Human Error, Design Flaw, or a Darwin Award Winner?
When you see a headline like "Man runs himself over in Burger King drive thru" - you just have to watch the video.
Related:
- Darwin Awards
- How To Jump Start A Car (Note it says to "make sure the cars are in park", but it omits the very important precautionary warning "don't lay underneath the car while performing the jump start.")
April 28, 2006
January 31, 2006
Caroline's Rules for labelling Buttons
1. Label the button with what it does.
2. If the user doesn't want to do it, don't have a button for it.
Read Caroline's nice, short article on the topic:
http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article2949.asp
Related Info:
- MS Windows Interface Components - Controls - has a section on command buttons
- Apple Human Interface Guidelines > Controls > Buttons
- IBM: Using Web widgets wisely, Part 1 - Has a short section on command buttons
- Alertbox: Reset and Cancel Buttons - covers issues around using the dreaded reset button on web forms
- The Piece of HTML created just for Me: Reset - Caroline's explanation of why you should scrap your reset button.
- Usability.gov Research-Based Guidelines > Screen Based Controls (PDF) - discusses "PushButtons"
1. Label the button with what it does.
2. If the user doesn't want to do it, don't have a button for it.
Read Caroline's nice, short article on the topic:
http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article2949.asp
Related Info:
- MS Windows Interface Components - Controls - has a section on command buttons
- Apple Human Interface Guidelines > Controls > Buttons
- IBM: Using Web widgets wisely, Part 1 - Has a short section on command buttons
- Alertbox: Reset and Cancel Buttons - covers issues around using the dreaded reset button on web forms
- The Piece of HTML created just for Me: Reset - Caroline's explanation of why you should scrap your reset button.
- Usability.gov Research-Based Guidelines > Screen Based Controls (PDF) - discusses "PushButtons"
New Year, New Job, New Posts
Wow! It's been two months since my last post...I can't believe it. Well, I'm planning to change that and post more frequently. (Publicly declaring that means I'm all the more likely to actually do it.)
I recently took a new job...leaving my position as User Experience Director at Cargill. Cargill's a great place to work, and I really enjoyed the time there and will really miss the people I worked with there. Perhaps more on the new job later.
Wow! It's been two months since my last post...I can't believe it. Well, I'm planning to change that and post more frequently. (Publicly declaring that means I'm all the more likely to actually do it.)
I recently took a new job...leaving my position as User Experience Director at Cargill. Cargill's a great place to work, and I really enjoyed the time there and will really miss the people I worked with there. Perhaps more on the new job later.
November 26, 2005
Workers Waste 10% of Their Time Fighting with Technology
From Scotsman.com: We have the technology, now tell us how to use it
"OFFICE workers waste up to a month a year trying to figure out how to use their computers properly because modern technology is so complicated, a new study warns.
Trying to get their heads round difficult programmes on the PC is costing firms both time and money, often because no-one has taught employees what to do."
"The survey of 500 workers and 300 bosses by the training body City & Guilds found that workers spent 10 per cent of their time battling against computer programmes or getting to grips with phones, handheld devices and other gadgets, equating to a month a year.
Thirty-seven per cent say they are frustrated by not being able to handle the technology.
About a third (32 per cent) of workers say they have failed to receive training from their company to teach them to use the technology in the office."
From Scotsman.com: We have the technology, now tell us how to use it
"OFFICE workers waste up to a month a year trying to figure out how to use their computers properly because modern technology is so complicated, a new study warns.
Trying to get their heads round difficult programmes on the PC is costing firms both time and money, often because no-one has taught employees what to do."
"The survey of 500 workers and 300 bosses by the training body City & Guilds found that workers spent 10 per cent of their time battling against computer programmes or getting to grips with phones, handheld devices and other gadgets, equating to a month a year.
Thirty-seven per cent say they are frustrated by not being able to handle the technology.
About a third (32 per cent) of workers say they have failed to receive training from their company to teach them to use the technology in the office."
November 03, 2005
Today is World Usability Day
I'll be participating in events here in the Twin Cities along with representatives from many local companies.
