Re: [IxDA Discuss] Need Feedback: Need to increase conversion rates!
This site is very similar, at least in theory, to a client site I worked on: http://www.weddingshape.com/ Same basic concept as far as sales tactics but an obvious (I hope) difference in target audience. Where my client's site has WAY TOO MUCH information, I think the prison yard workout site is a little light on the details. In fact, on the first two passes I completely missed the Continue link at the bottom of the page, meaning there is a great deal of information that I did not see, most of which I was actually looking for. In my opinion, lose the continue link and put it all on the home page. Information I'd consider adding: - How it works needs more things to differentiate it from the other programs out there...from what's on this page I can't tell the difference between this and the program offered on WeddingShape.com...not a good thing. Every workout plan's got a 30-day plan, a diet, and some book or DVD, what makes your plan different, I hope it's not just the gimmick. - More details on all of the things listed in the cart, give me more than just a title. - Something like the Why WeddingShape page that gives some teasers about what's in the material...this is pure Rodale Press marketing magic and it works. Granted, WeddingShape is not the world's best converter, but judging by the analytics people do read through most of the site. -Eric DeLabar http://www.ericdelabar.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
[IxDA Discuss] USID2008 Conference - Call for Papers
*USID2008 - Call for Papers** *The advancement in communication and internet technology are affecting our life at work as well as at home. Complex social structures are evolving as a consequence of greater mobility, online social networks and virtual communities. There is a need to think about the challenges and opportunities this advancement is bringing to interface/interaction styles design and in creating the entire value chain that impacts the overall socio-cultural socio-economic development of our society. Professionals, Academicians, Researchers and Students are invited to submit papers addressing various design issues and insights on any of the listed theme: ** *THEMES* - User Interface design for online social networks and virtual communities - User Interface design and evaluation issues for small screen devices (Mobile Entertainment M-Commerce) - Impact of Interactive technologies on work and social life - Practices and opportunities in User Interface design for eLearning *ELIGIBILITY * Open to the professionals, academicians, researchers and students. *IMPORTANT DATES * *Registration:* July 11th 2008 *Submission: *August 5th 2008 The papers short listed by the review panel will be presented during the USID2008 and all accepted papers will be published in the USID2008 Conference Proceedings. Teams will be notified of acceptance or rejection the week of August 25 2008. Authors of selected papers will be expected to attend the conference in order to present their submissions to other conference attendees. USID Foundation will also notify the authors through email or phone. For Details and Guidelines etc. visit www.usidfoundation.org/usid2008/papers For Registration send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with your name, institution/organization, and the theme. USID Foundation www.usidfoundation.org (formerly HCI-Hyderabad) 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] Best Practices vs. Patterns
Best Practices / Patterns and the likes are important part of the designers toolbox. But the Designer needs to understand when its is best to use the best practice or the pattern based on the context of the work / organization / etc...etc... So ultimately they are just another set of tools for the designer to use. Regards, Jay Kumar On 7/1/08, Matthew Zuckman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: People in my office seem to be obsessed with best practices lately - a notion that seems a bit ethereal to me. After all, splash pages, lead-based paint, burning witches, and other such concepts are now obsolete (or at least frowned upon). In the past, I have tried to steer people towards the idea that certain interfaces or features may be a standard practice, but I am wondering if patterns are now the best evaluation tool. Any thoughts? ./matthew 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Redesigning the milk jug
A simple soultion has existed for a long time in Denmark (and other Northern European countries). A square container made of 20% plastic (LDPE, soft polyethene) og 80% cardboard. The square containers typically have two ways to open up (One, Two) and their colour-coding reveals what kind of milk there's in the container. Simple, affordable, environmental-friendly and 'stackable'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30898 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] Redesigning the milk jug
Excuse me. I wasn't aware of the fact that you couldn't embed links in your posts, therefore the cryptic entry before. May I suggest a small No HTML in posts text next to the form? ;-) The links should have been: One: http://bp0.blogger.com/_1iwL_QddcwI/R42x30XuHYI/SwQ/Ak4R9aUmAJs/s1600-h/mælkekartoner 006.JPG Two: http://bp1.blogger.com/_1iwL_QddcwI/R42x3EXuHXI/SwI/UJ_sfhVfxsE/s1600-h/mælkekartoner 004.JPG colour-coding: http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billede:Mælkekartoner_MilkContainers.JPG Sorry. I hope this actually works. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30898 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] Best Practices vs. Patterns
