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New Sketching tool

Discovered this via Twitter (thanks Kevin!)

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Prototyping, sketching, wireframe, mockups, storyboards, prototype, visio

Presentation Zen: When bar charts go bad

Keep your condoms out of my information design

Interesting discussion on use of imagery in charts on Presentation Zen: When bar charts go bad

...resisting the urge to post sarcastic comments...

Be sure to note the "Click for larger size" link. :)

Goodbye to faulty software?

This article I discovered via ACM entitled "Goodbye to faulty software?" highlights how often researchers just don't "get it". Here are a few key quotes:

"Will it ever be possible to buy software guaranteed to be free from bugs? A team of European researchers think so."

"The key lies in an esoteric reformulation of mathematics called ‘type theory’ based on the notion of computation. In this approach, the specification for a computational task is stated as a mathematical theorem. The program that performs the computation is equivalent to the proof of the theorem. By proving the theorem the program is guaranteed to be correct."

While they've been working on this "type theory" concept since 1989, I can't see how it's going to ever create a golden age of well designed software. Most problems with software are not that some technical bug causes it to fail, but that it has poorly conceived and poorly design features and functions. It's not bad code...it's bad design that's the problem. Still, some engineers fail to recognize that software serves humans, often in many varying situations, organizations, locales and cultures, and therefore is a much more complex and difficult challenge than building a simple bridge (one locale, simple, clear purpose and very few "use cases").

Matematics and engineering are great, and important to creating good software...but psychology, human factors and Design are pieces of the puzzle that can't be overlooked.

Nevertheless, when you're applying for grants, I'm sure it sounds better if you assert that your Math theory is going to save the world from bad software.

How To Be A Good Product Manager

Jeff Lash is a fellow "UXer" who's made the leap into product management. His blog, How To Be A Good Product Manager, is a great resource.

Posts like "Stop gathering requirements" and "Do not be afraid to remove features" are refreshing.

That's Some Kinda Thumb Drive!

Device Daily covers 10 Weird USB Drives.



My favorite is the syringe shaped one. I'm sure some of my pharma and medical clients would love those!

11 Ways to Improve Your Website...or 11 Ways to Create a Bad Online Reading Experience

I had just finished reading a great story from Joel Spolsky on his experience procuring new office space in New York, when I saw a link to "More from Inc.com." The list of links was right after the final paragraph of Joel's article, and one link in particular caught my eye: "11 Ways to Improve Your Website"

I expected an article with a list of things people can do to improve their sites. I'm always curious what kind of design and usability recommendations get printed in general business magazines. Instead of my expected article, what I got was this:


(click to view full-size)

This outstanding list of 11 tips from Inc.com inspired my own list of 11 things. I hope you enjoy it.

11 Ways to Create a Bad Online Reading Experience.
1. Use a slideshow format for content poorly suited to a slideshow and that obviously was never a presentation.

2. Make it difficult to find the real "content" amidst all the ads. Put your content in graphics (or "illustrations"), put headings and text in colored boxes. Make ads look like text, and text look like ads...Good Idea!

3. Put 4-5 sentences on each page. Think "eyeballs", "pageviews" and "advertising."

4. Make users click "next slide" to navigate...hide the navigation in the top header below the article title, but above the graphic that repeats the article title.

5. Use a timer script to auto-advance from one "slide" to another...I'm sure you know exactly how fast most people read. Think "eyeballs", "pageviews" and "advertising."

5. Make the user scroll to see the last of your ridiculously small amount of content on each page.

6. Put content in graphics, and use the least important content as the "ALT" text. Accessibility? Who needs it!?

7. Write a crappy list of 11 "tips", each of which could have related articles or web sites...don't link to anything else. The Web is an island...and you own it.

8. Tell CIO's and business owners to flush their money down the toilet. Advise them to "create an avatar", use software to create "Amazon-style recommendations", and "build a widget". All money well spent...at least in the eyes of someone working at a magazine who can't separate hype from reality.

9. Package up shallow business advice so it sounds like you're patronizing your readers. Say things like "know your competitors", "be in charge", "identify your best customers", and "keep it simple."

10. Place a "Harvard Business School Executive Education" banner ad above your site header, so readers are confused about what site they're on. (Note, this also belongs on a list called "10 cheap, quick and easy ways to damage the HBS brand name.")

11. Provide no author credentials until after the "slideshow" is done. Okay, let's face it web readers recognize crap when they see it...you don't want credit for this rubbish anyway.

See Also:
- The Web's Biggest Time-Wasters (Google is #1!)

Topping the list of things neither you nor your CIO ever want to know...

How To Master Microsoft Windows System Restore Points (CIO Magazine)

The fact that a magazine aimed at CIO's and technology leadership feels this kind of article relevant strikes me as a very telling statement on the state of technology today.

