lead projects to targeted delivery dates with stated metric goals + Enhance methodology for usability and UX involvement in product development + Know and love our job seekers and find ways to greatly enhance their experience + Author the creation of personas, workflows, prototypes, process flows, sitemaps, and wireframes to solidify directions, plans and visual design + Help design and execute usability test plans and reports + Create, prototype, design and measure the user experience from seeker acquisition to retention + Work collaboratively across company functions including product management, business development and engineering + Establish and enforce hierarchy of key site pages + Influence and promote UX changes through the use of data and best practice suggestions Qualifications + 10+ years experience in web user experience design and information architecture with large-scale, high-volume consumer offering + Bachelor's and/or Master's Degree in information science, information design, human-computer interaction, cognitive psychology, human factors, or related such as visual design + Expertise in information architecture and usability with understanding of interaction design, visual design, and common design tools (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, Flash, Photoshop, Axure) + Mastery of marketing and business principles and exhibits strong critical thinking skills including problem solving, decision making and analysis + Strong communication, analytical, and interpersonal skills working within cross-functional teams and in influencing the organization + Proven ability to balance multiple projects while meeting tight deadlines + Clear leadership skills + Experience with prototyping and storyboards + Excellent written and verbal communications skills + Strong organizational skills and an attention to detail + Portfolio to accompany resume. Compensation and Benefits: SnagAJob.com offers a highly competitive compensation and benefits package including medical, dental, life, short and long-term disability insurance, 401k plan, tuition reimbursement, holidays, paid time off (starting with 18 days), casual and fun work environment, and eligibility for performance-based bonuses and stock options. To Apply: To be immediately and seriously considered for this exceptional opportunity that provides the potential for rapid career growth, send your resume to care...@snagajob.com. Your responses will be held in the strictest confidence.
[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] Senior Director of User Experience - Richmond, VA - SnagAJob.com - Full Time
The Senior Director of User Experience is responsible for leading SnagAJob.com's UX team to help create and propose design strategies to meet our business objectives. The senior director position requires a deep understanding of strategy, usability, interaction and visual design and will be responsible for leading the team responsible for all of these initiatives. The senior director will wear many hats, think conceptually about design and be passionate about our job seekers. The senior director must have a clear understanding of each facet of the design process—information architecture and interaction design, research and usability, prototyping, visual design, brand integration, and content creation. Position Overview + Create a an IA vision and strategy that results in an outstanding user experience and is in line with and consistently supports our brand, marketing, product, and revenue strategies. + Evaluate the effectiveness of new and existing IA elements on SnagAJob.com, through performance metrics, customer feedback, the competitive landscape, and industry standard best practices in order to continuously evolve and improve our online brand presence and user experience. + Work collaboratively across teams - program management, product management, marketing, sales, and engineering to meet business objectives and execute on product strategy. + Champion our users' needs. Be the voice of the job seeker and employer in all product development and champion the research and understanding of these users through personas and other tools. Influence the business strategy and experience development on projects by representing the voice of the seeker and by providing information about best practices and current industry standards in brainstorming and requirements sessions. + Prioritize User Experience work to align with corporate goals and business objectives. Think holistically about SnagAJob.com initiatives and goals to create solutions that meet short-term and long-term objectives. Understand the complexity of design and make it simple for users. + Have fun. + Live our values: collaborate, be accountable, be passionate. Key Responsibilities + Define strategies aligned with business goals and market environment to create compelling, innovate user experiences + Manage a team of design and web development experts + Manage engagements and requests for team and lead projects to targeted delivery dates with stated metric goals + Enhance methodology for usability and UX involvement in product development + Know and love our job seekers and find ways to greatly enhance their experience + Author the creation of personas, workflows, prototypes, process flows, sitemaps, and wireframes to solidify directions, plans and visual design + Help design and execute usability test plans and reports + Create, prototype, design and measure the user experience from seeker acquisition to retention + Work collaboratively across company functions including product management, business development and engineering + Establish and enforce hierarchy of key site pages + Influence and promote UX changes through the use of data and best practice suggestions Qualifications + 10+ years experience in web user experience design and information architecture with large-scale, high-volume consumer offering + Bachelor's and/or Master's Degree in information science, information design, human-computer interaction, cognitive psychology, human factors, or related such as visual design + Expertise in information architecture and usability with understanding of interaction design, visual design, and common design tools (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, Flash, Photoshop, Axure) + Mastery of marketing and business principles and exhibits strong critical thinking skills including problem solving, decision making and analysis + Strong communication, analytical, and interpersonal skills working within cross-functional teams and in influencing the organization + Proven ability to balance multiple projects while meeting tight deadlines + Clear leadership skills + Experience with prototyping and storyboards + Excellent written and verbal communications skills + Strong organizational skills and an attention to detail + Portfolio to accompany resume. Compensation and Benefits: SnagAJob.com offers a highly competitive compensation and benefits package including medical, dental, life, short and long-term disability insurance, 401k plan, tuition reimbursement, holidays, paid time off (starting with 18 days), casual and fun work environment, and eligibility for performance-based bonuses and stock options. To Apply: To be immediately and seriously considered for this exceptional opportunity that provides the potential for rapid career growth, send your resume to care...@snagajob.com. Your responses will be held in the strictest confidence.
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Enterprise IT UI Strategy
Brandon, One of the things you may face is communicating what is truly involved in implementing a UI (or UX Design) Strategy and addressing misconceptions. I recommend you look at an earlier post, Dear CEO: - http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=46405#46405. Charles did a great job of summarizing UX Design and it's value proposition, and the post includes many insightful responses. I also offer to you a presentation I put together that covers many similar points. (In fact, many of the points were inspired by the Dear CEO: post.) User Experience Design: The Missing Ingredient - http://bit.ly/cqFiQ3 I presented this to senior IT leaders in support of creating a UX Design group. It went over extremely well with them. The main points. a.. UXD involves more than you may think. It is not items on a checlist but a way of thinking that drives project decisions. b.. UXD is not as costly as you think. While there may be added people and tasks, other costs are reduced. Plus, it provides many benefits as well (Charles' points from Dear CEO) c.. UXD requires a commitment and investment in the right resources The theme, The Missing Ingredient, is intended to support a spirit of collaboration. We wanted to be sure that our message was NOT, Your work sucks because you do not do these more important things. UXD is not more important, but just as important - an essential ingredient. The final suggestion I offer you is this: A UI strategy (as with any strategy) will better succeed if you have an executive champion. The higher the better. Without a champion, it is hard to succeed in the long run. If you do not have that champion, look for small, early wins to show the value of a UI Strategy, and use that success to as a selling point. Best of luck, Tom 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
Took a lot of your comments into account, as well as some of my own thoughts. I tried to vastly simplify things. Here is an update, be glad to hear any thoughts. http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48702/timeline2.jpg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 5:12 PM, J. A. Fitzpatrick jaf...@gmail.com wrote: My only real confusion point in the original version was lining up the jump back to the original timeline, and the new version fixes that completely. Personally, I think the legend is confusing rather than helpful. Otherwise, it looks great :) Cheers, Jean-Anne Great, thanks Jean-Anne! I only threw the legend in there because it was suggested, but I tend to agree. I don't think it really helps. 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
Thanks for the comments I haven't responded to yet. I'm working on revising it with many of these things in mind. @Oliamwright - can't see any comments at that link :( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
If anyone knows how to remove a post in a thread - Jonathan didn't want his email on the site. I can't seem to do it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
