[IxDA Discuss] Usability in the Classroom
Anyone know of any research done or work done on creating classrooms that are student-centered in terms of learning? Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] JOB: Interaction Designer, Central NJ USA, Infragistics, Full-Time
Hi folks, I'm really glad to say that Infragistics is looking to augment our interaction design team. This is a team I have a lot of personal investment in and want to see succeed and set the bar for interaction design at [mid-size] software companies. I've been with the company for almost three and a half years; it's been a great ride, and I still like it a lot. The stuff we're doing and looking to do is just awesome. Hope some of you will consider joining us. Please feel free to reply email me off list with questions, CV, résumé, etc., tweet @ambroselittlehttp://twitter.com/ambroselittle, skype ambroselittle skype:ambroselittle?add, or connect message on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ambroselittle or LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/ambroselittle . -ambrose P.S. Here's the official job description schtuff: Infragistics is looking for a talented, motivated, and enthusiastic person to join their fast-growing product interaction design team. Infragistics is well-known in the software developer industry, particularly amongst .NET developers, as the number one maker of UI components (a.k.a., widgets) and tools. In the last few years, we have branched out into other areas, especially the experience design space, bringing Quincehttp://quince.infragistics.com, our UX design pattern explorer to the design community in early 2009. At Infragistics, you get to work with folks who are passionate about making great software. Because we make software tools for software designers and developers, you get to work on really chewy design problems involving multiple levels of design concern, and you work on products built on the latest technologies to facilitate making your designs a reality. Infragistics cares a lot about making great experiences, not just for our customers but for our employees—we have competitive benefits, very relaxed dress code, flexible culture, and we’ll soon be moving into a new HQ designed by HLW (http://www.hlw.com) that will provide a physical environment reflective of who we are. *Things You’ll Do* - Collaborate with product management to craft and execute on plans for appropriate user research in your problem domain(s), including ongoing contextual inquiry and ethnography. - Distill your research into effective and usable formats like personas, design principles, and high-level goal and activity analysis summaries. - Collaboratively sketch out multiple design ideas, actively critique your own and others’ sketches, and iterate to discover the best designs. - Create prototypes of varying fidelities based on the needs of the given design problems. - Communicate your designs effectively to visual designers and engineers and actively collaborate with them through implementation to resolve design questions and ensure desired execution. - Facilitate usability testing as needed on your designs, prototypes, products. - Rinse and repeat. *Requirements* - A bachelor’s or higher degree, preferably in HCI, Design, library sci ences, or humanities; or equivalent experience in interaction design. - Portfolio illustrating your interaction design work. - Demonstrable knowledge of human factors, user/design research techniques, UCD or Design-based process (Agile—a plus), and how to create common interaction design deliverables. - Familiarity with usability testing. - Experience working with real-world business software applications; experience designing for Microsoft technologies a plus. - Interpersonal skills, consensus builder, comfortable with critique, empathetic, passionate. *Location* Remote work is not an option--we want to see your smiling face in person--but relocation assistance is negotiable. You will be working in our HQ, which currently is in East Windsor, NJ but will soon be not far from here, right off Exit 8A (Jamesburg http://www.jamesburgborough.org// Cranbury http://www.cranburytownship.org/ area). *Benefits*: http://www.infragistics.com/careers/benefits.aspx *Web*: http://www.infragistics.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] User Experience Lead - New York City - Intent Media - Full-time or 6-12 months contract
User Experience Lead Intent Media stands at the cross-roads of online advertising and e-commerce. We are solving long-standing problems facing online merchants and direct marketers by building a unique technology solution with many interesting challenges to overcome. Intent Media is expanding its product development team in New York City. We have a team of rock stars leading our product management and technology functions, and we are looking to add a user experience lead to that team who will help transform our product vision into a highly usable system for our customer base. If you are a talented, motivated interactive user experience designer with deep experience in the information architecture of back-end transactional systems, we want to talk to you. We'll need you to work