What the others said. And some more. The notion of best practices is not new or ethereal, at least not in the realm of design management, project management and related disciplines. They constantly evolve and the term serves as an umbrella for specific pedagogies. I like to spice it up a bit. In addition to discussing best practices, I like to talk about better practices, worse worst practices, boring practices and dirty practices. Because business rhetoric is boring. In the world of IxD/IA/UX, the establishment of best practices (vs. no practices or sloppy ones) seems implicit - especially within the context of the codification of practices via literature (print web) and rhetoric (conferences, mailing lists, journals, beer talk, etc.). In other words, most of the books that have been published on web design, IA (hello, authors!) and so on over the ages are essentially about the establishment or formation of best practices. It's an old term that can be applied to various disciplines. Usability testing (in all its various forms) is a best practice vs. no usability testing (or practice). Use of Mental Models might turn out to be an ineffective best practice in a few years (and maybe not)... Lazy implementations under the cover of Agile (in other words, fake Agile) could be F-d practices. Joe Blow's Best Practice might be My Nightmare. Oscar Madison's nightmare (uh, say, establishing baseline PM procedures and actually following them) might reflect Felix Unger's idea of a best practice. And so it goes. Within the process of interface design, I don't know if you can apply the term best practice to the actual design output. For example, I wouldn't use the term to describe design product. I wouldn't say, The use of left-aligned CSS pull-down menus is a best practice, in general. (I might call it a common practice.) But I might say that your use of design research best practices helped your UX person to determine that the use of a left-aligned menu was best for your client's user base I would never say that Johnny Quest's habit of dancing to Culture Club songs while prototyping is a bad practice vs. Race Bannon's practice of doing 100 squats and eating raw eggs with jalapenos and whistling Dixie whilst sketching on his Wacom That's my take, anyhow. -- Eric Swenson ++ : eric swenson : swensonia inc : [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Jun 30, 2008, at 9:10 PM, Matthew Zuckman wrote: People in my office seem to be obsessed with best practices lately - a notion that seems a bit ethereal to me. After all, splash pages, lead-based paint, burning witches, and other such concepts are now obsolete (or at least frowned upon). In the past, I have tried to steer people towards the idea that certain interfaces or features may be a standard practice, but I am wondering if patterns are now the best evaluation tool. Any thoughts? ./matthew 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
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Best Practices vs. Patterns
The original quest appeared to be: whats the best way to design, Best Practices VS Patterns, (I assume this meant some form of Patterns Library)? I believe Best Practices would drive the Patterns, thus they are not mutually exclusive. Best Practices are contextual, meaning what is the whole of the design, and how do these Practices aide the design. Interactions which in isolation may seem counter intuitive, can be the best choice given the surrounding circumstances, (and vice versa). Best Practices not executed within a cohesive/well planned Pattern Library, (which is also a Best Practice), are nothing more then a grab bag of design concepts, which by chance may or may not work well together. Also I wouldn't consider Patterns an evaluation tool, hopefully you come up with the patterns upfront and utilize them in your designs. Rich -- Joseph Rich Rogan President UX/UI Inc. http://www.jrrogan.com On 6/30/08, Matthew Zuckman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: People in my office seem to be obsessed with best practices lately - a notion that seems a bit ethereal to me. After all, splash pages, lead-based paint, burning witches, and other such concepts are now obsolete (or at least frowned upon). In the past, I have tried to steer people towards the idea that certain interfaces or features may be a standard practice, but I am wondering if patterns are now the best evaluation tool. Any thoughts? ./matthew 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 -- Joseph Rich Rogan President UX/UI Inc. http://www.jrrogan.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] Redesigning the milk jug
We have those types of cartons in the U.S. in the Quart (liter) and Pint (1/4 liter) sizes. How do you do the Gallon, or 4 liter size? I think the designers sought to scale up this rectangular cardboard/plastic container and made it less awkward to use with a handle. The spout on the new design probably should have been somewhere on the side (or an angled corner) to make the pouring easier. Perhaps with a pull-out valve? Now I'm making this thing expensive ... - N 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] Analyzing usability testing notes
Hello folks! I'm trying to find a better way to do usability test analysis. My current approach is: after i finish a usability study, with 8 or 10 users, and collected my own and all observers' notes, I usually read all notes and then immediately write down the issues I feel area appearing more often (assuming my brain will remember issues that are repeated in many notes more than issues than appear only once). Now, how do YOU approach analyzing those notes? Reading and re-writing by heart? Putting all notes on a wall and eye-balling? Tagging the text with some piece of software? Thanks! -- Guillermo Ermel Head of web usability MercadoLibre.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] Redesigning the milk jug