I've been working on this chart for awhile that has to do with my comic. It supposed to explain some large events that happened in the story via time travel. I could really use some more sets of eyes on this thing, because it's driving me crazy! It's also an exercise in information design for me, so it's not just for fun. It's my first real attempt at info design in fact. Anyway, I'd like to see if people can make heads or tails of it without any explanation from me. I would love any comments, pro or con. The info I'd give you is that the story takes place on Mars, Geborga are Martian scientists and John and Lian are astronauts that arrive later. The design - colors, fonts, I still consider somewhat rough. I'm trying to get the layout nailed first. See it here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48702/timeline.jpg 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
Thanks for the responses! I realize I made a couple mistakes when I changed some things in the alternate timeline. I wasn't sure if the circle would confuse people or not, it seems half and half. I'm open to suggestions as to what my help indicate a break from the old and a creation of a new timeline in that spot. I could have just made a straight line, I suppose. Here's what maybe people are not getting: 0 - Travel Origin is where the Geborga start going back. They go back 40 years to -40. They make a change, and the new universe spawns. That's the reason for the negative numbers - although I can see how that might not make sense reading it top down. They spend 24 years in the alternate universe, at which time things work out, but they are starting to suffer weird effects. They need to get back. They think jumping ahead 16 years will put them back at year 0 again - travel origin. And things will be all fixed and they are back where they started. Instead they are yanked back to their own universe. Because the universes are rushing away from each other though, time dilated (or whatever) and they went WAY into the future of their old universe, landing 432 years ahead. So maybe if I had dates instead of /- figures - at least in the original, that might help? (Numbers do represent years Dan.) It would be nice if somehow you could kind of follow one path through the chart, but it's hard to figure how to accomplish that. The tricky part is the lost years from 0 - 432 in the original. I can see how that is confusing to what is going on. @Dan - I have to explain this at a high level in the comic. I'm not sure if I am going to break this down and draw it to do that or what. I suppose I could make various versions based on which character you tracked. That might help things. Thoughts? Thanks for the great feedback, this is a pretty difficult thing to get my mind around. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48697 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
Thanks for the great feedback Sabine. I agree a Legend would help. I guess I kind of wanted to avoid that if possible, maybe as others suggested, a single character path might help. Some comments below: On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 4:56 PM, sabine morrow designsa...@gmail.comwrote: 1. In the original universe, the starting point is time 0 (zero). You can move back in time and what appears to be forward in time. But what is confusing is that at +15 you describe Geborga travel *back* in time to build It would be intuitive to think +15 is moving ahead in time, not backward. Maybe I should just use dates - that might be easier? 4. The travelor moves ahead in time in the alternate universe and some event happens and I end up back in the original moving ahead in time. They return to the original but there is gap from where they left the original and ended up in the alternative to where they are back in the original. A time warp? They try to go back to year 0, they get sucked back to their original universe, far ahead of their target date, where they find their world ruined. The alternate universe continues, but without them. 5. What is the time spread? According to your chart, because alternate path is on diagonal, I would think time accelerates in the alternate like is shown in the original - you go from +19 to +432. Maybe the original path should be on diagonal and the alternate path is completely vertical to indicate the jump forward in time with the travelors jump back into their original universe. Because they are moving away from each other, time is distorted and when they return, that accounts for all the added time. The gap from 19-432 is the time distortion. 6. In sum, travelors go back in time, and end up in alternate universe but they don't realize it. They try to come back to their time zerom, which triggers their acceleration forward into their original universe? Not sure that is what you intended. But at +24 in the alternate, the caption discusses +16 years but that does not match up across the grid to the original. It would definately help to have legend explaining the calibrations - what they are in each universe and how they relate from one universe to another. 24 + 16 = 40. They are trying to get back to 40 years total. I realize that is not clear though. 7. As regards design, try using more visual cues - different font for alternate universe, color code the time calibrations to show at exactly at what point the travelor crossed from one universe to another. Font is a little plane. Maybe use boxy, tech font for this futuristic, sci-fi theme? I will definitely try and add more visual cues and I iterate this. Thanks for the feedback I will post back an updated version! Tom 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] Could use some eyes on this chart
On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 6:13 PM, Jonathan Rez jonat...@rez.com.au wrote: Tom hi, My two cents' worth... Ground rule: Add a title to the page/chart Flip the chart, so that negative values are towards the bottom of the page, not the top. Minute detail. because you are using the minus symbol, it may be good to avoid dashes, for example in 0 - Travel Origin Triangles along the path infer one way, but you're describing a going back in time scenario. Revisiting the diagram (but not deleting my last comment) it reads like once I'm on the orange line I'm in the alternate timeline, but what you'e saying is that I'm in the alternate timeline once I reach -40. In addition, is the duration of going back in time the same as moving forward, or are they jumping back in time? According to the current visualisation it's the same. If it is a time jump then a different line style should be used, eg: thin, dotted (green, as we're not yet in the alternate time space) or gradient from white to green to indicate fast motion. I guess they start at 0 being on the orange timeline, and in hindsight that reads oddly - they are going back but not yet on the alternate. Good points. The idea of having the time jump be visually distinct is a good one I think. To make it more coherent it would help if points in the parallel time space were horizontally aligned with points in the original time space, i.e. a base line time grid where +19 is parallel to +19 And while it's a big challenge, see if you can make distances reflect time span rather points in key points in the story. I don't think I'll have the room for that. I planned on indicating breaks where big gaps are. If the new time space start at zero, the current diagram shows they are loosing 40 years between the time they start the new time space and the time they reconnect to the original time space. See rough draft attached As you say, this is information design – why are you posting this to IXDA? Good input, thanks. Posted here because I knew I'd get good feedback, and I did :) 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] SurveyGizmo and popups for customer satisfaction survey?
I have not implemented these on a site, but my experience with them as a user has been very negative. The Would you like to take a survey? dialogue immediately calls to mind every time I've ever agreed to take a survey in real life, and been promised it would only take 2 minutes, and ten minutes later I'm still standing there. I universally click no thanks, and am left annoyed that I had to click through to get to the content I want. I think that a better approach would be to build it into the checkout experience as only 1-3 questions after the confirmation, so that people can feel confident that they know that they're not signing up for a long, involved process. Spread the questions over more users (let's assume there are 9 questions - show each user three), and with a better response rate you should gather at least as much data. That's my hypothesis, anyway. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48305 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] Web: Modals on a form
Agree with the above. I can't think of any reason to disrupt the flow of a general purpose form. I'd only want a modal if there's some really compelling content (e.g. legal, or an alert box) to call out. If context driven changes are to occur later in the form, expandable dynamically populated panes seem a better option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48311 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] Does anyone know of any good UK based User Experience (UX)/User Centred Design (UCD)/ Information Architecture (IA) training?
I'm UK based and looking to fill in a couple of gaps in my experience with some short UX training courses (ideally with hands on sessions where applicable, not just theory) - does anybody know any or can recommend any short courses? I notice that webcredible do some (http://www.webcredible.co.uk/services/user-centered-design.shtml), but would be interested to hear of any others. Many thanks, Tom Evans 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] System Usability Scale (SUS) for websites
We've also used SUS for web applications (by simply using the term 'application' where relevant). Our clients really like it as it provides a benchmark score for future testing. Aside from the score, SUS alternates the positive and negative wording of the statements which makes the participants 'stop and think' a bit. -Tom User Experience Specialist User Centric -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Jens Meiert Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2009 6:36 PM To: IxDA Subject: [IxDA Discuss] System Usability Scale (SUS) for websites I may briefly write in to a) shamelessly promote System Usability Scale (SUS) [1] templates for use on (smaller) websites, http://meiert.com/en/blog/20091127/sus-how-to-grade/, and to b) learn about whether or not you'd see any particular issues in using SUS for website usability evaluation. My experience over the years, albeit based on a limited number of use cases, indicates that SUS scores pretty much correlate with what you'd find out in user testing sessions too (referring to respective site's general usability, and how satisfied users would claim they are). However, you might have some additional thoughts and insight for which I'd be very thankful. Thanks, best, Jens. [1] http://hell.meiert.org/core/pdf/sus.pdf -- Jens Meiert http://meiert.com/en/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Search against a large, rapidly changing data set?