"On November 3rd, 2005, World Usability Day, a worldwide series of events will promote the benefits of user-centered design, with the theme "Making It Easy." Local events are being held in over 100 locations in 35 different countries."
World Usability Day is getting quite a lot of attention from major media and press (and this is just the first one). For example, a Usability Professionals' Association spokesperson will be on CNN Headline News at 7:15 (Eastern time?) in the morning to talk about the event. Other representatives have been interviewed for radio and various publications. Here are links to a few early articles talking about the Day along with usability, and user-centered design:
USA TODAY: Why are tech gizmos so hard to figure out?
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2005-11-01-usability-cover_x.htm
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “World Usability Day” aims to make technology
more user-friendly
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/columnists.nsf/techtalk/story/2A55335C4AB1E067862570A7006AFC1A?OpenDocument
Sydney Morning Herald: Pushing the right buttons requires a human touch
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/pushing-the-right-buttons-requires-a-human-touch/2005/10/31/1130720481954.html
(Talks about how even urinals have been improved using UCD.)
BBC: The secret of making things work
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4393468.stm
I'll be participating in events here in the Twin Cities along with representatives from many local companies.
"On November 3rd, 2005, World Usability Day, a worldwide series of events will promote the benefits of user-centered design, with the theme "Making It Easy." Local events are being held in over 100 locations in 35 different countries."
World Usability Day is getting quite a lot of attention from major media and press (and this is just the first one). For example, a Usability Professionals' Association spokesperson will be on CNN Headline News at 7:15 (Eastern time?) in the morning to talk about the event. Other representatives have been interviewed for radio and various publications. Here are links to a few early articles talking about the Day along with usability, and user-centered design:
USA TODAY: Why are tech gizmos so hard to figure out?
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2005-11-01-usability-cover_x.htm
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “World Usability Day” aims to make technology
more user-friendly
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/columnists.nsf/techtalk/story/2A55335C4AB1E067862570A7006AFC1A?OpenDocument
Sydney Morning Herald: Pushing the right buttons requires a human touch
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/pushing-the-right-buttons-requires-a-human-touch/2005/10/31/1130720481954.html
(Talks about how even urinals have been improved using UCD.)
BBC: The secret of making things work
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4393468.stm
October 27, 2005
User Centered Products Are Market Winners - An example from Whirlpool
This recent Whirlpool Press Release is just one example of how a company that adopts and uses UCD (I know that Whirlpool has an active UCD/usability team) will create products that win in the marketplace. The press release shows that, by being user-centered, a company knows what product features or attributes have value to different audiences. Often these value points are learned when evaluating designs (e.g. in usability tests).
Here's an excerpt (note that Duet is a high-end model of Whirlpool front-loading washer and dryer):
"[T]he attribute that stands out most prominently with consumers may be the overall design of front loaders, and most prominently the features of the Duet(R). At the time it was introduced it was hailed for its sleek, sophisticated, user-friendly design, garnering praise from an impressive and diverse range of audiences, including the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), whose members appreciate the Duet(R) model's tactile and audible controls.
"We often find that technologically advanced products are difficult for blind people to use, because they often incorporate things like touch screens and LCD displays that require sight," said Betsy Zaboroski, executive director of NFB's Jernigan Institute. "With the Duet, you get the best of both worlds -- it's high tech, but usable by virtually everybody. That's great design."
Other accolades for the Whirlpool Duet(R) fabric care system include:
- The editors of Popular Mechanics, Graphic Design USA Magazine, and Appliance Manufacturer Magazine for design and/or engineering achievement.
- ID Magazine (International Design), one of the design industry's most respected publications, honored the Duet(R) system in its Consumer Products category
- A Human Factors & Ergonomic Society User-Centered Design Award because the pedestal drawers raise the unit off the floor by 13 inches, minimizing bending while providing additional shelf space."
Of course Whirlpool doesn't talk as much about it's usability team as we'd like. Why would you reveal a competitive advantage? But they have had some press. This article says that "Whirlpool assembled a global design team of industrial designers, human factors, and usability specialists from around the world, including Germany, Italy, Great Britain and the United States" to create the Duet line and that it "has been a consumer hit ever since. 'It’s been so successful that we’ve been playing catch up with production capacity,' says Joe Foster, director of Whirlpool Brand Fabric Care. 'We’ve had to invest in additional production capacity twice since the launching in 2001 to keep up with consumer demand.' [Date of article publication unknown.]