with our product team and external partners to extract their understanding of the business objectives, conduct competitive benchmarking, and create an overall information architecture. Ideally you will also provide the front-end design for our web application. Our customers are large advertisers and e-commerce publishers (i.e. not consumers) so we value clean, elegant, functional usability over heavily art-directed design. We're strong believers in agile methodologies, so we'll want you to feel comfortable working within our iterations and seated in an open environment side-by-side with our product managers, engineers, and executives -- though we also understand that there comes a time when designers need some quiet, undisturbed time to develop the best work possible. Our offices are in the Times Square area in midtown Manhattan. Our work environment is casual, fun, and most importantly free of bureaucracy and overhead. In addition to a competitive compensation package including salary and equity, our benefits includes medical, dental and prescription drug plans, a 401(K) plan, and more. Intent Media is an Equal Opportunity Employer. About Intent Media The Intent Media founders are second time entrepreneurs who each have over eight years experience in e-commerce and direct marketing. They were part of the founding team of Site59.com, a last-second travel provider that pioneered ‘dynamic packaging’ in online travel. Site59 grew to over $100MM in gross sales in less than two years from launch, and was acquired by Travelocity in 2002. From 2002 to 2008, the founders held senior leadership roles at Travelocity, including GM, Travelocity Partner Network; Chief Technology Officer; Chief Product Officer; and Deputy CEO, Travelocity Europe. They founded Intent Media to solve long-standing strategic problems facing online merchants and direct marketers. The company sits at the intersection of online retail and advertising, and aims to unlock the vast media value that exists inside of e-commerce sites. Intent Media is now building out a technology team which will deliver on this core promise. The team will solve unique and complex technical problems to address a very large market opportunity. Intent Media closed a large Series A with Matrix Partners, a top-tier VC, in February 2009. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Visual Designer, SEVEN Networks, Redwood City, CA - regular-full-time
Visual Designer In this role you will design and implement user interfaces for the purpose of rapid, conceptual prototyping. This position will explore and investigate, visualize, and design product concepts working with a small, tightly integrated team of product managers and user interface designers. The product concepts may take the form of high-level, functional models, or narrative animation sequences that communicate several dimensions of a proposed product. Major Duties Responsibilities *Responsible for planning and executing projects independently *Identify, address and solve technical problems as they relate to interface and mobile screen design *Originates new concepts, strategies, or innovative approaches that have significant impact on the company. Skills Experience Required *A high level of artistic talent, design sense, and knowledge of trends and techniques in new media design and development. Thorough knowledge and solid skills in sketching and story-boarding. *Strong design portfolio that clearly reflects an enlightened understanding of fundamental mobile user interface design techniques and possibly development processes, preferably in relation to application design. *Ability to develop well conceived innovative creative work that reflects a conceptual strategy. *Excellent design skills accompanied by the ability to guide and evaluate creative development. *Ability to communicate effectively with creative and project management staff, engendering trust and respect. *In depth experience with Photoshop, InDesign, Fireworks, vector graphics, CSS, Flash, etc. *Great presentation skills. Education Requirements *Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts or Graphic Design is preferred. *Minimum of 2-4 years directly related experience including screen art and interface design.* PLEASE SUPPY LINKS TO ONLINE PORTFOLIO in the summary of your qualifications. Seven Networks, Inc., Equal Opportunity Employer, www.seven.com http://www.seven.com/ Please email your resume to uscare...@seven.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Incentives for UI testing
I've had luck with Amazon gift certificates for remote usability testing or user interviews. It's super easy to fulfill via email and you can buy anything there, so it's almost like cash. I've had a great response rate with these and the participants almost always show up. A caveat that I do work with non-profits and sometimes participants show up b/c of the cause and not necessarily the incentive. I'd be interested to know if they work as well for others. Lacey Kruger Senior Interactive Architect Convio, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46204 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Anyone have expertise relating to web analytics?