Are your users entirely conscious of the incoming data after the initial query is fired? Perhaps you could utilize some sort of queue model, wherein the user is being updated as to how many new records have been added since the search was performed? This would allow them to refresh the results to display the new data. I guess you could call that the Twitter model? Tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=47183 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] When to use faceted navigation
My gut says don't bother with facets if you have less than five. Any fewer and I think you're better off with a more basic tagging approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from ixda.org (via iPhone) http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46764 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] Visual Browsing Interface
This TED talk shows off what ultimately became Microsoft's PhotoSynth - pretty wild zoom effects on print material. TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/blaise_aguera_y_arcas_demos_photosynth.html MS PhotoSynth: http://livelabs.com/photosynth/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46519 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:
I actually start my argument by presenting a comparative stock chart comparing Apple versus Microsoft over the past five years in term of business growth. That usually gets their attention! :) Tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 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
[IxDA Discuss] The appropriateness of Wizards (not the magical kind)
Afternoon, I'm developing a UI for a tool we have. I've built a wireframe version that is kind of dynamic, where you drag and drop things into a central area where you are configuring something. When you have your configuration built, you send it off, you can even schedule it or save it for later. This is part of an existing piece of software. Currently they do some other things that are similar using wizards. They want to do this in a wizard as well. While the processes are similar, they are not the same. I feel like the dynamic version I have wireframed is more intuitive than a procedural wizard. But I'm open to looking at both, I want to do what is best for the user. So the big question is when is it appropriate to use a wizard in an interface? If anyone has any good resources on that, I'd appreciate it. I did find this article which is good: http://blog.componentoriented.com/2007/10/wizard_ui_dysfunction/ But I'd like to do some further research. I want to say I heard somewhere that a wizard is essentially a lazy way to design, but I cannot locate (or verify if it is true.) Welcome any thoughts. Thanks! Tom -- Marooned - A Space Opera in the Wrong Key! http://www.maroonedcomic.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] UX Team Collaboration
Thanks for the input everyone, there's a lot to digest here! Will follow up with a summary and the approach we choose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45252 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 Team Collaboration
I reached out to the guys at EightShapes and Nathan Curtis responded with a link to a post on their blog that speaks to this (Thanks Nathan!) Link to the article: http://unify.eightshapes.com/efficiency-tips/8-tips-for-organizing-project-files-folders/ Headlines on the file management aspect: Use Subversion Beanstalk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45252 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] Eye-Tracker software/hardware recommendations
I have limited experience with eye-tracking but, for me, you haven't covered the most important reasons to use it. 1. Big bosses love it... it's a persuader it's science-y but funner. 2. Talk Aloud, when a participant is watching their video, becomes Post Talk Aloud and they can tell you what they were thinking and doing. This approach is MUCH more informative and inclusive / collaborative rather than talk aloud where the participant is centre stage and being tested... this shift is subtle but hugely important. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44684 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] Information Architect - New York - 3 Days onsite Immediate
Diane, We have an IA that could help. Please contact me if you are interested. Tom O'Neill VP of Development t...@sierra-bravo.com http://www.nerdery.com http://www.sierra-bravo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44641 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] Dynamic graphics
Hi Ian, Like Adrian says - slightly hard to give a definitive answer without more information. However, as you are working with vectors have you considered Flash? It can be an incredibly powerful dynamic, data visualisation tool - from simple things such as this tutorial for creating pie charts http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/javascript-ajax/creating-flash-charts-from-data-in-google-spreadsheets-using-javascript/ to the beautiful work created by artists such as Erik Natzke (etc) using complex algorithms (http://jot.eriknatzke.com/)? You could use Flash to create a a front-end interface to manipulate the variables, as well as for rendering the vector output based upon these variables. Alternatively, Flash can reference variables in external files such as XML if you wanted to avoid creating a front end. Anyway - not a direct answer to your question I'm afraid, but hopefully some food for thought? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=44540 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] Your favorite tour on a website?
Good Morning, We're working on a project that has a somewhat complex concept to get across without using a lot of information. Based on testing we're finding out that some kind of tour is the way to go to introduce our product to our customers. We've been looking at Mint.com as a real good example of a tour. I think Campaign Monitor has a good one too. Do you know of any other sites that use the tour really well? We'd like to look at as many good examples as possible. Suggestions are appreciated! Thanks! Tom 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] Your favorite tour on a website?
We discussed that approach a little bit. My concern about that is how do you turn it off? If it based on a cookie, it comes back when they clear their cookies. If it's a setting in their preferences, I suppose that works but you need to make sure they find it. But really the main issue is that in our case they need to get the value proposition up front first, or they kind of go away. So it's less about the how and more about the why. Why do I want to be a part of this thing? We're not going to force the tour, but it has to be right there so all I have to do as a user is just click play, start or whatever to get it going. On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 10:13 AM, William Hudson william.hud...@syntagm.co.uk wrote: Not a tour suggestion, but dynamic popup windows now make the implementation of 'cue cards' a real possibility on the web. 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] Your favorite tour on a website?
I understand, but I do think that the kind of tour we're talking about is somewhat of a new convention. If you haven't looked at Mint.com yet, give it a look. It's not your typical tour. We're faced with this problem in that if they don't get it fairly quickly, they are gone. And our initial efforts with a typical web site to inform them are failing badly. In testing, they have shown a good level of interest in some kind of tour. For myself, I've taken a few that have helped me. We purchased Axure for use here because of their tour features. Tom On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM, William Hudson william.hud...@syntagm.co.uk wrote: I see your point, but I have been using the web since NCSA Mosaic and have taken maybe three site tours in the intervening 15 years. Maybe it’s me. Anyone out there taken a site tour in the past 3 months? 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] Your favorite tour on a website?
It's not only Why use mint? - I'd consider that secondary, it's really the whole home page above the fold, with the links at the bottom. It explains the whole value prop. Tom 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] Software Design Models and/or Design Patterns
Here's a book: http://designinginterfaces.com/About_Patterns Here is a library of UI patterns: http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/wireframes/ HTH, Tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43747 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] Slider orientation best practice
David, I'd prefer that vertical slider w/ the vertical layout. Yes, there could be confusion w/ the browser's vertical scroll. But you can make it work. Good luck! Tom Sakell :: harborsights.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42001 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] Top Ten IxD Must Read Articles.
I'd like recommend a book I just finished: Observing the User Experience, by Mike Kuniavsky. He works at Adaptive Path. The book is a beginner intermediate primer on conducing focus groups, usability testing and research. It's quite insightful, and makes most work seem obvious. I learned something new every chapter. Tom Sakell :: harborsights.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41955 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] Any NYC'ers see the planes flying low in Manhattan now?
saw this on washingtonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042701372.html On Mon, Apr 27, 2009 at 3:11 AM, Rich Rogan jrro...@gmail.com wrote: Any NYC'ers see the planes flying low in Manhattan now? Looking for something on the news and there's nothing. Reply to this thread at ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41540 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 -- With Regards, Tom Sakell tsak...@gmail.com 703.598.6857 twitter: @NoVaDaddy 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 role of detailed footers
Hello. I see these detailed footers on media sites, too, like washingtonpost.com. I think it serves readers who have detailed questions but little interest in drilling down for procedural questions, like, How can I stop my newspaper for a vacation? It needs to be on the home page, but out of the way. Tom Sakell :: harborsights.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41412 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] Two Delete behaviors - one type of label?