FastCompany published an article on Whirlpool's design innovation in June 2005. It's a great read and offers the savvy reader glimpses of usability testing at Whirlpool - in the first paragraph:
"Whirlpool design chief Chuck Jones stands behind a two-way mirror in a dimly lit observation room at the company's headquarters in Benton Harbor, Michigan. On the other side of the glass are a twentysomething volunteer and a shiny, black refrigerator. Jones and a small team of designers, engineers, and usability specialists watch as the woman loads groceries into the fridge. Her movements are mind-numbingly mundane, but the Whirlpool folks are rapt. "This is a very complex interaction between a user, a product, and her goals," whispers a human-factors expert."
The article goes on to say "At $2,000, the Duet is Whirlpool's most expensive washer-dryer set, yet it sells like an iPod: In the premium front-loading washer category, Whirlpool has gone from a market share of zero to more than 20% in three years."
Those that wonder about the return on investment (ROI) of User Centered Design (UCD) and usability should take note. Of course, I'll take market-disrupting innovative design over generic ROI any day. :-)
See also:
* New Generation of Innovators: Creating Extraordinary Products which talks about the design team at Whirlpool
* Whirlpool Finds Its Cool - To understand what good design can do for the bottom line, check out how Chuck Jones has revved up the sleepy, boring world of refrigerators and washers.
* Whirlpool Relies on Networking to Harmonize its Global Operations
* 2004 World Technology Awards Winners & Finalists - Charles Jones -- a biography of Whirlpool's design chief
This recent Whirlpool Press Release is just one example of how a company that adopts and uses UCD (I know that Whirlpool has an active UCD/usability team) will create products that win in the marketplace. The press release shows that, by being user-centered, a company knows what product features or attributes have value to different audiences. Often these value points are learned when evaluating designs (e.g. in usability tests).
Here's an excerpt (note that Duet is a high-end model of Whirlpool front-loading washer and dryer):
"[T]he attribute that stands out most prominently with consumers may be the overall design of front loaders, and most prominently the features of the Duet(R). At the time it was introduced it was hailed for its sleek, sophisticated, user-friendly design, garnering praise from an impressive and diverse range of audiences, including the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), whose members appreciate the Duet(R) model's tactile and audible controls.
"We often find that technologically advanced products are difficult for blind people to use, because they often incorporate things like touch screens and LCD displays that require sight," said Betsy Zaboroski, executive director of NFB's Jernigan Institute. "With the Duet, you get the best of both worlds -- it's high tech, but usable by virtually everybody. That's great design."
Other accolades for the Whirlpool Duet(R) fabric care system include:
- The editors of Popular Mechanics, Graphic Design USA Magazine, and Appliance Manufacturer Magazine for design and/or engineering achievement.
- ID Magazine (International Design), one of the design industry's most respected publications, honored the Duet(R) system in its Consumer Products category
- A Human Factors & Ergonomic Society User-Centered Design Award because the pedestal drawers raise the unit off the floor by 13 inches, minimizing bending while providing additional shelf space."
Of course Whirlpool doesn't talk as much about it's usability team as we'd like. Why would you reveal a competitive advantage? But they have had some press. This article says that "Whirlpool assembled a global design team of industrial designers, human factors, and usability specialists from around the world, including Germany, Italy, Great Britain and the United States" to create the Duet line and that it "has been a consumer hit ever since. 'It’s been so successful that we’ve been playing catch up with production capacity,' says Joe Foster, director of Whirlpool Brand Fabric Care. 'We’ve had to invest in additional production capacity twice since the launching in 2001 to keep up with consumer demand.' [Date of article publication unknown.]
FastCompany published an article on Whirlpool's design innovation in June 2005. It's a great read and offers the savvy reader glimpses of usability testing at Whirlpool - in the first paragraph:
"Whirlpool design chief Chuck Jones stands behind a two-way mirror in a dimly lit observation room at the company's headquarters in Benton Harbor, Michigan. On the other side of the glass are a twentysomething volunteer and a shiny, black refrigerator. Jones and a small team of designers, engineers, and usability specialists watch as the woman loads groceries into the fridge. Her movements are mind-numbingly mundane, but the Whirlpool folks are rapt. "This is a very complex interaction between a user, a product, and her goals," whispers a human-factors expert."