Can anyone recommend resources for developing a successful large-scale web analytics regime? Better yet, is anyone NY-based interested in consulting in this area? Recently we lost out on a major pitch, in part because of lack of expertise in this area, and I'm trying to play catch up. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] \Objects, imperfection, and their emotional values.\
Dear friends, Hope everyone is doing great on this beautiful autumn day! (or at least it is here in Pasadena) =P I was wondering if you guys could spare some time and participate in a short survey I'm doing for my thesis project. The theme for this research is Objects, imperfection, and their emotional values. So here it goes- 1. age: 2. gender: 3. What are 3 things you have an emotional attachment to despite/because the fact that it is imperfect/broken/burnt/not in mint condition? (inanimate objects/spaces/experiences/... only please! That means no people or pets.) 1) 2) 3) 4. Why did you pick those 3 things? 1) 2) 3) 5. If none of the objects above was a piece of electronic, what is one thing you have an emotional attachment to despite/because of the fact that it is imperfect/broken/burnt? and why? Your reasons can be super short like a twitter update but be precise! I honestly have no idea where this would lead me to at this point but I guess that's the beauty of thinking though making! Thanks a million, I'll be looking forward to your response. Have a superb day! -- -Haemi Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Incentives for UI testing
there is an interesting correlation to the amount of money required to engage participants and when they think its too much and it puts them off. They did a test recently for people filling out surveys and found $5-$10 gift cards to particular places were the most motivating to get people to respond. When they moved it up to $50-$250 people were less likely to respond because they thought it was too good to be true. If you are recruiting you should be careful about the incentive and test them. When they ran these tests they found the promotion that offered $250 actually received lower response rates than the $5-$10 gift card to Lowes hardware store. They actually got triple the response rates to lower amount of gift and it cost them less. Always test your incentives and don't ask people in forums what works for them unless you want them to take your test. Everyone is different and is motivated by different things. This is why its important to test incentives and not to rely on cash. If you want proof of this test visit Marketing Sherpa B2B marketing summit. Design reviews are surveys and incentives to review anything requires testing. stevendiebold.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46204 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Interaction Designer - Mobile/Web, SEVEN Networks, Redwood City, CA regular-full-time
Interaction Designer - Mobile/Web This position will conduct product research, formulate product strategy, develop information architecture, and interaction design that will facilitate SEVEN products that delight our customers on primarily a mobile application and secondary a consumer Website. This position will discover, understand, and communicate the business requirements of SEVEN's products, the emotional desires of our consumer and business customers, and the context in which these two come together. Major Duties Responsibilities: *Conduct user requirements analysis, task analysis, conceptual modeling, information architecture design, interaction design, and usability testing. *Design and specify user interfaces and information architecture using participatory and iterative design techniques, including observational studies, stakeholder interviews, usability testing, and other forms of requirements discovery. *Produce user requirements specifications, personas, storyboards, scenarios, flowcharts, design prototypes, and design specifications. *Effectively communicate research findings, conceptual ideas, detailed design, and design rationale both verbally and visually. *Work closely with development teams to ensure that design specifications are implemented. * Participate as a contributor to a multidisciplinary team that includes internal and external designers, visual designers, product management, marketing and engineering. Skills Experience Required: *Excellent communication and organization skills. Must be able to work both on a team and independently. *A passion for creating products that resonate emotionally with people. *Strong knowledge of user interface design processes and methodology, particularly as applied to mobile applications and Web-based applications. *Proficiency with design and prototyping tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Visio, and Dreamweaver. *Knowledge of mobile technologies such as iPhone OS, Android, J2ME, BREW, Microsoft Windows Mobile, Blackberry OS, Symbian (UIQ or Nokia Series 60), or Flash Lite. *In-depth knowledge of Web technologies such as HTML, WAP, JavaScript, Flash, and CSS. Education Requirements: *A minimum of four (4) years of user mobile interface design experience *A Bachelors degree in Human-Computer Interaction or a related design or behavioral science discipline. Seven Networks, Inc., Equal Opportunity Employer, www.seven.com http://www.seven.com/ Please email your resume to uscare...@seven.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Incentives for UI testing
there is an interesting correlation to the amount of money required to engage participants and when they think its too much and it puts them off. They did a test recently for people filling out surveys and found $5-$10 gift cards to particular places were the most motivating to get people to respond. When they moved it up to $50-$250 people were less likely to respond because they thought it was too good to be true. If you are recruiting you should be careful about the incentive and test them. When they ran these tests they found the promotion that offered $250 actually received lower response rates than the $5-$10 gift card to Lowes hardware store. They actually got triple the response rates to lower amount of gift and it cost them less. Always test your incentives and don't ask people in forums what works for them unless you want them to take your test. Everyone is different and is motivated by different things. This is why its important to test incentives and not to rely on cash. If you want proof of this test visit Marketing Sherpa B2B marketing summit. Design reviews are surveys and incentives to review anything requires testing. stevendiebold.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46204 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tab order - how to escape from a grid that uses tabs