Ah, the gallon. Oh we actually do not have this size, only in two or three litres at the maximum as far as I know. And that's not even milk - I think we had a two-litres version once but people thought it was too heavy and cumbersome to handle no matter the design. People usually just buys more single litres instead. I can understand the dilemma if the demand is for a gallon-sized container. How European of me not to take this into consideration. But (an expensive and not particularly environmental-friendly) pull-out valve might work - it works with wine... :-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30898 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] And now a completely different take on design
Is there any good design that's not at least initiated by one crazzy guy, (or gal)? Rich On 6/30/08, Steve Baty [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's really one man thinking a crazy idea - wanted Senior Crazy Idea Man. -- Joseph Rich Rogan President UX/UI Inc. http://www.jrrogan.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] Analyzing usability testing notes
The most effective method we have used has been a cluster analysis with comments on post-its. You can color code by participant to keep things in perspective. The last test we did was not only our site, but a competitive analysis as well. (It this case, we color coded post-its with sites.) Once complete with the analysis, we melded our groupings with a take-off of the mental model. We drew a line under the groups and then lined up with competitors provided the desired functionality. In a quick glance you could spot the impending threats, industry-wide opportunities, etc. Throw in some simplistic SWOT type icons and viola, we had a visual summary of a ridiculous number of tests, the shortest amount of analysis time in my career and the most easily distributable results across all groups: business, product, UI, etc. 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] Project brainstorming on the phone
Anyone have good tips for running a brainstorming session over a conference call? I'm working on a project with 1/2 the team located in another state. We're at the beginning of a project and I would like to ensure good participation and idea sharing, but not having the face to face communication seems like it could be a restraint. Setting up meeting communication guidelines would help, and sharing whiteboard photos at the end of the session could ensure ideas were captured correctly (maybe I'm answering my own question here). Anyway, any tips would be welcome. _ Need to know now? Get instant answers with Windows Live Messenger. http://www.windowslive.com/messenger/connect_your_way.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_messenger_072008 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] Experience Design Manager, San Jose or San Francisco, CA, Adobe Systems, Recruiter, Full time
Adobe Systems is looking for a Design Manager to work within Adobe's Experience Design (XD) team. This position will manage a design team that is responsible for a variety of software products. They develop the experience design for Adobe's Elements product line along with the online Express line of products. For those product lines, this design team is responsible for user research, vision work, product definition, visual/ui design and sample content. This high-energy job is part program manager, part art director and part design advocate. This design manager will oversee all design work coming from the team, including assigning and tracking resources for new and ongoing work, evaluating new opportunities and setting and maintaining quality standards. Additionally, this manager will have to do the following: * Support independent engineering and product teams. * Develop and present executive level strategies. * Collaborate with parallel design teams. Candidates must also lead by example. The ideal candidate must be able to demonstrate exceptional application design skills while inspiring a design team to do the same. Ideally, you have run your own design studio, or previously worked at as an Art Director, Producer or Director of a small to medium sized design team. You have extensive experience designing and building web 2.0 experiences (ie. DHTML, Flex, Flash). Additional Responsibilities * Identify and hire world-class design talent and maintain a collaborative, constructive work environment for idea exploration and creativity. * Follow, contribute to, communicate and evangelize the Adobe Experience Model. * Develop and maintain team deliveries including design mockups, usage scenarios, prototypes, specifications, and other design documents. * Successfully manage relationships with outside agencies and vendors, ensuring delivery of great work consistent with the Adobe Experience Model. * Develop expert-level knowledge of competitive and complementary products and bring new ideas to the team. Requirements Extensive experience designing and creating desktop and/or web applications. * Extensive experience successfully managing a design team. * Extensive experience with Adobe's tools, especially Adobe Flash. * Exceptional visual design portfolio showcasing broad range of styles. * Proven ability to balance multiple projects while meeting tight deadlines. * Excellent presentation, communication and collaboration skills. * Strong work ethic; self-motivated and detail oriented. * Willing to travel; international travel possible. Please email resume/portfolio to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Adobe believes personal fulfillment and company success go hand in hand, sustaining one another. In fact, our dynamic, rewarding working environment is well known - including eight years on FORTUNE magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For and other, similar accolades. By hiring the very best and brightest, Adobe continues to be a simply better place to work - creating a dynamic environment today and providing incentives for future achievement. Adobe is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We welcome and encourage diversity in the workplace. [cid:image001.gif@01C8DB69.4926FCC0] Julia Margherita Talent Scout Adobe Systems Incorporated 151 Almaden Boulevard San Jose, CA 95110 408-536-4980 office [EMAIL PROTECTED]mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] www.adobecareers.comhttp://www.adobecareers.com If you are a North America-based employee and have an HR-related question, you now have a centralized resource to help you find the answers. Contact the HR Information Center (HRIC) at x6-HELP (4357) or at [EMAIL PROTECTED]mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]. inline: image001.gif 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] Senior Experience Designer - LiveCycle, San Jose, CA, Adobe, Recruiter, Full time