The article goes on to say "At $2,000, the Duet is Whirlpool's most expensive washer-dryer set, yet it sells like an iPod: In the premium front-loading washer category, Whirlpool has gone from a market share of zero to more than 20% in three years."
Those that wonder about the return on investment (ROI) of User Centered Design (UCD) and usability should take note. Of course, I'll take market-disrupting innovative design over generic ROI any day. :-)
See also:
* New Generation of Innovators: Creating Extraordinary Products which talks about the design team at Whirlpool
* Whirlpool Finds Its Cool - To understand what good design can do for the bottom line, check out how Chuck Jones has revved up the sleepy, boring world of refrigerators and washers.
* Whirlpool Relies on Networking to Harmonize its Global Operations
* 2004 World Technology Awards Winners & Finalists - Charles Jones -- a biography of Whirlpool's design chief
October 25, 2005
ROKR Phone Not Meeting Customer Expecations
ROKR Not Rocking, says Motorola
"Motorola's chief executive - Ed Zander has reportedly admitted that the company may have got it wrong with the recently released, iTunes-compatible, ROKR phone.
...the number of people returning the ROKR is six times higher than normal"
Seems to me that some early concept testing would have helped prevent some of this.
ROKR Not Rocking, says Motorola
"Motorola's chief executive - Ed Zander has reportedly admitted that the company may have got it wrong with the recently released, iTunes-compatible, ROKR phone.
...the number of people returning the ROKR is six times higher than normal"
Seems to me that some early concept testing would have helped prevent some of this.
September 07, 2005
Now I've seen it all...
Talk about taking "user experience" to a whole new place:
http://restroomratings.com/
Talk about taking "user experience" to a whole new place:
http://restroomratings.com/
September 01, 2005
Letter to Google - How you can help Hurricane Katrina survivors
I just emailed this to the Google Blog:
Just an idea I thought Google could help with.
Currently the Google home page has a link to Google News coverage of Hurricaine Katrina. Something that might help survivors and family members is to have a link to a site or sites with information about finding/notifying family members who have survived. Another idea is to link to a Google map of the area affected. Links to charitable organizations would be great too, but a basic web search turns those up quickly enough.
With thousands feared dead, a huge effort will be spent trying to locate familiy and friends in the area who have been displaced or injured. Traditional communications are majorly crippled, and people aren't in the locations where they can normally be reached. Online locations and addresses are more persistent for people the "real" ones. Google is as close to an Internet home page or "town square" as it gets, so you would be able to help a lot.
Please pass it on to those who might be able to help within the Googleplex!
More Information:
- Wikipedia Hurricane Katrina - Excellent information so far, and improving constantly!
- WDSU - New Orleans
- WDSU Page for Messages From Katrina Survivors - helps people let others know they are safe or try to find missing people
I just emailed this to the Google Blog:
Just an idea I thought Google could help with.
Currently the Google home page has a link to Google News coverage of Hurricaine Katrina. Something that might help survivors and family members is to have a link to a site or sites with information about finding/notifying family members who have survived. Another idea is to link to a Google map of the area affected. Links to charitable organizations would be great too, but a basic web search turns those up quickly enough.
With thousands feared dead, a huge effort will be spent trying to locate familiy and friends in the area who have been displaced or injured. Traditional communications are majorly crippled, and people aren't in the locations where they can normally be reached. Online locations and addresses are more persistent for people the "real" ones. Google is as close to an Internet home page or "town square" as it gets, so you would be able to help a lot.
Please pass it on to those who might be able to help within the Googleplex!
More Information:
- Wikipedia Hurricane Katrina - Excellent information so far, and improving constantly!