See also:
- Anti-virus tools
- Backup software
- Version Control tools
- PC Data Migration kits

Other candidates for the Top Ten List of Things You (and your CIO) Never Wanted to Learn About:
- How to Make Your Own Circuit Boards
- How to Resole Shoes
- How to Ride the Bus for Free in Santiago, Chile
- How to Freeze Your Dog's Poop
- 10 Ways to Get Kicked Off a Plane
- How to Adjust Your Car's Timing Belt
- Three Ways to Hypnotize a Chicken
- How to Make Handmade Paper in 10 Easy Steps
- How to Empty a Septic Tank
- How to Master the Etch-A-Sketch

Stupid Phrases Only a Tech Analyst Could Love

"Consolidated Web 2.0 Market" - Where do they come up with this stuff?

"The buying market for Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis and social networks will grow to $4.6 billion in 2013, predicts a Forrester Report released today."

"the number of vendors offering Web 2.0 software will likely shrink during the next few years as vendors such as IBM and Microsoft put a chokehold on the market."

I recall similar projections of the "Web Market" and "Portal Market" and others...all wrong in the end.

What they call "Web 2.0" is wrong...and by the time we get to 2013, "Web 2.0" will be considered the way we do "Web"...and someone will have coined a new phrase for the latest tech craze for what comes after "Web 3.0".

Only tech investors bother to listen to the tech analysts at the pulpit...or should I say altar of technology...when they spout this stuff. Of course, the analysts always predict that market leaders like IBM and MS will dominate the market of the future. Funny, I've never yet seen an analyst predict that a Google would rise out of nowhere...or that Apple would become a major force in the marketplace again...so essentially, investors pay to be told that they should invest in "market leading" blue chips...for whom Web 2.0 is a minor business concern (i.e. small percent of their revenue/profit).

Disconnect for a day!

Reading this article:Movement grows for digital day of rest, I had to chuckle. Every year I make a point to vacation in a place where I absolutely can't get online. My favorite is the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota (Quetico on the Canadian side)...it's glorious. No electricity, no Internet, no cell phone coverage in most areas, no running water, no TV, no radio...I bring no electronics (although I'm thinking about bringing my handheld GPS this year for routing purposes). It's a wilderness. One year I brought a portable depth finder for fishing...but only one year.

The peace and quiet is wonderful. You learn to appreciate the small things. Hot macaroni and cheese never tasted so good as after a long day's canoe paddle, setting up camp, collecting and purifying water by hand, and cooking dinner over a camp stove or your fire.

Check out from civilization for a day or two...you'll love it...and appreciate civilization more when you get back. It's an experience that everyone should have.

A Flickr Collection of Search Patterns

Lou Rosenfeld of Bloug fame alerted me to a great collection of screenshots from different web sites that focuses on different search and search results patterns. It's cool to see a set of examples that allows designers to see how other sites provide search interaction without having to "root around" on the web. Peter Morville deserves credit for putting this collection together...what a great way to use Flickr!

View the Flickr Collection of Search Patterns

The collection includes examples of:
- Best Bets
- Faceted Navigation
- Auto-suggest
- Search Result Clustering
- Structured Search Results
- Search Result Pagination
- Advanced Search
- Social Search
- Enterprise Search
- Local Search
- Mobile Search
...and many others

Related Posts:
- Polishing your diamond search results

Delighting Customers - Article - Apogee

What does it take to delight customers?

My good friend Dan from Apogee in Hong Kong posted a nice, succinct article on how to delight your customers.

Of course, it's not a big stretch from delighting customers to delighting employees, volunteers, members, or other "users". But if you're reading this you probably already realize that Dan's maxim can be applied broadly when designing.

You'll note that Dan doesn't include "follow usability guidelines." In my experience, practicing User-Centered Design produces better results than strict adherance to guidelines. (Of course both together work extra-well.)

Related Posts:
- The Pursuit of Simplicity
- The trouble with usability guidelines

The Simple Truths of Service Movie

The Simple Truths of Service
This is an inspiring video about a grocery store bagger named Johnny, and how he changed his world.

The Simple Truths of Service

User Experience Specialist: One of Best Careers for 2008

U.S. News & World Report has announced

31 Careers With Bright Futures for 2008, saying the careers chosen "offer strong outlooks and high job satisfaction."

Here's their two-part profile of a Usability/User Experience Specialist career:

- Executive Summary - US News and World Report

- A Day in the Life

Of course, UX and usability jobs vary a lot. The "Day in the Life" is just an example. Many UX jobs are quite different...nevertheless, I'd highly recommend UX as a career.

A funny read

If Architects Had to Work Like Programmers is a good, short read poking fun at how business clients sometimes treat technology folks.

Last Name First - Stupid Web Forms

Northwest Airlines provides a great example of one of my pet peeves: forms that ask for information the way the company (or their computer) wants it rather than the way a real human is used to providing it.