Thanks for all the responses - very useful. To answer a couple of the questions: A new row is created when you hit tab in the last cell of what is currently the last row, with the focus then being in the first cell of the new row. If the user does not complete a row, it is discarded when the dialog is closed, so this extra blank row will just be ignored. The grid also pre-populates with values from above where it can - so the first two cells are filled in automatically as they gain focus (they can be overtyped). So the new row is never actually empty. However the values that change most often - located at the end of the row - are not pre-populated, as that is very unlikely to make sense. So we've decided to follow the suggestion made to jump out of the grid if you tab out of the last cell in the row if it is blank. If it is not blank then a new row will be created as previously. We'll try this out with a few power users prior to release to make sure there are no unexpected consequences. Thanks once again for the input! Cheers, Chris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46225 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
I actually don't think architecture is such a great comparison when you really start thinking about it. One could might as well ask the architect. Does Architecture push any bounds beyond architects artistic ambitions? Is there any usable or useful pursuit in the discipline that's not based on solving the the artist ambitions, but in providing proper usage of your building? Many architectural schools belong to the art department so they create architects who come out thinking they are artist who should create masterpieces and push the clients beyond the clients ambitions (which most of the times also means budget). They are like many visual designers caught between problem solving and aesthetics. But in the digital world, composition is death and the internet is the realization of post-modernism. To lend from architecture would be to move oneselves even further away from whatever service or product we are designing. Some areas of architecture such as landscape architecture are actually more important that the Frank Gehry types (although I am a big fan of their work) So if we are to lend from anyone it should be from areas, that don't see their work as a monument to be admired from afar but as a an environment to be actively used every day. My list would include among others: Industrial Designers, Engineers, Information Design, Motion Graphics, Neuroscience, Manufacturing, critical theory, programming, landscape architecutre, public transport planning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46168 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Using behavioral targeting to customize content
Thanks for your comments guys. Both of you make very interesting points. Thomas, I never considered this point of view; that the system would always be one step behind the users current interests. However, in reality, do users interests change rapidly? I would guess a regular use exhibits the same habits over time, with subtle changes in interest. I like what you said, John, in your blog post, we need to ensure such personalisation enables us to exclude what we know you will not like, keeping the edges of what you might like very fuzzy indeed I love Last.fm too. I like the similar artist feature although, I don't use it as often as I should. I also use Amazon recommendations regularly. I don't think it's fair to say these systems inhibit serendipity. Users can still stumble across new things even if it's through a system that learns what they like. I think both your points raise important questions about the algorithm and weighting in the system, rather than the principle. To aid serendipity and discovery, the system could track trends across the site, so we can see what the crowd is interested in. These trends, our understanding of the individual user along with editorial control could offer a more rounded experience of content. Non? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46208 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
Whoaa... So if we are to lend from anyone it should be from areas, that don't see their work as a monument to be admired from afar but as a an environment to be actively used every day. Which, as far as I know, sums up pretty well the guiding values of most professional architects, teachers of architecture and theorists of architecture. The monument mindset in/on architecture seems to be perpetuated mainly by glossy magazines and coffee-table books (and the occasional Art History scholar). Best regards, Jonas Löwgren Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tab order - how to escape from a grid that uses tabs
Actually there are some more things to consider! 1. Is this a web app? If it's a web app, I don't think you should tab outside of the grid. Unless there is a specific need for the requirement. Web app is associated with primary navigation menu, and browser controls, so tab outside the grid, and you have to consider where does it tab to, and is it even necessary for users to do that. 2. If it's a desktop app, and you mentioned other controls in the grid, how many controls are there? Are there sub-controls within the control? If there aren't too many, then what's then reasoning to tab out of the grid to the controls? Once users tab out of the grid and to the controls, what's the next interaction? Enter key to return a response? Do users still need to mouse over to get further interaction? Obviously, I'm just looking at it from a view that I have no idea what the application looks like, and how detail and complex this application is. Just my 2 cents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46225 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 11:20 PM, Thomas Petersen t...@hellobrand.com wrote: Many architectural schools belong to the art department so they create architects who come out thinking they are artist who should create masterpieces and push the clients beyond the clients ambitions (which most of the times also means budget). With all due respect Thomas, this sounds like an uninformed caricature. The architects who you read about in glossy magazines are outliers. Most practicing architects solve design problems for clients with real constraints and tight deadlines/budgets, using well-developed methodologies. There is much for us to learn from this field. ~ Jorge Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] [JOB] Principal UxA – Chica go, FTE only.