Don't know what technology you're working with, but the Windows distinction between Delete and SHIFT-Delete comes to mind. It's not the same becuase they're both mediated, but it's an exmple of the user selecting one of two different actions to perform, which might work in your case. In a sense it comes down to user types. Mediated deletion (or undoable deletion) suits novices, hence it should be easier. Experts might want efficiency of immediate delete, and they can be expected to learn a shift-delete or equivalent to achieve it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=41286 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] CFP Persistent Conversation 11 (2nd call)
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION (second call) The 11th Persistent Conversation Minitrack Digital Media and Content Track at HICSS 43 January 5-8, 2010 Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort, Kauai, Hawai'i See http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html for an online version and further information. IN ONE PARAGRAPH The Persistent Conversation minitrack is a yearly gathering of people who design and study systems that support computer-mediated communication. Persistent conversation is not limited to asynchronous textual communication: It includes instant messaging, voice chat, and other 'ephemeral' media. Nor do we limit our focus to systems explicitly designed to support conversation: We are interested in conversational exchanges as manifested in applications (for instance, blogs, annotation systems, distance education) and in sites oriented around the use of photos, video and other media. If you're interested in presenting a paper in the minitrack, the first step is to submit an abstract. A 10-page paper is due June 15th. IMPORTANT DATES -04/20: Prospective authors submit 300-word abstracts -05/04: Feedback on abstracts sent -06/15: 10-page papers due (see http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_43/authorinstruction.htm for details) -08/15: Accept/Conditional Accept/Reject notices sent -09/15: Final papers due -10/02: At least one author must register for conference ABOUT THE MINITRACK This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. Persistent conversations occur via instant messaging, text and voice chat, email, blogs, web boards, MOOs, graphical and 3D virtual environments, gaming systems, video sharing sites, document annotation systems, mobile phone texting, etc. Such communication is persistent in that it leaves a digital trace, and the trace in turn affords new uses. It permits conversations to be saved, visualized, browsed, searched, replayed, and restructured. Persistence also means that conversations need not be synchronous: They can be asynchronous (stretching out over hours or days) or supersynchronous (with multiple parties 'talking' at the same time). Finally, the creation of persistent and potentially permanent records from what was once an ephemeral process raises a variety of social and ethical issues. ABOUT PAPER TOPICS We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: * Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. * Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: It is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: - Turn-taking, threading and other structural features of CMC - The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g. blog networks) - Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives - Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital conversation - The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management - Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations - Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems - Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems NEXT STEPS Submit a 300 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson (snowfall at acm dot org), Susan Herring (herring at indiana dot edu) by the deadline noted above. We will send you feedback on the suitability of your abstract by the deadline noted above. FOR MORE INFORMATION - About the minitrack, see http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html or contact: Thomas Erickson (snowfall at acm.org) and Susan Herring (herring at indiana.edu) - About previous years' papers (including pdf's) and participants, see: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html - About the HICSS conference, see: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post
[IxDA Discuss] CfP: Persistent Conversation abstracts (due 3/30)
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION The 11th Persistent Conversation Minitrack Digital Media and Content Track at HICSS 43 January 5-8, 2010 Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort, Kauai, Hawai'i See http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html for an online version and further information. IN ONE PARAGRAPH The Persistent Conversation minitrack is a yearly gathering of people who design and study systems that support computer-mediated communication. Persistent conversation is not limited to asynchronous textual communication: It includes instant messaging, voice chat, and other 'ephemeral' media. Nor do we limit our focus to systems explicitly designed to support conversation: We are interested in conversational exchanges as manifested in applications (for instance, blogs, annotation systems, distance education) and in sites oriented around the use of photos, video and other media. If you're interested in presenting a paper in the minitrack, the first step is to submit an abstract by March 15. A 10-page paper would be due June 15th. IMPORTANT DATES -03/30: Prospective authors submit 300-word abstracts -04/13: Feedback on abstracts sent -06/15: 10-page papers due (see http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_43/authorinstruction.htm http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_42/authorinstruction.htm for details) -08/15: Accept/Conditional Accept/Reject notices sent -09/15: Final papers due -10/02: At least one author must register for conference ABOUT THE MINITRACK This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. Persistent conversations occur via instant messaging, text and voice chat, email, blogs, web boards, MOOs, graphical and 3D virtual environments, gaming systems, video sharing sites, document annotation systems, mobile phone texting, etc. Such communication is persistent in that it leaves a digital trace, and the trace in turn affords new uses. It permits conversations to be saved, visualized, browsed, searched, replayed, and restructured. Persistence also means that conversations need not be synchronous: They can be asynchronous (stretching out over hours or days) or supersynchronous (with multiple parties 'talking' at the same time). Finally, the creation of persistent and potentially permanent records from what was once an ephemeral process raises a variety of social and ethical issues. ABOUT PAPER TOPICS We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: * Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. * Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: It is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: - Turn-taking, threading and other structural features of CMC - The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g. blog networks) - Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives - Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital conversation - The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management - Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations - Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems - Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems NEXT STEPS Submit a 300 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson (snowfall at acm dot org), Susan Herring (herring at indiana dot edu) by the deadline noted above. We will send you feedback on the suitability of your abstract by the deadline noted above. FOR MORE INFORMATION - About the minitrack, see http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html or contact: Thomas Erickson (snowfall at acm.org) and Susan Herring (herring at indiana.edu) - About previous years' papers (including pdf's) and participants, see: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html - About the HICSS conference, see: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu - Tom Erickson http://www.visi.com/~snowfall
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tools for animating the user experience
David, If your prototype needs animation on the page (e.g. an animated collapsible module), then you'll need a tool like flash, but if not, you have much easier options. Creating something genuinely navigable is easy enough (dreamweaver, axure or even powerpoint), but even easier is creating something that merely gives the impression of being navigated such as a series of images that when you click on them they jump to the next one (you could click anywhere, but you pretend of course to click the button, link or whatever). If the case of flash, you can either screen record, or build your demo elements (voiceover, mouse etc) into the file. In the case of the other options, screen record is needed. Snapzpro will do it. Jing is another option worth looking at. Finally, there's an option to integrate more than just the GUI, which is somethign like Camtasia Recorder. This will do the screen record, and include microphone track, and do picture in picture from a webcam. It's intended for usability testing pointing the webcam at the test participant, but you could point it at anything, so it might help in your case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39886 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 hire an interaction designer?
Scott, As with all design, interaction design is a form of problem solving. In that sense, much of what you write about creative thinking and innovation would apply here as well. So, absent specific IxD qualities to look for, I would ask the candidate to describe his or her problem solving techniques. How does the candidate approach a problem? How does he or she generate ideas? From my perspective, the best ideas come from teams, not individuals. So, how does this person interact with the team and inspire creative thinking from all participants? If the candidate provides a portfolio, for each artifact in the portfolio, ask what was the underlying problem (or goal or objective) the design was meant to solve, and how did it solve it? Best Regards, Tom 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] Favorite tool for sitemapping?
Morning, It's been quite awhile since I've had to actually do any sitemaps. I'm wondering what your tool of choice is these days. I've got one to create myself and I'm faced with a myriad of tools at my disposal: Axure, Illustrator, InDesign and even Visio (ugh) to name four. I like Axure, but I don't have the wireframes in that tool. Sitemaps have always been such a manual labor type thing and hard to update. Templates make it easier but I'm wondering if I've missed any new techniques or tools in the last year or so. Thanks! Tom -- Marooned - A Space Opera in the Wrong Key! http://www.maroonedcomic.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Favorite tool for sitemapping?