- WDSU - New Orleans
- WDSU Page for Messages From Katrina Survivors - helps people let others know they are safe or try to find missing people
August 31, 2005
Muji - the Un-brand
BusinessWeek: The Serious Cachet of "Secret Brands"
"Muji certainly has made a business case for saving marketing dollars on brand building and plowing that money into better design at affordable prices. Its executives believe a brand name or a logo is extraneous and doesn't bring a specific benefit to consumers except to satisfy their ego. "Muji can focus on the basic essence of products instead of dedicating energies to the frills," says Hiroyoshi Azami, General Manager at Japan's Ryohin Keikaku, which owns the Muji stores."
[Via Web Globalization News]
BusinessWeek: The Serious Cachet of "Secret Brands"
"Muji certainly has made a business case for saving marketing dollars on brand building and plowing that money into better design at affordable prices. Its executives believe a brand name or a logo is extraneous and doesn't bring a specific benefit to consumers except to satisfy their ego. "Muji can focus on the basic essence of products instead of dedicating energies to the frills," says Hiroyoshi Azami, General Manager at Japan's Ryohin Keikaku, which owns the Muji stores."
[Via Web Globalization News]
July 25, 2005
Polishing your diamond search results
Amazon's AJAX diamond search is very cool. It's also dangerous...if you say "hey honey, come check THIS out"...it could set you back thousands of dollars! :-)
Compare it to their basic diamond search [Suffers from linkrot - as of 2008, can select "basic diamond search" from the AJAX page, but not sure if this is what the old one looked like.]
[via iaslash ]
Note: Ajax link fixed April, 2008
Amazon's AJAX diamond search is very cool. It's also dangerous...if you say "hey honey, come check THIS out"...it could set you back thousands of dollars! :-)
Compare it to their basic diamond search [Suffers from linkrot - as of 2008, can select "basic diamond search" from the AJAX page, but not sure if this is what the old one looked like.]
[via iaslash ]
Note: Ajax link fixed April, 2008
July 15, 2005
Change or Die
"What if you were given that choice? For real. ... You wouldn't change." Nine in ten people wouldn't change.
"You can train a rat to have a new skill. The rat solves a puzzle, and you give it a food reward. After 100 times, the rat can solve the puzzle flawlessly. After 200 times, it can remember how to solve it for nearly its lifetime. The rat has developed a habit. It can perform the task automatically because its brain has changed. Similarly, a person has thousands of habits -- such as how to use a pen -- that drive lasting changes in the brain. For highly trained specialists, such as professional musicians, the changes actually show up on MRI scans. Flute players, for instance, have especially large representations in their brains in the areas that control the fingers, tongue, and lips, Merzenich says. 'They've distorted their brains.'
"Businesspeople, like flutists, are highly trained specialists, and they've distorted their brains, too. An older executive 'has powers that a young person walking in the door doesn't have,' says Merzenich. He has lots of specialized skills and abilities. A specialist is a hard thing to create, and is valuable for a corporation, obviously, but specialization also instills an inherent 'rigidity.' The cumulative weight of experience makes it harder to change."
"What happens if you don't work at mental rejuvenation? Merzenich says that people who live to 85 have a 50-50 chance of being senile. While the issue for heart patients is "change or die," the issue for everyone is "change or lose your mind." Mastering the ability to change isn't just a crucial strategy for business. It's a necessity for health. And it's possibly the one thing that's most worth learning."
Read the whole article in Fast Company: Change or Die
[Via Laurie]
"What if you were given that choice? For real. ... You wouldn't change." Nine in ten people wouldn't change.
"You can train a rat to have a new skill. The rat solves a puzzle, and you give it a food reward. After 100 times, the rat can solve the puzzle flawlessly. After 200 times, it can remember how to solve it for nearly its lifetime. The rat has developed a habit. It can perform the task automatically because its brain has changed. Similarly, a person has thousands of habits -- such as how to use a pen -- that drive lasting changes in the brain. For highly trained specialists, such as professional musicians, the changes actually show up on MRI scans. Flute players, for instance, have especially large representations in their brains in the areas that control the fingers, tongue, and lips, Merzenich says. 'They've distorted their brains.'
"Businesspeople, like flutists, are highly trained specialists, and they've distorted their brains, too. An older executive 'has powers that a young person walking in the door doesn't have,' says Merzenich. He has lots of specialized skills and abilities. A specialist is a hard thing to create, and is valuable for a corporation, obviously, but specialization also instills an inherent 'rigidity.' The cumulative weight of experience makes it harder to change."