I am looking for a seasoned Use Experience Architect that has worked in ecommerce for at least five years. This role requires extensive knowledge of cart and checkout and experience with POS and back end payment technologies. Specifically, understanding both the non-technical (cultural) as well as the technical constraints of cross-domain and cross brand cart and check out is critical. If you have been a lead or senior, and are looking for a place demonstrate leadership and push the boundaries, this may be your next opportunity. Thanks Mark Resume, examples, publications and cover letter to: mark (dot) Schraad (at) searshs (dot) com Full description of the principle role below: *Sears Holdings Corporation* *Principal User Experience Architect* You’re a pro who checks your ego at the door and designs world-class, consumer-driven user experiences. In fact, everything you do is completely focused on making the user experience easier, more relevant and rich. Some may call that obsessive, but you don’t know any other way to work, think or act. As a principal on the team, you will lead by example, mentor colleagues, and draw upon your proven leadership, collaboration and facilitation skills to lead design solution development. To do so, you will stay on top of industry best practices and not only absorb knowledge, but be a thought leader in your own right. You share your research, findings, analysis, and facilitate communication/collaboration sessions with all sorts of partners and stakeholders – notably Merchants, Project Management, IT, and Product Management. Most importantly, you will establish the Sears Holdings portfolio of online properties as the preferred destination for our customers. These include: sears.com, kmart.com, mysears.com, mykmart.com, managemyhome.com, and sears2go kmart2go mobile apps. You will also help define design patterns and components and ensure compliance and consistent application across projects. And you’ll continue to publish and present material related to design thinking, UX best practices, methods and processes. * * *Requirements:* •10 years of experience in interface design, usability training; minimum 3 years in E-Commerce •Must be market and customer insight driven •Follow retail industry trends and provide analysis to team Rich Media Community Social Commerce Cross-Channel Experiences •Understand and leverage Business drivers Cognitive processes Experimental design Rapid prototyping Quantitative methods Task analysis methods Observational techniques Usability testing User interfaces HCI standards guidelines *Skills:* •Build, cultivate, and maintain long-term relationships. Manage client expectations. •Translate business and technical requirements into rich engaging customer experiences. • Focus on developing tactical solutions and design systems. •Strong technical background. •Advanced knowledge of design research tools, including Visio. •Familiar with creative/FED (front-end development) tools constraints regarding presentation layers. •Strong communication skills (both verbal and written). • Meet or exceed client expectations consistent with business priorities. •Establish a course of action for self others to accomplish specific goals. •Collaborate with others to accomplish goals/objectives. •Build/maintain constructive partnerships with UX, Business and IT. •Identify problems and pro-actively develop effective solutions. •Gladly take on multiple projects, and multi-component programs. •Expresses ideas precisely, persuasively and effectively; listen to and engages productively with team. •Able to negotiate design trade-offs and support design rationale. •Must be able to produce, and take the lead, when it comes to dynamic, effective presentations. Expect to thoughtfully present your portfolio of work and evidence of deep knowledge in interactive projects focusing on developing tactical solutions and larger design systems. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
Jorge I am not talking about the glossy magazines. I am talking about the architects who get taught architecture as if it's art. The architects who would then go on to ask questions like: Does IA push any bounds beyond client concerns? Is there any artful or conceptual pursuit in the discipline that's not based on solving the immediate problem? As someone on archinect asked. So with all due respect, I think a little less sensitivity regarding what is written would be nice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46168 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Looking for social media/social anxiety reference material
Gretchen, I couldn't find specific reports from Social Technologies but there are some newsletters and blog postings that look promising and interesting. Elin, that must have been a great talk. I'll definitely look up more from John Cacioppo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46184 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 1:13 AM, Thomas Petersen t...@hellobrand.com wrote: I am not talking about the glossy magazines. I am talking about the architects who get taught architecture as if it's art. Who are those architects? I went through architecture school, and know other UXers who have as well. I've been surrounded by architects and architecture professors for the past 20 years. Your characterization of architectural education, and of architects, does not match my experience or what I've heard described by others. The artistes/divas constitute a very small percentage of the population; most architects I know are looking to design problems within real-world constraints. I think a little less sensitivity regarding what is written would be nice. I think less hyperbole would be even better. ~ Jorge Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Looking for social media/social anxiety reference material