On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 10:06 AM, Catriona Lohan-Conway clohancon...@mac.com wrote: Mac or pc? I use Omnigraffle on my mac and I much prefer it to Visio!!! http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnigraffle/ Not to mention it's so much cheaper than Visio... Axure is nice and $ but you should be able to get a prototype out of it too... if you can make it sing ;-) Sorry, PC. I've done prototypes with Axure, it's good for certain things. Right now I have wireframes I built in Illustrator and composed as a document in InDesign. I need to take that and make a sitemap from 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] Do business objectives belong in personas?
On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 9:14 PM, Jared Spool jsp...@uie.com wrote: Have you asked your colleague what he wants to use this persona for? Can he give examples on how this might change the design? [snip] Ok, sparing the mundane details of interoffice juggling, it turns out that the personas he is using are not the ones that I will have to use. I'll be able to create my own, and I am planning on using user research to base them on. (Getting that is another internal issue, but I'm hopeful). So sorry for the detour, but I still learned some good things from everyone's comments, so thank you. I guess that brings me back to my original question about biz requirements and I think the situation here dictates leaving them out. Right now I'm going to base my personas on Steve Mulder's book, with a bit of cross pollination from Todd Warfel's template. If there are any suggestions on persona stuff I should look at before I begin, that would be appreciated. Thanks! -- Marooned - A Space Opera in the Wrong Key! http://www.maroonedcomic.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Do business objectives belong in personas?
Thanks everyone for the great answers. I have a follow up question. The colleague that has put together the initial persona sketches has included a couple of attributes that are specifically geared toward selling the end product. Specifically, for example, he created one called Decision Maker that he explains the purpose as Links to the selling process that we use (if any). Likely candidates are: SPIN, Solution Selling, or Strategic Selling. Agree regarding the goals. Here's how that is articulated on one of the personas: Can voice a %u201Cno%u201D and make the selling process more difficult. Requires overcoming specific objections. Will share experiences with the Marketing Director, and likely to be the person to show the Marketing Director how to use the system or outcome from the system. Again I'm thinking - this doesn't belong. It seems like that information could be included in the personal profile section, if at all? Basically we can say they are an influencer in decision making? It seems to me a persona is not about selling, it's about designing properly. And if we design properly, we won't have to concern ourselves with how the sales force is going to sell it, because it will satisfy our target user needs and they should want it. I'm having a hard time articulating myself on this one, especially with my colleague, and I feel like he may dig his heels in on this one. I'm really not sure how I would go about using what he wrote there as part of the design process. It's good to know they may have a certain effect on the decision making process, but again - if I've understood his needs and met them with my product... I'm just repeating myself now. Thoughts? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39287 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] Do business objectives belong in personas?
On Thu, Feb 26, 2009 at 9:16 PM, Jared Spool jsp...@uie.com wrote: Hi Tom, Excellent question. Here's my take: First, I want to ask: are we talking about whether the business objectives are in the persona or with the persona description document? [snip] I was mainly speaking to the document, but your response definitely addressed that. Thanks a lot, it's very helpful! Tom -- Marooned - A Space Opera in the Wrong Key! http://www.maroonedcomic.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] CFP: Persistent Conversation 11
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION The 11th Persistent Conversation Minitrack Digital Media and Content Track at HICSS 43 January 5-8, 2010 Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort, Kauai, Hawai'i See http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html for an online version and further information. IN ONE PARAGRAPH The Persistent Conversation minitrack is a yearly gathering of people who design and study systems that support computer-mediated communication. Persistent conversation is not limited to asynchronous textual communication: It includes instant messaging, voice chat, and other 'ephemeral' media. Nor do we limit our focus to systems explicitly designed to support conversation: We are interested in conversational exchanges as manifested in applications (for instance, blogs, annotation systems, distance education) and in sites oriented around the use of photos, video and other media. If you're interested in presenting a paper in the minitrack, the first step is to submit an abstract by March 15. A 10-page paper would be due June 15th. IMPORTANT DATES -03/30: Prospective authors submit 300-word abstracts -04/13: Feedback on abstracts sent -06/15: 10-page papers due (see http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_43/authorinstruction.htm http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_42/authorinstruction.htm for details) -08/15: Accept/Conditional Accept/Reject notices sent -09/15: Final papers due -10/02: At least one author must register for conference ABOUT THE MINITRACK This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. Persistent conversations occur via instant messaging, text and voice chat, email, blogs, web boards, MOOs, graphical and 3D virtual environments, gaming systems, video sharing sites, document annotation systems, mobile phone texting, etc. Such communication is persistent in that it leaves a digital trace, and the trace in turn affords new uses. It permits conversations to be saved, visualized, browsed, searched, replayed, and restructured. Persistence also means that conversations need not be synchronous: They can be asynchronous (stretching out over hours or days) or supersynchronous (with multiple parties 'talking' at the same time). Finally, the creation of persistent and potentially permanent records from what was once an ephemeral process raises a variety of social and ethical issues. ABOUT PAPER TOPICS We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: * Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. * Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: It is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: - Turn-taking, threading and other structural features of CMC - The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g. blog networks) - Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives - Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital conversation - The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management - Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations - Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems - Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems NEXT STEPS Submit a 300 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson (snowfall at acm dot org), Susan Herring (herring at indiana dot edu) by the deadline noted above. We will send you feedback on the suitability of your abstract by the deadline noted above. FOR MORE INFORMATION - About the minitrack, see http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html or contact: Thomas Erickson (snowfall at acm.org) and Susan Herring (herring at indiana.edu) - About previous years' papers (including pdf's) and participants, see: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html - About the HICSS conference, see: http:// www.hicss.hawaii.edu- Tom Erickson http://www.visi.com/~snowfall
[IxDA Discuss] Do business objectives belong in personas?
We're working on building some personas for some desktop software. I've been going over Todd Warfel's template and Steve Mulder's (The User is Always Right). Steve includes Business Objectives, Todd does not. The argument is that you want to include what you as an organization want to accomplish. I guess I would argue that a persona is not about my organization and it's goals, it's about the person and their goals. And if I am satisfying their goals, that's going to be good for my org and my software. Am I missing something as to why they should be included? Love to hear your thoughts. 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] Microsites...good or bad?
- Brand - I think the brand question is important, and straightforward: sometimes content (e.g. the films - great example) needs a distinct brand. If that isn't the case then the content should reinforce the mother brand. A different brand probably requires a microsite, but if the branding is the same, then it's down to other factors (some thoughts below). - Time - microsites logically would be slower to produce, but where main site governance isn't very agile, it can be the other way round. - Structure - if the content has a deep hierarchical structure, a microsite allows it to utilise traditional primary/secondary nav spaces (e.g. tabs, left hand nav), rather than have to sit on levels below the main site's structure (it's a bit like a supermarket putting their online groceries on the main site under the Services tab and Online groceries 2nd level). - Structure - On the other hand, navigational structures (e.g. tabs) guide users on the breadth of content available. By its autonomy, a microsite misses the opportunity to show the user the main site's content. - Cross-linking - similar to the previous point, if there's related content between microsite main site (presumably helpfully linked), then the user will get very confused. - Duplication - (I'm not expert, but I think) microsites don't benefit from the SEO power of the main site if they use a different domain. Equally, even if the domain is the same, but if content is duplicated across main and microsite, the URLs become canonical and again are weaker with respect to SEO. Duplicate content also produces maintenance issues. Hopefully this helps. I'd love to see a definitive list of factors relating to the microsite decision. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38670 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] Airline Website UX
I think BA do a very good job of managing the booking process. There's an aggregator worth looking at if you haven't seen it already - Kayak.com. To my mind they have been providing the best search experience for a long time, and it is of course much harder for aggregators than for airlines because of the way they access the data. Irrelevant but funny ... best travel site name for me is the Indian site oktatabyebye.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38599 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] Open source user experience
I've been thinking about the open source movement. I know very little of the UX community's involvement, so firstly I'm posting to ask what has been happening so far. Mozilla, Open Office and some others must have had serious UX involvement. Secondly, if it doesn't already exist, I wonder if there's the potential for us to structure some kind of virtual agency that would allow us to engage effectively. Few thoughts - In my opinion, several OS projects are incredible achievements that are hampered by small usability problems or even just language issues. I really believe in the movement. I think some corners of it need our help. - UX involvement, unlike coder involvement, might be more effective if the people weren't aligned to a single project, so maybe the movement doesn't naturally structure itself to include us. - Be a good way to spread the UX word, and a good way for us to collaborate and learn from each other. Might be especially useful for people trainign in UX. Maybe meetings like the book club but instead the topic is an open source project that everyone's looked in advance. Any thoughts? Knowledge of UX involvement so far? Tom ... Tom Coombs http://www.manwomanandchild.com +44 (0) 7968 151198 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] all small or add caps?