Northwest's online Check In form should be really simple. You only have to enter three (3) things to check in for a flight. What surprised me so much that it threw me off-track was that when you enter your last name, the site forces the data into uppercase. That's right, no matter the status of the CAPS Lock key or the Shift key your last name shall be displayed in ALL CAPS. THUS SAYS NORTHWEST AIRLINES!

Like any good human, seeing my name in ALL CAPS was discomforting. It made me double check that CAPS Lock wasn't on. It made me try to type it with the Shift key down to make it not ALL CAPS. Evidently NORTHWEST AIRLINES can only understand my name in ALL CAPS. NORTHWEST AIRLINES must still be using old mainframe systems that don't support a full ASCII character set. NORTHWEST AIRLINES wants me to think like an old mainframe system.

NORTHWEST AIRLINES forgot that the system that will accept my input easily has the cpu power and cycles to transform mY NaMe into ALL CAPS in a matter of nanoseconds.



Computers should acommodate humans and make their lives easier...not the other way around.

Build web forms with that in mind. For example, let users enter their first name, then their last name...let the computer reshuffle the deck on the backend if necessary.

Please comment to report any similarly badly-behaving forms you've seen.

Make It a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I just read 15 Reasons Mister Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever. For those of you who grew up watching Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, it's well worth the read. If you don't know much about Fred Rogers, you should read it. He was an amazing person, and helped shape many a young child's mind.

Mr. Rogers provided a safe, peaceful, comforting learning experience for kids. His lessons were universal and valuable. His show was a study in simplicity. His style was far from flashy. All of this yielded a powerful, and long-running career that touched millions.

UX workers, product designers and businesses can learn a lot from Mr. Rogers.

"Listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them. Think of the children first."- Fred Rogers

(If you change the word "children" above to "users", it's a wonderful user-centered design or usability maxim.)

See also:
- Wikipedia: Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood
- Mr. Rogers' message (with video) about his web site
- Mr. Rogers' Thoughts for All Ages including communication, parenting, and growing in adulthood

Google Image Labeler

Google Image Labeler

A great example of getting users to provide metadata ("tags") if you make it fun. The Google Image Labeler makes tagging images into a game you play in real-time with another user online. You get "points"...and maybe some entertainment along the way.

Hmmm...does it have potential for use on intranets of large companies? Possibly.

No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July

A New Approach to Writing for the Web

No one belongs here more than you. Stories by Miranda July

You could say the author takes a new interpretation of the term "web appliances."

Sitemaps are Stupid
(Guides are good)

I've thought that sitemaps are a Bad Idea for about 10 years now. Ten year later I finally got around to writing a blog post about why I think they are stupid. Here are a few things to consider:

1. A sitemap is usually just a replication of the existing site navigation. A sitemap (aka "site map") takes all the main navigation items, and maybe a second level of navigation items, and plops them onto a page called "sitemap". So a sitemap usually just replicates the sites existing navigation structure -- this doesn't help anybody.

2. A site should work without a sitemap. Between a site's main navigation and search options, most users needs should be fulfilled. If a site's navigation doesn't work for users, the ability to see all the unhelpful navigation items on one page probably isn't going to help much.

3. Heavy use of a sitemap is a sign of deeper problems. If a site's main navigation works well for users, no-one will click on the sitemap link.

One of the few times sitemaps help is when the main navigation labels don't represent the user's terminology. So, for example, if a user doesn't understand what is meant by "solutions", and they go to a sitemap page that shows the list of sub-topics under solutions, that might help them. So a sitemap can help if a site's structure, labels, or interaction design are getting in the way (i.e., they aren't very usable for those users). See point #3 above.

In my experience watching users during usability tests, I've observed a few patterns:
- Users don't look for sitemaps because not all sites have them.
- Users don't click on (or look for) sitemaps if the site's navigation and/or search satisfy their needs.
- Users who end up looking for or clicking on a sitemap link are rarely helped, often saying something like "that's just the same stuff I was looking at on the home page".

So, sitemaps are a type of page that usually have no value to site users*. Page types that seem similar to sitemaps, but that tend to have more value are indices, tables of content, and guides.

Other than the polar bear book, you don't hear much discussion of guides, so I thought I'd point to some examples.

Here are some examples of guides:
- CNet TV Buying Guide
- About.com - Taking Photographs
- Fool.com Insurance Center
- Mayo Clinic: Women's Health
- Fidelity: Retirement Planning
- Lowes: Doors & Windows

* Note sitemaps.org points out one valuable use of sitemaps for non-humans: search engine crawlers. They promote the idea of an XML sitemap that crawlers are pointed to from the ever-popular robots.txt file.

Thatsalottaroadsigns

Signs
Originally uploaded by acmelucky777.

21 North going once, twice...sorry ma'am, you just missed your exit.