Responsibilities * Generate crisp, innovative, and elegant interaction design solutions for a complex, technical Enterprise product suite. * Clearly communicate experience design and its rationale, have impeccable judgment, and be able to negotiate with product teams to get the right product built. * Promote a collaborative, constructive environment for idea exploration and creativity. * Enthusiastically partner with user research specialists to understand the goals of multiple user types and create designs that uphold their needs. * Partner with engineers and product management to collaborate and iterate in fast-paced design-build cycles. Requirements * At least 5 years of professional software design experience. * Masters degree or comparable experience in Human Computer Interaction, Product Design, Graphic Design, or related field. * Strong technical background or the ability to quickly understand and articulate interactions in a complex technical environment. * Thorough understanding of user experience design for highly interactive desktop products or rich internet applications. * Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively throughout the organization. * Proven ability to work with cross-functional teams and successfully launch new products. Please email resume/portfolio to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Adobe believes personal fulfillment and company success go hand in hand, sustaining one another. In fact, our dynamic, rewarding working environment is well known - including eight years on FORTUNE magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For and other, similar accolades. By hiring the very best and brightest, Adobe continues to be a simply better place to work - creating a dynamic environment today and providing incentives for future achievement. Adobe is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We welcome and encourage diversity in the workplace. [cid:image001.gif@01C8DB69.8EFC2F40] Julia Margherita Talent Scout Adobe Systems Incorporated 151 Almaden Boulevard San Jose, CA 95110 408-536-4980 office [EMAIL PROTECTED]mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] www.adobecareers.comhttp://www.adobecareers.com If you are a North America-based employee and have an HR-related question, you now have a centralized resource to help you find the answers. Contact the HR Information Center (HRIC) at x6-HELP (4357) or at [EMAIL PROTECTED]mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]. inline: image001.gif 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] Need Feedback: Need to increase conversion rates!
I agree with Robert -- the problem is a psychological one. This is a classic problem of a desireability though positioning, not one of site design. With that said, perception of a product is not about you/the company states a customer should remember when they walk away from a brand/product, it's how the customers themselves think of the brand/product based on their personal values, wants and desires. The product name already has a negative element for most people. Products people purchase are a reflection of either their immediate needs, wants or who they desire to be (among other things). The greater the association that the product will fulfill a need, want or desire, the higher the likelihood that someone will purchase. I like to say that no matter how much you try to market a new fangled square peg that will fit into a round hole... experience says that it won't fit... and customers won't buy it. Even if the product is the best of its kind, this is where experience and opinion can steer customers away from a product. Again, just my opinion of what's going on. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30919 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] Children and the Web - Question and Survey
Cindy, I've some experience working with a sub-set of this age group for online for what might have become something similar to your project. Feel free to get in touch off list, if that's not too spooky. Best, Kai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30886 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] Zoomii: Google Maps -like interaction in a bookstore
I just stumbled upon something pretty impressing: Zoomii's bookstore uses a Google Maps -like interaction design pattern to display Amazon's books in an impossibly big bookshelf that can be zoomed in and out. You can fly to any shelf and pick a book. It works inside a browser without plugins. It's made by an individual called Chris Thiessen and funded by his spouse. It's his attempt to bring online as much of the real bookstore experience as possible. To me his early attempt qualifies as indistinguishable from magic. http://zoomii.com/ What do you think? - Petteri -- Petteri Hiisilä palvelumuotoilija / Senior Interaction Designer iXDesign / +358505050123 / [EMAIL PROTECTED] In this island, everything happens for a reason. - John Locke, LOST 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] Need Feedback: Need to increase conversion rates!