Few thoughts ... - (I think you may be referring to this but in case not ...) there is the known phenomenon of people being able to read lower case text faster than all upper case text. It's to do with the fact that if you block out the shape of a word, lower case words have ascenders (on h, b etc) and descenders (on g, j etc) that give it a more recognisable shape. There might be an argument for reconisability, but in a one-word name I would doubt it woudl be important, and as you make the distinction between your site and drive-by, I think you're saying the same thing. - I'd check out if there's an SEO impact of adding additional characters. If it's a period/full stop, potentially there's a blunter usability problem ... e.g. users typing in http://www.o.n.c.e.com - In terms of graphic design trends, I am no expert, but it is my perception that all lowercase was a trend a while back, but looks a little dated now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38327 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] Dashboard Applications
I second Vicky's recommendation on Information Dashboard Design, http://tinyurl.com/d5j78w. I have found it very informative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38341 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] Your fav. RSS feeds?
My favourites are readwriteweb and janchipchase. FT's techblog is another good one. Tom ... Tom Coombs http://www.manwomanandchild.com 2009/2/5 oliver green oliver...@gmail.com: Hi, Which RSS feeds do you track most frequently? Oliver Reply to this thread at ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38218 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A Study on how End User's perceive change
I found this article a useful primer. It may lead you to other useful resources. Regards, Tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37036 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] A Study on how End User's perceive change
My previous post is missing the URL. http://www.cio.com/article/24975/Change_Management_Understanding_the_Science_of_Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37036 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] Topic: Interaction Design Pattern - Chessboard layout
Hi! I'm in the process of finding pros and cons for a specific menu system based closely on this pattern described here back inn 1999: http://www.uidesign.net/1999/papers/Chessboard.html What is not clearly stated in the Uidesign paper is that if you select a topic in the left hand menu it sticks to that choice until you make another choice in the left hand menu. Same goes for top menu. So choosing a subject in the left menu and then clicking a infotype in the top menu. It will display that subject in selected info type(top menu). Selecting another infotype in the top menu, the subject will stick and it will show the same subject just in another info type. (and the same, the other way around) This closely resembles a conventional menu system, and that is why I'm in great doubt about this solution. The site in question is a huge statistical information site. It targets everybody* (I know, i know, but it's a governmental site, and has to do so by law)* It will have 25 choices down the left hand side menu and 7 across the top menu (25x7 menu items) I am put to the task of evaluating this solution and are looking for some comments. Have anybody seen successful implementation of this type of pattern? Please; any comments is wellcome. Cheers :)tom 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] Pandora to possibly shut down?
Sadly, I have only been using Pandora for the last few months. I really love the notion of artist matching and I think their site, app does a lot of great things from a UX perspective. Can anyone recommend other sites like Pandora? -Tom -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Shaun Bergmann Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 4:30 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Pandora to possibly shut down? I started using MusicMatch 3 or 4 years ago and absolutely loved it. The artist match functionality introduced me to many new artists that I otherwise wouldn't have been aware of, and those artists can directly thank my daily usage of MusicMatch for all of the CD's and concert tickets I've actually payed for since then. Well, MusicMatch in Canada came to a close sometime around 18 months ago, and was apparently bought out or replaced by Yahoo Music Canada. I payed for an account with Yahoo to continue using it. It was mostly the same engine, although I found the Artist Match Radio to not be quite as powerful. This morning, I launched the desktop app and was presented with the following: Important Notice: Yahoo! Music Unlimited Service Termination This is a notice to inform you that Yahoo! Music Unlimited and Yahoo! Music Unlimited To Go will no longer be available in Canada as of September 30, 2008. What does this mean for annual subscribers? Annual subscribers with anniversary dates after May 1 will not be renewed for service. Any annual subscribers that have a term that extends beyond October 1 will receive a pro-rata refund on their credit card. All users make should verify their billing information is current in their Yahoo! Wallet What does this mean for monthly subscribers? Monthly subscribers will continue to be renewed through August 30, with their service stopping on their anniversary date through September 30. If you have purchased tracks from the Yahoo! Music Unlimited store, we recommend that you back them up to an audio CD before the closing of the store September 30, 2008. For more information about the termination of Yahoo! Music Unlimited, or the closure of the music store, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions. Whatever it is, it's viral. Aside from the obviously unbalanced special treatment internet radio firms are being subjected to with the charges / song / listener, is there a problem with how much we the people value such a service? I was paying around 8 dollars a month for this service, which allowed me access to a massive library of artists. I could pick Flaming Lips for example, and either play entire albums, or Top Songs or Artist Fan Radio, the latter of which did a pretty good job of dynamically mixing bands like them However, if $8.00 / month isn't enough, what is our cap on how much we'd consider paying? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=32148 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 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] MS Office Fluent user interface
Happy Friday everyone, I'm working on an interface for a new product and considering using the MS fluent user interface as a model instead of your basic menus. I've been googling it this morning and there's actually a surprising lack of UX writing on the subject - or I am simply not finding it. I don't want to use something without having a good understanding of it first. I did read this from MS http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/HA101679411033.aspx Which is a fine overview but doesn't quite get too deep. Anyway, I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the interface. Is it effective? Like or dislike and why? We don't have office 07 here but I do have MindJet MindManager which uses it, so I've been playing around with it. It is certainly different. One advantage we have is that this is a completely new product, so there is no preexisting bias for an old interface. Of the things I did find, people seemed to be upset with the fact that there was no backward compatibility with the old app. We won't have that issue. Thanks Tom 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] MS Office Fluent user interface
On Fri, Aug 15, 2008 at 9:48 AM, Nick Iozzo [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I am under the impression that MS has many patents on this design. Right or wrong is not for this thread, but I would dig into that if you are developing any commercial software. Wow, didn't even think of that - thanks for pointing that out. I'll look into it. It is hard to comment on this design from a neutral point of view. I have used it for a while, I was very use to the old office design and where to find things. I find myself struggling to find things I use to be able to find effortlessly. On the other hand, I have found things I never knew existed. So it has some benefits. I look at this design as a merger of client and web app design (e.g., the ribbon is just an AJAXian toolbar). A good perspective. Thanks. 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] Opening PDFs
Most of the times I like to make %u2018modal changes%u2019 explicitly. Therefore, if I have to add a link to a PDF I write something like this: My document (PDF, 1.2Mb) The standard Adobe PDF icon as in the Apple Investor Relations SEC Filings page is also useful as is clearly saying that the link is pointing to a PDF file. As a user I prefer the dialog box asking me what to do because I don't like viewing PDFs on my browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=31430 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] IA and Social Networks/Web 2.0 functionality
Good Morning, My current project is a social network. I'm actually having some trouble putting together a good site map because so many features seem to either overlap, or more importantly, one page will support multiple features. There is much less of a page paradigm, it's so much more the interactive behavior of the users. For example, on Facebook's profile page, I can do so many different things - especially if I have added any applications. Have any of you faced this, and if so, how did you tackle site mapping? It's not that I find the site map such a huge crucial piece of the puzzle, but it's something our stakeholders will want to see. It's also been tricky with the wireframing and organizing each page as well. Any tips are appreciated. Tom 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] IA and Social Networks/Web 2.0 functionality
On Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 10:32 AM, Bryan Minihan [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: For the pre-work on our current project, I put together a concept map, instead of a direct site-map. I divided the site into distinct clouds and placed common tools into each according to roles. My main site map gave a high-level overview and delineated all of the locked down pages that help with site admin and general company information, but when it got down to the user-interaction level, the clouds illustrated which tools were available to each group, without trying to show they were in specific pages at any given time. I've actually done that exact thing, it was the first thing I did. I have circles around each main idea with satellites of functionality around them. Lines connect things that interact. Maybe that is a better tool, I'm not sure. When it comes down to hard pages I end up with very few items on the site map. Maybe I'm seeing a problem where there isn't one, I'm just not sure. 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] IA and Social Networks/Web 2.0 functionality
I would definitely be interested in taking a look, if you wouldn't mind putting it together. Tom On Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 1:44 PM, Dante Murphy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Tom- Our solution is to create a statemap instead of a sitemap... Is this something that a lot of people are challenged with? If so, I might be able to put together a statemapping presentation online. Let me know if you all would be interested in such a thing. 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] What do you think: Is participating in a poll social networking?