You might get some joy from Danah Boyd's site, http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46184 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
I'm going to jump back up to Peter's question and the answer is some. The work of Fiona Raby and Tony Dunne of the RCA in London and their entire department definitely see teach IxD as an aesthetic cultural insertion constantly evolving the relationship between human beings and technology across form, space, and time through cognitive, emotional, and social manipulations and dialogs. I'd say most practicing IxDs are fairly narrow in their work lives. But this is no different than architecture where you have Frank Gearhy and you have the guy down the block who is designing the next strip mall. What I would say about the strip mall guy is I think while as Jorge put it, he's gotta design to reality, clients often expect flourishes and other aesthetic add-ons with their fairly functional strip mall. The flourishes are part of the budget. THIS for IxD is usually relegated to the visual or interactive designer, so most IxDs don't have a traditional background in thinking about IxD in this way. I think the few IxD programs (NOT HCI) that are out there are pushing this notion. there are so few of them (us) out there though that it is almost impossible for us to create any sort of message of critical mass that can get beyond the usual Should I use a checkbox or a radio button? type questions. -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46168 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Using behavioral targeting to customize content
With last FM the goal is simple. Providing you with suggestions based on your musical neighbors. It look's at what you are listening to and what you say you like or don't. I can imagine that with you guys it's not that simple, unless you where able to get statistics of what the users watch on their television and whether they liked what they saw. So I am wonder what you are trying to achieve. Perhaps that is where we should really start? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46208 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
gong back to Vicky's original question: Dance, music, film, stage are areas that I look to for inspiration and steal core motifs from. Sequential Art (comics) Economics Instructional Design (or just education in general) and well Art! -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46168 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
Who are those architects? Among others, the one I was referring to at archinect. Many architect that I know see themselves as artists or philosophers before they seem themselves as craftsmen. I have worked with architects who tried to apply their thinking into an online context. Wouldn't say it was exactly a success. It's just two different animals. Your characterization of architectural education, and of architects, does not match my experience or what I've heard described by others. Perhaps you can't see the forest for the threes? Perhaps I know other architects than you. Perhaps you don't see your friends as being artsy. None the less the issue is there. So you don't find it telling that the glossy magazines show these artsy architects if there is no one who thinks like that or are interested in architecture like that? The artistes/divas constitute a very small percentage of the population; most architects I know are looking to design problems within real-world constraints. I am sure they do. But the question is still what they see themselves as. Artist or craftsmen. I think less hyperbole would be even better. How can it be hyberbole by writing many schools it is many schools that have architecture as part of the faculty of arts which obviously will affect how things are taught. And it is many architects who think of their field as more art than craft. That does not mean all do, just that many do and those are the ones I am referring to. Claiming that they are few is simply against my experience. Sorry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46168 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tab order - how to escape from a grid that uses tabs
When to create the new row. This behavior, suggested by Chris Rider, handles expectations better, I think: create the empty row - when the user enters data in the first empty cell. Or tabs out of the any formerly empty cell in the formerly empty row, I might add. -- Oleh Kovalchuke Interaction Design is design of time http://www.tangospring.com/IxDtopicWhatIsInteractionDesign.htm On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 10:47 PM, Chris Collingridge ccollingri...@googlemail.com wrote: A new row is created when you hit tab in the last cell of what is currently the last row, with the focus then being in the first cell of the new row. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
Expanding on this a bit more, I think that Bill Derouchey's and my presentations at From Business to Buttons this past June also represent thinking applied to IxD from other design disciplines that speak to a more artful, humanistic, less-scientific and more aesthetically grounded perspective. http://businesstobuttons.com/stream (I also highly recommend the Garr Reynold's [Presentation Zen fame] opening keynote. Next time you speak at a conference, imagine following this guy who basically does Jobsian-like presentations [and teaches it for a living]. Intimidated much?) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46168 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