On Tue, Jul 1, 2008 at 9:31 AM, Victor Solanoy [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The product name already has a negative element for most people. Products people purchase are a reflection of either their immediate needs, wants or who they desire to be (among other things). The greater the association that the product will fulfill a need, want or desire, the higher the likelihood that someone will purchase. The SITE has a negative association, but this PRODUCT isn't necessarily beyond the reach of this aspirational positioning, though. Boot Camp-style fitness programs and CrossFit (www.crossfit.com) are two related workout philosophies with pretty strong cult followings, and they're not aspirational in a traditional way (CrossFit has a mascot called Pukey, if that gives you any idea). But they focus more on the concepts (strength, pushing yourself farther than you thought possible) than the imagery (combat boots, latrines, etc.) A Boot Camp fitness site with a bunch of pictures of actual grunt military life would not be very appealing. Robert wrote: And I'm betting many people don't want to associate themselves with inmates—at least not so directly. They don't want to have the image of tattooed bare-chested convicts pop into their heads while working out. I don't want to associate myself with the inmates on that page! But think of: - Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 - Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption - Brad Pitt in Fight Club (not prison, but...) - Demi Moore in G.I. Jane (also not prison, but...) - that guy in the Prison Break TV show - The Count of Monte Cristo - upcoming Jason Statham movie Death Race The whole concept of the innocent wronged person who has to fight to stay alive is pretty noble and aspirational. The thugs are not. Cindy -- The Experience is the Product - http://www.cindyalvarez.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] Analyzing usability testing notes
2008/7/1 Erin Walsh [EMAIL PROTECTED]: The most effective method we have used has been a cluster analysis with comments on post-its. You can color code by participant to keep things in perspective. Hello, I though cluster analysis was only for card sorting. How do you do cluster analysis on user testing ? what are the variables ? 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] Project brainstorming on the phone
I do this frequently. The most useful piece of advice is simply to limit the number of people on the call and to designate one person as moderator. 5-8 participants is a reasonable number -- too many more, and you end up with people frustrated into silence when they can't get a word in edgewise. The most valuable tools I've found have been: * Google Docs - Very easy for multiple people to create, view, and modify documents simultaneously. I particularly like the Spreadsheet application because it's so flexible. * Conceptshare.com - Slightly clunky UI for sharing and commenting on graphics as a distributed group -- but it's better than the other related sites I tried. * Instant Messenger - Handy for helping folks take minor issues offline and for individuals to virtually raise their hand to the moderator so that nobody's ideas get missed. -Sarah Kampman -Original Message- Anyone have good tips for running a brainstorming session over a conference call? I'm working on a project with 1/2 the team located in another state. We're at the beginning of a project and I would like to ensure good participation and idea sharing, but not having the face to face communication seems like it could be a restraint. Setting up meeting communication guidelines would help, and sharing whiteboard photos at the end of the session could ensure ideas were captured correctly (maybe I'm answering my own question here). 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] Analyzing usability testing notes
Though I take notes, I rely more heavily on quantitative measures when assessing the results of a usability test. All of the tasks I have participants complete have degrees of success, and often a time component as well. These measures lend themselves to comparison and analysis in a way that quotes do not. This is important for me, as usability testing only part of what I do, and I don't have the time to write out transcripts. The easier faster I can make analysis, the better. As for the comments that I record, they fall into two categories: marketing and feedback. The marketing quotes are used to make a point internally, often to help position a change/enhancement as meaningful to a particular persona. The feedback quotes I use to fix whatever was problematic in the usability test, and I'll typically have my mockups up in Dreamweaver as I go through the feedback notes so that I can make the needed changes immediately. -Sarah Kampman -Original Message- I'm trying to find a better way to do usability test analysis. My current approach is: after i finish a usability study, with 8 or 10 users, and collected my own and all observers' notes, I usually read all notes and then immediately write down the issues I feel area appearing more often (assuming my brain will remember issues that are repeated in many notes more than issues than appear only once). Now, how do YOU approach analyzing those notes? Reading and re-writing by heart? Putting all notes on a wall and eye-balling? Tagging the text with some piece of software? 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] Zoomii: Google Maps -like interaction in a bookstore
That's very interesting idea, I think. Very nice implementation as well. However it misses most important part of bookstore experience -- ability to go through pages, take a look at different sections and so on (which is understandable because of all copyright stuff and so on). Anyway, good food for thoughs. Thank you Petteri! -- Maxim 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] IxDA Curriculum (Was: Importance of Masters Degree for IxD Professionals)
I´m absolutely sure there is no possibility of agreeing on an
universal curriculum for Interaction Design because each location has
it´s particular market needs and cultural characteristics.
