From a user experience perspective, it’s clear what you need to do in a waterfall process. You need to gather any research that will affect the requirements, before the requirements are done. You need to test your designs before the designs are signed off. You need to evaluate the functionality as it’s being built. And [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

You can’t ask people what they want. They can’t tell you. The answer is almost always narrow in focus, concerned with the here and now rather than the future. How do you get them to give you the observations you need to design what they will want? Conducting field research to actually learn about your users can lead to innovative new ideas. Steve knows that going out into the field provides real opportunities to see what the world surrounding your product is like.

[Read the rest of this article...]

“This is a perfect opportunity for us to use that mega menu we wanted to try out.” That’s what I heard a few weeks ago, sitting in a client meeting. The client was dealing with balancing a lot of navigation while keeping their home page free for the important messages they want everyone to see. [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

A good starting point is crucial. It sets the tone for everything that comes after. All too often, projects are unsuccessful or labor through growing pains because the importance of this starting point was overlooked. When done right, the kickoff to a project will leave the team energized, inspired, and engaged. Kevin discusses that kickoff meetings are the time to identify business strategy as well as company culture. It’s also important to assess any risks associated with the project.

[Read the rest of this article...]

When shooting the movie, the director doesn’t necessarily film the scenes in the order they’ll appear once edited. Instead, the filmmakers shoot the pieces according to other constraints, such as the availability of actors or locations, or accommodating variability in the weather. It’s not unusual for the movie’s final climax to be among the first [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

Story mapping is a way of organizing Agile user stories that communicate user experience. Agile expert Jeff Patton will show you how this technique helps you put the big picture of UX and the little pictures of Agile in one place. Users will always have an experience with your product. Story mapping will pull your UX focus into the organization’s process and ensure that experience is a great one.

[Read the rest of this article...]

The introduction of CSS3 and HTML5 brought with it a host of new capabilities. With most modern browsers supporting CSS3 and HTML5, implementing them into your designs is becoming easier. Understanding the things that are now possible with these new standards can help you create better designs more efficiently and effectively than ever before. Stephanie and Greg discuss what the introduction of HTML5 and CSS3 means for designers and developers, and what can be accomplished today by putting it into practice.

[Read the rest of this article...]

To improve the designs we’re creating today, we know that teams do best when they have all of the essential information about their users to make informed decisions. In our experience, one of the most powerful ways to gather important insights about users is the field study. By making direct observations, design teams can identify [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

If you weren’t able to attend this year’s Web App Masters Tour, we have the next best thing for you and your organization: Web App Masters 2011 OnDemand. This is your opportunity to hear all 12 Masters from the Tour give their 75-minute presentations. The OnDemand collection consists of 15 hours of audio recordings, Q&A [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

Combining compelling storytelling with research data can help you craft realistic scenarios to guide your design process. Getting to know the specific needs of your users will allow you to address any potential problems they may have. As a consultant, Kim Goodwin uses her experience and expertise in working with teams to develop effective scenarios. In this podcast, Kim discusses the role that scenarios play in the design process with Jared Spool.

[Read the rest of this article...]

Content is the substance that draws and keeps the users at the site. It’s what sells our products, describes our services, and provides our support. And it’s what teams struggle with the most. When you break it down, the elements behind content strategy, such as information architecture, copywriting, search engine optimization, and content management, are [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

We weren’t kidding when we said seats were going to move fast for the User Interface 16 Conference. There are only 28 spots from the original 100 available at the $1,349 sneak preview price. This means that a whole bunch of folks will show up in Boston this November to hear some amazing speakers and [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

Hang around me long enough and you’ll hear me say this: Outsourcing your user research work is like outsourcing your vacation. It gets the job done, but probably won’t have the effects you were seeking. I usually say this when someone is asking me to do their user research for them. This is something we [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

[In essence, the User Interface 16 Conference is all about the full-day in-depth workshops. This is my third entry in our series to introduce you to the amazing workshop faculty we've assembled.] More and more, we’re finding ourselves in situations where the design just “has to be right.” No longer, can we just have incremental [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]

Storytelling is a natural form of expression. We’ve all been telling stories from a very young age. Scenarios are the stories that drive design decisions. They put the design into the context of how and why the user will interact with it. Earlier this year, Kim presented a UIE Virtual Seminar, Designing with Scenarios: Putting [...]

[Read the rest of this article...]