"What happens if you don't work at mental rejuvenation? Merzenich says that people who live to 85 have a 50-50 chance of being senile. While the issue for heart patients is "change or die," the issue for everyone is "change or lose your mind." Mastering the ability to change isn't just a crucial strategy for business. It's a necessity for health. And it's possibly the one thing that's most worth learning."
Read the whole article in Fast Company: Change or Die
[Via Laurie]
July 12, 2005
Usability Professionals Salary & Employment Survey
As President of a local Usability Professionals' Association Chapter, one of the topics I get asked about most often is salary benchmarking. Sometimes HR professionals have a hard time getting data about compensation for Usability related jobs. Well, UPA is doing something that will help answer those questions.
The UPA is running a survey to gather information on usability professionals, including employment/salary information. This survey is open to all who work in the field, whether a UPA member or not.
If any portion of your job relates to usability, please consider taking the survey. This might include many different kinds of positions like Usability practitioners, Interface Designers, Information Architects, Technical Writers, Business Analysts, Technical Analysts, Graphic Designers, Programmers, Trainers, Managers, and others.
Please take a minute to fill out the short survey online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=24248929450. It only takes about five minutes.
UPA is hoping to get enough entries - from both inside and outside of the U.S. - to report on employment conditions and practices confidently.
The results will be published in the UPA Voice.
Related Sites:
- UPA Job Postings
- Usability related jobs list - DFW UPA Chapter
- User Experience Job Titles and Their Meanings
As President of a local Usability Professionals' Association Chapter, one of the topics I get asked about most often is salary benchmarking. Sometimes HR professionals have a hard time getting data about compensation for Usability related jobs. Well, UPA is doing something that will help answer those questions.
The UPA is running a survey to gather information on usability professionals, including employment/salary information. This survey is open to all who work in the field, whether a UPA member or not.
If any portion of your job relates to usability, please consider taking the survey. This might include many different kinds of positions like Usability practitioners, Interface Designers, Information Architects, Technical Writers, Business Analysts, Technical Analysts, Graphic Designers, Programmers, Trainers, Managers, and others.
Please take a minute to fill out the short survey online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=24248929450. It only takes about five minutes.
UPA is hoping to get enough entries - from both inside and outside of the U.S. - to report on employment conditions and practices confidently.
The results will be published in the UPA Voice.
Related Sites:
- UPA Job Postings
- Usability related jobs list - DFW UPA Chapter
- User Experience Job Titles and Their Meanings
Is PC Support fundamentally broken?
A thought-provoking quote from PC World's Techlog - Dell vs. the Blogosphere
"When my electricity goes fritz at home, I call in the electrician and tell him what's wrong and he fixes it and tests it and I pay him and thank him. I don't have to hang out with him and hand him wirestrippers.
But with computers, we are expected to suffer through the process; we aren't allowed to say, 'Just fix it: The machine you made is broken so fix it and make sure it's fixed.'
Why the hell do we tolerate this? "
A thought-provoking quote from PC World's Techlog - Dell vs. the Blogosphere
"When my electricity goes fritz at home, I call in the electrician and tell him what's wrong and he fixes it and tests it and I pay him and thank him. I don't have to hang out with him and hand him wirestrippers.
But with computers, we are expected to suffer through the process; we aren't allowed to say, 'Just fix it: The machine you made is broken so fix it and make sure it's fixed.'
Why the hell do we tolerate this? "
July 11, 2005
Ipswitch & Usability
At the UPA 2005 conference, I sat on a panel with Dr. Carol Barnum, mentioned below. I've also been a long-time user of WS-FTP, one of Ipswitch's best-selling products...so this press release caught my attention. I think it's a great example of business partnering with acedemic organizations for success. Carol is a really sharp lady, and it sounds like her group often partners with area businesses, educating them on the benefits of user-centered design.
Ipswitch to Give Presentation on Building User Centered Software
"Ipswitch Inc., a leading developer of messaging, network management and file transfer solutions for small to medium businesses (SMBs), will participate in the International Professional Communication Conference in Limerick, Ireland, July 10-13, 2005.