We can better direction this discussion by focusing on situated examples.
In Brazil, for example, we have a high demand for communication
technologies and so for highly communicative professionals. Our
educational system is slighly different from US:
- technological studies - focused on the market
- undergrad studies (we call graduate studies) - focused on academy
- specialization studies (we call post-graduate studies) - focused on market
- master studies (we call master studies not graduate) - focused on academy
We´ve stablished a specialization course on Interaction Design,
drawing mainly from Sociology, Anthropology and Communication Studies.
We don´t focus on Cognitive Psychology because we think it´s too much
scientific for our market. It´s important to say that in Brazil,
there´s a large gap between academy and market, because our intense
social inequality.
We think that by focusing on social and communicative aspects of
technology, brazilians can compete in the global market, where
technological innovation is dominated by more richer countries.
Actually, we think that this is the greatest contribution of
Interaction Design for Technology development.
So, this is our curriculum for a 360 hours course running across 1
year and half. Comments and critics are highly appreciated:
Module I – Technology and Society
Interaction Design Foundations
Broad view about theories of Interaction Design, principles, elements,
methodologies, tools and process.
New Media and Culture
Web 2.0, interactive media, interaction society.
Sociology of Technology
Technology and society, artifacts policits, technology appropriation,
accessibility.
Design Research Methodology
Scientific Paradigms, project methodologies, research techniques and methods.
Module II – Reception of Artifacts
Design, Art and Technology
Artistic experimentation, interactive technologies, contemporary art, netart.
Mobility and Pervasive Computing
Sociotecnical networks, urban sociology, ubiquitous computing,
technology in the quotidien.
Visual Anthropolgy
Ethnography, audiovisual documentaries, photography, participatory observation.
Usability and Ergonomics
Cognitive ergonomics, guidelines and heuristics, interface evaluation
techniques.
Module III – Production of Artifacts
Interface Design
Interaction design patterns, perception, information design
techniques, iconography.
Hypermedia and Language
Seiotics, hypertext, language figures, reading/writing, communicability.
Prototyping Techniques I
Low-fidelity prototyping, creativity techniques, modelling.
Prototyping Techniques II
Hardware prototyping, introduction into electronics, circuit analysis,
physical computing.
Interaction Project
Planning, creation and development of interactive artifacts.
More details:
http://www.faberludens.com.br/?q=en/node/198
--
.
.{ Frederick van Amstel }. Curitiba ´´ PR
¶ ...''|| www.usabilidoido.com.br
Instituto www.faberludens.com.br
.
MSN e Gtalk [EMAIL PROTECTED]
\\...