If you had a social network that had all the typical features, friends, photos, chat, etc., and it also had polls, would you consider polls as part of that social network? My initial thought is no because there's no real interaction between people - but it is something that a group of people participate in, even though they simply cast a vote. Thoughts? -- See my web comic! http://marooned.pixelmech.com 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] Resources for new usability managers
Elise, You should check out the Catalyze community - it's a professional community for usability professionals and others who define and design software or websites. Catalyze is a place to find resources, ask questions, offer opinions and network with other professionals - and actually complements the discussions from IxDA. The URL is http://www.catalyze.org and we now have over 3,700 members. Tom Humbarger, Community Manager Catalyze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29214 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] Measuring User Experience
Jorge wrote: I'm completely agree that qualitative methods are better than others. But in this case I would like to make a numeric comparison between several websites. That's the reason why my approach was closer to a numerical evaluation. This book may help you: Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics, by Tom Tullis and Bill Albert. Published March 2008. ISBN: 978-0123735584 Best regards, Tom Illmensee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=28125 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] [Event] CFP: 10th Persistent Conversation minitrack
SECOND CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Persistent Conversation Minitrack Digital Media and Content Track at HICSS 42 January 5-8, 2009 Hilton Waikoloa Village, the Big Island, Hawai'i See http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html for an online version and further information. IN ONE PARAGRAPH The Persistent Conversation minitrack is a yearly gathering of people who design and study systems that support computer-mediated communication. Persistent conversation is not limited to asynchronous textual communication: It includes instant messaging, voice chat, and other 'ephemeral' media. Nor do we limit our focus to systems explicitly designed to support conversation: We are interested in conversational exchanges as manifested in applications (for instance, blogs, annotation systems, distance education) and in sites oriented around the use of photos, video and other media. If you're interested in presenting a paper in the minitrack, the first step is to submit an abstract by March 15, 2008. A 10-page paper would be due June 15th. IMPORTANT DATES -04/21: Prospective authors submit 300-word abstracts -05/05: Feedback on abstracts sent -06/15: 10-page papers due (see http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_42/authorinstruction.htm for details) -08/15: Accept/Conditional Accept/Reject notices sent -09/15: Final papers due; at least one author must register for conference ABOUT THE MINITRACK This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. Persistent conversations occur via instant messaging, text and voice chat, email, blogs, web boards, MOOs, graphical and 3D virtual environments, gaming systems, video sharing sites, document annotation systems, mobile phone texting, etc. Such communication is persistent in that it leaves a digital trace, and the trace in turn affords new uses. It permits conversations to be saved, visualized, browsed, searched, replayed, and restructured. Persistence also means that conversations need not be synchronous: They can be asynchronous (stretching out over hours or days) or supersynchronous (with multiple parties 'talking' at the same time). Finally, the creation of persistent and potentially permanent records from what was once an ephemeral process raises a variety of social and ethical issues. ABOUT PAPER TOPICS We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: * Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. * Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: It is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: - Turn-taking, threading and other structural features of CMC - The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g. blog networks) - Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives - Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital conversation - The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management - Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations - Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems - Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems NEXT STEPS Submit a 250 to 300 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson (snowfall at acm dot org), Susan Herring (herring at indiana dot edu) by the deadline noted above. We will send you feedback on the suitability of your abstract by the deadline noted above. FOR MORE INFORMATION - About the minitrack, see http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html or contact: Thomas Erickson (snowfall at acm.org) and Susan Herring (herring at indiana.edu) - About previous years' papers (including pdf's) and participants, see: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html - About the HICSS conference, see: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/ - Tom Erickson http://www.visi.com/~snowfall
[IxDA Discuss] CFP - The 10th Persistent Conversation minitrack
CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Persistent Conversation Minitrack Digital Media and Content Track at HICSS 42 January 5-8, 2009 Hilton Waikoloa Village, the Big Island, Hawai'i See http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html for an online version and further information. IN ONE PARAGRAPH The Persistent Conversation minitrack is a yearly gathering of people who design and study systems that support computer-mediated communication. Persistent conversation is not limited to asynchronous textual communication: It includes instant messaging, voice chat, and other 'ephemeral' media. Nor do we limit our focus to systems explicitly designed to support conversation: We are interested in conversational exchanges as manifested in applications (for instance, blogs, annotation systems, distance education) and in sites oriented around the use of photos, video and other media. If you're interested in presenting a paper in the minitrack, the first step is to submit an abstract by March 15, 2008. A 10-page paper would be due June 15th. IMPORTANT DATES -03/15: Prospective authors submit 300-word abstracts -03/31: Feedback on abstracts sent -06/15: 10-page papers due (see http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_42/authorinstruction.htm for details) -08/15: Accept/Conditional Accept/Reject notices sent -09/15: Final papers due; at least one author must register for conference ABOUT THE MINITRACK This interdisciplinary minitrack and workshop brings designers and researchers together to explore persistent conversation, the transposition of ordinarily ephemeral conversation into the potentially persistent digital medium. Persistent conversations occur via instant messaging, text and voice chat, email, blogs, web boards, MOOs, graphical and 3D virtual environments, gaming systems, video sharing sites, document annotation systems, mobile phone texting, etc. Such communication is persistent in that it leaves a digital trace, and the trace in turn affords new uses. It permits conversations to be saved, visualized, browsed, searched, replayed, and restructured. Persistence also means that conversations need not be synchronous: They can be asynchronous (stretching out over hours or days) or supersynchronous (with multiple parties 'talking' at the same time). Finally, the creation of persistent and potentially permanent records from what was once an ephemeral process raises a variety of social and ethical issues. ABOUT PAPER TOPICS We are seeking papers that address one or both of the following two general areas: * Understanding Practice. The burgeoning popularity of the internet (and intranets) provides an opportunity to study and characterize new forms of conversational practice. Questions of interest range from how various features of conversations (e.g., turn-taking, topic organization, expression of paralinguistic information) have adapted in response to the digital medium, to new roles played by persistent conversation in domains such as education, business, and entertainment. * Design. Digital systems do not currently support conversation well: It is difficult to converse with grace, clarity, depth and coherence over networks. But this need not remain the case. Toward this end, we welcome analyses of existing systems as well as designs for new systems which better support conversation. Also of interest are inquiries into how participants design their own conversations within the digital medium -- that is, how they make use of system features to create, structure, and regulate their discourse. Examples of appropriate topics include, but are not limited to: - Turn-taking, threading and other structural features of CMC - The dynamics of large scale conversation systems (e.g. blog networks) - Methods for summarizing or visualizing conversation archives - Studies of virtual communities or other sites of digital conversation - The roles of mediated conversation in knowledge management - Studies of the use of instant messaging in large organizations - Novel designs for computer-mediated conversation systems - Analyses of or designs for distance learning systems NEXT STEPS Submit a 250 to 300 word abstract of your proposed paper via email to the chairs: Tom Erickson (snowfall at acm dot org), Susan Herring (herring at indiana dot edu) by the deadline noted above. We will send you feedback on the suitability of your abstract by the deadline noted above. FOR MORE INFORMATION - About the minitrack, see http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC.html or contact: Thomas Erickson (snowfall at acm.org) and Susan Herring (herring at indiana.edu) - About previous years' papers (including pdf's) and participants, see: http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/HICSS_PC_History.html - About the HICSS conference, see: http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/ - Tom Erickson http://www.visi.com/~snowfall