Three Ipswitch leaders, Ben Henderson, Chief Technologist; Kevin Gillis, Director of Product Management; and Joe O'Connor, Information Development Manager will team up with Dr. Carol Barnum, Co-Director of the Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic State to present 'Making Connections--Teaming Up to Connect Users, Developers, and Usability Experts'.
The presentation will discuss how Ipswitch is working with The Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta (Atlanta), Georgia, to rigorously test Ipswitch's products. This testing allows Ipswitch to be in tune with what its customers want. Ipswitch has built its success around understanding and addressing the unique requests of the SMB market allowing Ipswitch to build software that works the ways Ipswitch's customers run their business. Starting with WS_FTP Professional, Ipswitch has now incorporated user-centered design and testing into all of its products.
Leading the collaborative effort to plan the testing at The Usability Center is Dr. Barnum, author of Usability Testing and Research (Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 2002). 'The success Ipswitch is experiencing confirms our belief that usability testing can be promoted as part of a user-centered design process,' said Dr. Barnum. 'When connections are established between developers and users, between usability experts and developers, and between the product and documentation managers and the users, everyone reaps the rewards.'
Ipswitch is integrating usability into the front and middle stages of development, instead of being performed at the end of the product development cycle, early enough so that feedback can be incorporated into future versions of the software before it is commercially released. By doing so, Ipswitch is able to include user-centered design into the product development methodology."
At the UPA 2005 conference, I sat on a panel with Dr. Carol Barnum, mentioned below. I've also been a long-time user of WS-FTP, one of Ipswitch's best-selling products...so this press release caught my attention. I think it's a great example of business partnering with acedemic organizations for success. Carol is a really sharp lady, and it sounds like her group often partners with area businesses, educating them on the benefits of user-centered design.
Ipswitch to Give Presentation on Building User Centered Software
"Ipswitch Inc., a leading developer of messaging, network management and file transfer solutions for small to medium businesses (SMBs), will participate in the International Professional Communication Conference in Limerick, Ireland, July 10-13, 2005.
Three Ipswitch leaders, Ben Henderson, Chief Technologist; Kevin Gillis, Director of Product Management; and Joe O'Connor, Information Development Manager will team up with Dr. Carol Barnum, Co-Director of the Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic State to present 'Making Connections--Teaming Up to Connect Users, Developers, and Usability Experts'.
The presentation will discuss how Ipswitch is working with The Usability Center at Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta (Atlanta), Georgia, to rigorously test Ipswitch's products. This testing allows Ipswitch to be in tune with what its customers want. Ipswitch has built its success around understanding and addressing the unique requests of the SMB market allowing Ipswitch to build software that works the ways Ipswitch's customers run their business. Starting with WS_FTP Professional, Ipswitch has now incorporated user-centered design and testing into all of its products.
Leading the collaborative effort to plan the testing at The Usability Center is Dr. Barnum, author of Usability Testing and Research (Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 2002). 'The success Ipswitch is experiencing confirms our belief that usability testing can be promoted as part of a user-centered design process,' said Dr. Barnum. 'When connections are established between developers and users, between usability experts and developers, and between the product and documentation managers and the users, everyone reaps the rewards.'
Ipswitch is integrating usability into the front and middle stages of development, instead of being performed at the end of the product development cycle, early enough so that feedback can be incorporated into future versions of the software before it is commercially released. By doing so, Ipswitch is able to include user-centered design into the product development methodology."
July 06, 2005
Missing the point
This Is Broken points out that many hotels stick labels next to fire sprinklers in bathrooms rather than providing a convenient place (e.g. a hook) for hanging clothing on.
This is analogous to providing a good, clear error message rather than making the user interface more intuitive in order to avoid the error situation.
This Is Broken points out that many hotels stick labels next to fire sprinklers in bathrooms rather than providing a convenient place (e.g. a hook) for hanging clothing on.
This is analogous to providing a good, clear error message rather than making the user interface more intuitive in order to avoid the error situation.