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Analyzing usability testing notes
I'd be happy to elaborate -- and I'd love feedback, as this is something I'm always trying to streamline and improve. I try to identify the items under investigation ahead of time, so that I can mark up a prewritten test script during the test. My usability tests are often short and target a small number of issues, so that the results are manageable and my DHTML-based moving mockups can keep up with the expected variations they'll need to handle. I'd rather perform three short tests than one unwieldy one. Here's what a sample moderator script looks like. Notice that the expected problem areas are identified ahead of time, with space for notes. It's much faster for me to work from my notes, and they're essential if I can't record the session for any reason. 1. Please log into the system using username: ME and password: PW. [Clock stops when they click Log In. Time: ] [Username typo? Y/N] [Password typo? Y/N] [Clicked the correct button on first try? Y/N] 2. Please create a new login for John Smith. [Clock stops when they click Save at the end. Time:] [Correct navigation? Y/N -- If N, where to first?_] [Required fields entered? Y/N -- If N, which weren't?_] [Default password 6 char? Y/N] I hope that helps. -Sarah -Original Message- Could you explain further how you take those measures. e.g. how do you take time for tasks (whole tasks, parts...?), what other metrics you look into, how you measure success (yes/no, yes but..., etc. Thanks! Sarah Kampman escribió: Though I take notes, I rely more heavily on quantitative measures when assessing the results of a usability test. All of the tasks I have participants complete have degrees of success, and often a time component as well. These measures lend themselves to comparison and analysis in a way that quotes do not. This is important for me, as usability testing only part of what I do, and I don't have the time to write out transcripts. The easier faster I can make analysis, the better. As for the comments that I record, they fall into two categories: marketing and feedback. The marketing quotes are used to make a point internally, often to help position a change/enhancement as meaningful to a particular persona. The feedback quotes I use to fix whatever was problematic in the usability test, and I'll typically have my mockups up in Dreamweaver as I go through the feedback notes so that I can make the needed changes immediately. -Sarah Kampman -Original Message- I'm trying to find a better way to do usability test analysis. My current approach is: after i finish a usability study, with 8 or 10 users, and collected my own and all observers' notes, I usually read all notes and then immediately write down the issues I feel area appearing more often (assuming my brain will remember issues that are repeated in many notes more than issues than appear only once). Now, how do YOU approach analyzing those notes? Reading and re-writing by heart? Putting all notes on a wall and eye-balling? Tagging the text with some piece of software? -- Guillermo Ermel Responsable de usabilidad MercadoLibre.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
[IxDA Discuss] Hiding and Disabling Menu Items
Joel (On Software) says, A long time ago, it became fashionable, even recommended, to disable menu items when they could not be used. Don't do this. Users see the disabled menu item that they want to click on, and are left entirely without a clue of what they are supposed to do to get the menu item to work. Instead, leave the menu item enabled. If there's some reason you can't complete the action, the menu item can display a message telling the user why. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/07/01.html I agree about the hiding, but I don't think I necessarily agree about the disabling. What is missing from his critique is how the menu item can display a message telling the user why. Does he mean pop-ups? Tool tips? I'd rather set the users' expectations correctly than to have them click on a menu item and have a pop up appear telling them why they can't do that. A really long tooltip: If you want to Paste an object, first you need to unlock this layer. is definitely better, but could have tons of conditionals. Thoughts? Dan Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Hiding and Disabling Menu Items
Dan Saffer said: I'd rather set the users' expectations correctly than to have them click on a menu item and have a pop up appear telling them why they can't do that. A really long tooltip: If you want to Paste an object, first you need to unlock this layer. is definitely better, but could have tons of conditionals. Right on, Dan. Making a menu item active to show a message why it is not actually available should be reserved for VERY unusual circumstances. In addition to the point you make, disabling menu choices in context provides a quick way to see what can and cannot be done at any moment: i.e., an effective tool for learning. And disabled choices also provide feedback to the more advanced user about what the current context is (e.g., it's sometimes hard to discern if 0, 1, or multiple items are selected, and the available choices can give good feedback about this). In addition to your suggestion about the wordy tooltip, one often overlooked area of online help in traditional software is information not only about what a field or UI element DOES, but also how to find it and how to enable it. Paul Eisen Principal User Experience Architect tandemseven 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] Hiding and Disabling Menu Items