[IxDA Discuss] BOOK Announcement: HCI Remixed
We're pleased to announce a new book that should interest IxDA folks. HCI Remixed: Reflections on Works That Have Influenced the HCI Community What is a remix? In music, a remix is an edited version of a song that builds on the themes of the original while incorporating new elements. But anything can be remixed, and in HCI Remixed we asked contributors to reflect on a piece of work -- a paper, system or demo -- that is at least ten years old. We asked them to pick a piece of work that they were enthusiastic about, and to consider how it had changed their view of HCI and shaped their work. The result is a book of 51 short, engaging and idiosyncratic essays that take a positive and synthetic approach to the work, asking what it got right, and what, after ten years or more, still has value. The essays cover a lot of ground. One considers Murial Cooper's contributions to dynamic typography, another the relationship between Cinderella and the Diffusion of Innovations, and another how a toy doll named Lily can transcend time and space to go Beyond Being There. The essayists of HCI Remixed explain how the Wizard of Oz was really John Gould, how both adults and children are willing to use felt and flannel and how 1 + 1 = 3 during user interface design. Taken together, the essays offer an accessible, lively, and engaging introduction to HCI research, illustrating where our community has been so that we can better understand where we are going. Check it out. We think you’ll enjoy it! --Tom Erickson and David W. McDonald, Editors http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2tid=11330 http://www.amazon.com/HCI-Remixed-Reflections-Influenced-Community/dp/ 0262050889/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8s=booksqid=1201968522sr=8-1 - Tom Erickson http://www.visi.com/~snowfall/ *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.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
[IxDA Discuss] Training methods/training materials?
Hi folks, My boss has asked me to do some usability training sessions for our development team. Obviously this is a good thing, he wants them to be thinking of the tools available to them and how they can utilize me better. I would have to present to a group of about 25-40 people. They will be developers and QA people mostly. Can anyone share what they have done in the past in this regard? Certainly I don't want to bore people or get into the details of how things are built, but rather how the tools and methods themselves can help make their projects better (for example, how a persona would benefit their project). I do have the one-sheeters I made, I could use those as a starting point I suppose. I'm just wondering what the best way is to present this material, open to any and all opinions, or examples if you have them. Thanks! Tom *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.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] Cramming what we do into a few hours
Dan and Stew: I didn't mean to imply interaction design and usability are the same. I can see now how my suggestion for Baruch might be read that way. Wasn't my intention. Thanks for the correction. Best regards, Tom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=24171 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.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] Cramming what we do into a few hours
There's a fun demonstration technique called [EMAIL PROTECTED] Here's the gist. You demonstrate usability techniques by running a few quick task-based tests with volunteers from the crowd serving as participants. The rest of the audience picks a web site and provides the tasks. The drama unfolds as the participants do things on the site while the audience watches everything projected on a screen. Paul Marty (Florida State University) and Michael Twidale (University of Illinois) developed the technique with museum and library web sites in mind, but it could probably be adapted for any type of site. I've seen them run sessions at conferences and the audience has a blast. The volunteers do, too. Full paper here: http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1260/1180 Abstract: This article documents the authors%u2019 attempt to develop a quick, inexpensive, and reliable method for demonstrating user testing to an audience. The resulting method, [EMAIL PROTECTED], is simple enough to be conducted at minimal expense, fast enough to be completed in only thirty minutes, comprehensible enough to be presented to audiences numbering in the hundreds, and yet sophisticated enough to produce relevant design recommendations, thereby illustrating for the audience the potential value of user testing in general. In this article, the authors present their user testing demonstration method in detail, analyze results from 44 trials of the method in practice, and discuss lessons learned for demonstrating user testing in front of an audience. While I agree completely with Jakob Nielsen that user testing is not entertainment (http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html), [EMAIL PROTECTED] seems like a fun and engaging way to introduce usability concepts to an audience because they actively participate in the exercise. Plus, you can take a break from the PowerPoint deck for a little while. 2-3 hours seems like a long time. Good luck! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=24171 *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.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
[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] Interaction Designer/UI Designer - Toronto, ON - Hundredwatt Labs - Full Time
DesignAxiom has recently joined with US-based Hundredwatt Labs and we are currently developing an application platform for rich media content publishing. Our Toronto-based team is expanding and we're looking for an Interaction/User Interface Designer to join our team. _ Job Description Working in collaboration with the Product Manager, Creative Director and Development Manager, you will be responsible for creating detailed user interaction specifications, screen designs, and digital collateral for use by the development team. The position will entail a fair bit of analysis and problem solving but it will also provide opportunity for creative design. Experience with Flash/Flex and the capabilities and limitations of the Flash player would be a definite asset. _ Required Qualifications - Relevant degree, diploma, or certificate (Graphic Design, Visual Arts and Design, Interactive/Multimedia design, Industrial Design, or Visual Communication). - Formal training in Interaction Design or relevant experience. - Digital portfolio demonstrating your accomplishments specifically in the design of application user interface. - Proficient in graphic design with Photoshop. - Excellent written and verbal English communication skills. _ Desired Qualifications - Experience working in a product development environment with business, technical, and product management stakeholders. - Prior experience developing Flash-based web sites or applications. - Proficient in graphic and motion design in Flash. The environment is fast-paced and demanding, but you will be working with an enthusiastic, friendly, and supportive team who love what they do. Contact Tom George at Hundredwatt Labs: tom at 100w.com, or tgeorge at designaxiom.com. Qualified applicants at all levels of experience will be considered. *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.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
[IxDA Discuss] How do you do heuristic evaluations? Examples?
Sorry if this is a double post, I can't seem to locate my original posting from my other email. I've done about a dozen heuristic evals, they've usually been pretty high level. An internal client has considered going with Forrester to get some 'web site reports' they offer, but my boss would rather they use us, internally, of course to do the same work. Certainly we can do it. He wanted to know if the evaluations could be more polished or detailed. So my question is what heuristics do you usually test against? Do you lay those out in your document and then answer them by group? It would be great if a couple example docs could be posted if possible, even if the specific client info was stripped out. I have seen Neilson's heuristic article and list of 10 heuristics, which I have used in the past. Wondering if that is enough or if it is too general. Thanks Tom *Come to IxDA Interaction08 | Savannah* February 8-10, 2008 in Savannah, GA, USA Register today: http://interaction08.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