June 24, 2005
Top 10 Least Usable Everyday Items
From a recent User Vision survey, the top 10 "least usable items"were as follows:
1. Video Recorders
2. Child car seats
3. Digital TV systems
4. Digital cameras
5. Washing machines/dishwashers
6. Tin-openers
7. Packaging
8. Central heating systems
9. Handheld computers
10. Non-disposable nappies
User Vision is in the UK, and some of these names aren't what we call that item here. "Tin openers" would be called "can openers"...but I'm not sure what "non-disposable nappies" are...can someone fill me in?
I find it strange that they called "packaging" an "item", when it really is...well, packaging...that items come in. Note also that the survey used a list of 40 items and had 500 respondents identify their "top five" most difficult to use items. It would be interesting to see if the results were similar if they asked people to name items rather than selecting from a relatively small list.
From a recent User Vision survey, the top 10 "least usable items"were as follows:
1. Video Recorders
2. Child car seats
3. Digital TV systems
4. Digital cameras
5. Washing machines/dishwashers
6. Tin-openers
7. Packaging
8. Central heating systems
9. Handheld computers
10. Non-disposable nappies
User Vision is in the UK, and some of these names aren't what we call that item here. "Tin openers" would be called "can openers"...but I'm not sure what "non-disposable nappies" are...can someone fill me in?
I find it strange that they called "packaging" an "item", when it really is...well, packaging...that items come in. Note also that the survey used a list of 40 items and had 500 respondents identify their "top five" most difficult to use items. It would be interesting to see if the results were similar if they asked people to name items rather than selecting from a relatively small list.
June 23, 2005
Usability Guidelines Recommendation
"Through 'usability engineering' and these Guidelines, we have tested and redesigned our own site to reflect a citizen-centered approach. I see these Guidelines as a wonderful resource for improving the communication capabilities of HHS, as well as all government agencies. I recommend that these Guidelines be used by all who deliver information and services to the American public."
– Tommy G. Thompson
Secretary of Health and Human Services
June 2003
Related Items:
Usability.gov gets some press, and quietly releases new version of guidelines
Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines
"Through 'usability engineering' and these Guidelines, we have tested and redesigned our own site to reflect a citizen-centered approach. I see these Guidelines as a wonderful resource for improving the communication capabilities of HHS, as well as all government agencies. I recommend that these Guidelines be used by all who deliver information and services to the American public."
– Tommy G. Thompson
Secretary of Health and Human Services
June 2003
Related Items:
Usability.gov gets some press, and quietly releases new version of guidelines
Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines
June 22, 2005
June 21, 2005
Your web site might be a pain in the neck if...(with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy)
If your home page has four navigation bars, and "investor relations" is in two of them...your web site might be a pain in the neck.
If mousing over your main navigation bar causes content and colors to change in a totally different section of the page...your web site might (literally) be a pain in the neck.
If your global corporation's home page has seven main navigation sections and two of them are called 'Tools' and 'Information'...your web site might be a pain in the neck. (You've gotta love the "Customer Information" and "Hub of Excellence" pages under the "Information" section, not to mention the "Good Morning" greeting I'm seeing at a little past midnight!)
If your home page has a prominent "hints" link...your web site might be a pain in the neck.
"Our site is organized to help you quickly find the information you need with a minimum of “clicks”. In addition to the links on each page, you can use our drop down menus to find information sorted by product name, medical condition, even by Abbott division."
(Abbott Laboratories - Hints)
If your home page has four navigation bars, and "investor relations" is in two of them...your web site might be a pain in the neck.
If mousing over your main navigation bar causes content and colors to change in a totally different section of the page...your web site might (literally) be a pain in the neck.
If your global corporation's home page has seven main navigation sections and two of them are called 'Tools' and 'Information'...your web site might be a pain in the neck. (You've gotta love the "Customer Information" and "Hub of Excellence" pages under the "Information" section, not to mention the "Good Morning" greeting I'm seeing at a little past midnight!)
If your home page has a prominent "hints" link...your web site might be a pain in the neck.
"Our site is organized to help you quickly find the information you need with a minimum of “clicks”. In addition to the links on each page, you can use our drop down menus to find information sorted by product name, medical condition, even by Abbott division."
(Abbott Laboratories - Hints)
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