I was surprised at this comment by Joel also. The best solution, as far as I'm concerned, is to have items be disabled -- don't expect users to select things just to be told why they don't work -- but offer a tool tip showing why the item is disabled if you hover over it or select it. The code already knows why the thing's disabled. I was also surprised at a comment by John Gruber (Daring Fireball) on this: Spolsky’s suggestion is also predicated on the assumption that the user is stupid. Better is to assume that the user is clever and curious and will be able to figure out for themself why a certain command is currently disabled. Yeah, that's it. If people don't know why some command is disabled, they must be stupid. Clever and curious users will be EAGER to explore for several minutes trying to figure out why the command is disabled. It's like a game - who wouldn't want to play? On Jul 1, 2008, at 5:02 PM, Dan Saffer wrote: Joel (On Software) says, A long time ago, it became fashionable, even recommended, to disable menu items when they could not be used. Don't do this. Users see the disabled menu item that they want to click on, and are left entirely without a clue of what they are supposed to do to get the menu item to work. Instead, leave the menu item enabled. If there's some reason you can't complete the action, the menu item can display a message telling the user why. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/07/01.html I agree about the hiding, but I don't think I necessarily agree about the disabling. What is missing from his critique is how the menu item can display a message telling the user why. Does he mean pop-ups? Tool tips? I'd rather set the users' expectations correctly than to have them click on a menu item and have a pop up appear telling them why they can't do that. A really long tooltip: If you want to Paste an object, first you need to unlock this layer. is definitely better, but could have tons of conditionals. 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] Analyzing usability testing notes
Erin, your method cluster analysis with comments on post-its sounds effective, but I wasn't able to get a handle on the process as you described it. I think I have a 1/2 picture of it. Could you break it down a bit more for a newbie? Thanks for everyone's postings, such a valuable dialog! t. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30937 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] IxDA Curriculum (Was: Importance of Masters Degree for IxD Professionals)
esta leagao! I love it! The only thing I would add/modify is that some of your classes be situated as a design studio. From my perspective in our lovely RICH United States, this curriculum would be very well received. It is theoretical and practical. I think the one part you are missing is around Design with a big D which I'd bring in through studio, and I'd also have a generic design theory and introduction to design criticism. Legao indeed! Axe! -- dave (aka bolinha) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30515 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] Online Tutorials - inspiration, best practices, examples
Hi All, Well, fresh from my overwhelming UX/IX success with conversions at glassdoor.com (over 50,000 contributions via complicated forms in less than 3 weeks), I have taken my show on the road... well, moved down the road two blocks anyway, to a boutique UX/IX house called SpringStudio. So, my first project here is re-IA-ing an online tutorial for a complicated reporting product, and I thought: this is a typical kind of IXD project, lets see what the peanut gallery has to say I am looking examples, or even approaches, to developing a tutorial for a poorly designed product. (dont fret, we are pitching a product redesign also, but first things first) The biggest challenges I can see so far are structuring a tutorial that works for both first-time and semi-experienced users, and allowing power-users to drill down into areas that novices would want to skim over. If you have built, used, or just been pleased by this sort of Flash- based product learning tool, drop a line and tell me (us) why and how ! jd -- Jeff Gimzek | Senior User Experience Designer [EMAIL PROTECTED] | www.springstudio.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] Analyzing usability testing notes
On Jul 1, 2008, at 10:34 AM, Guillermo Ermel wrote: Now, how do YOU approach analyzing those notes? Reading and re- writing by heart? Putting all notes on a wall and eye-balling? Tagging the text with some piece of software? We use a custom framework we've developed that was inspired by ELITO (used at IIT). Each observation is tagged and can have artifacts and concepts (design solution) attached to them. We run analysis through this framework, currently in a spreadsheet, looking for patterns. Additionally, each observation gets a significance rating of 1-5, along with a judgement (why the business cares about it) of 1-5, and a technical feasibility score of 1-5 for the design solution (concept). These scores go into a weighted formula that produces a priority rating at the end. This gives us our observations, design solutions, and prioritization for the business on which items to address first. We've built an internal prototype of the framework as a Rails app, which should make the analysis much faster. Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel President, Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AIM:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Blog: http://toddwarfel.com Twitter:zakiwarfel -- In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. 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] Hiding and Disabling Menu Items
One other thing I look at when determining how the user will be informed about the functionality of a disabled control is what the conditions or configurations are that would cause the control to be enabled/disabled. Sometimes I find that the where the control exists in a task/workflow creates a context for the user and they either conciously or subconciously the user understands why the control is at some points disabled and other points enabled. When observing this, its important to look at how long it takes the user to pick up on this context, obviously if it seems to take a while, a number of iterations on the task perhaps, you wouldn't want to depend on the context being the only communication vehicle and do something a little more explicit - something like a tool-tip as Dan pointed out, or even just a text hint displayed beside the control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=30957 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