The diverse field of medicine . . . from years of listening and learning from, and designing for thousands and thousands of patients, their families, providers, and the surprising range of systems of care: - Medicine (especially Internal Medicine, Neurology, Geriatrics, Obstetrics-Gynecology, Gastroenterology) - Medical Psychology and Behavioral Medicine - Social and Community Psychology - (ditto for Film, Sequential Art, Urban Planning) Andrew Schechterman aschechterman at gmail dot com www.Linkedin.com/in/andrewschechterman On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 1:35 AM, dave malouf dave@gmail.com wrote: Going back to Vicky's original question: Dance, music, film, stage are areas that I look to for inspiration and steal core motifs from. Sequential Art (comics) Economics Instructional Design (or just education in general) and well Art! -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46168 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Using behavioral targeting to customize content
Hi Thomas, our primary aim is to create a continually evolving and richer user experience through increasingly contextual content. In doing so, we would expect to see longer session times, increased page views and increased ad revenue. Our system, or the principal of Silent Intelligence isn't that much different from the Last FM app. Our sites would continually listen to our users consumption patterns: * what they read across all our site * what videos they watch * what they choose to share By understanding the user better, I'd hope we can provide and environment that exposes more content they enjoy, more content that is relevant to them and more content that they might not otherwise have found. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46208 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Krug/Rosenfeld workshops: early registration deadlines
Hi; just a quick note that the early registration deadline for the Seattle edition of my workshop on site search analytics ( http://louisrosenfeld.com/ssa ) is this Friday, October 2. The workshop takes place on Thursday October 29; Steve Krug's new workshop on do-it-yourself usability testing (http://www.sensible.com/workshops.html ) follows on the very next day. Steve and I will also tag team in Washington, DC, November 9-10; the early registration deadline is October 9. If you'd like to get a taste of what I'll cover, check out my slides on SlideShare (http://clop.in/9nc8nE ) or read my contribution to the recent special issue of *A List Apart, *which was* *devoted to site search analytics (http://www.alistapart.com/issues/292 ). Thanks; hope to see you in Seattle or DC! cheers Louis Rosenfeld :: http://louisrosenfeld.com :: @louisrosenfeld Rosenfeld Media :: http://rosenfeldmedia.com :: @rosenfeldmedia Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] What Other Fields Could UXers Steal From?
I've been writing a column for UXmatters for over a year now called Dramatic Impact: Theater and the Creative Process of Design in which I've been exploring analogies and metaphors that can be derived from theatrical discipline to provide new perspective and enhancement to UX Design for innovation, and empathy. Probably in a similar vein to Dave's comment about his work helping to speak to a more artistic and humanistic perpsective. Here's a link to a list of my columns which range from talking in general about what place theater really has in design to more specific topics such as leadership and direction of creative process and character develpment for personas. http://uxmatters.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1Template=defaultsearch=traci+lepore Traci Lepore Graphic Designer traci...@hotmail.com 617-821-2156 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Incentives for UI testing
I pay cash, usually $100 for an hour of testing. On the recording permission slip the participant signs before the test starts it explicitly says their compensation is unrelated to their comments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46204 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
My feeling is that this demo/scenario is meant to be more visionary and to visualize different patterns and opportunities moving forward, rather than being a representation of an upcoming product. As far as hardware goes, there's actually a need from various manufacturers to justify development of new/better technology. As UX designers, by creating vivid representations of great use cases we can actually drive the development of hardware in the right direction. Battery life is a no brainer, of course, but things like having great cap/res screen like capabilities need justification to get more resources. Videos such as this become both internal and external marketing materials for manufactures to secure resources on interesting tracks. This is different from tradition, where a design team might be given a new technology and then told to make something interesting and useful out of it. Don't discount your visionary power for shifting industry in more interesting directions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45951 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
I have been looking, unsuccessfully, through back issues of interactions magazine for an article, published a few years back, written I believe by someone from Microsoft as part of a debate about statistical significance in usability testing. There was something of a debate about testing with large numbers of users, and this article, as I recall, made an eloquent case for sticking to six to eight participants. Does anyone remember this? Perhaps I'm wrong in recalling that it was in interactions. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Here's the link I've used before...from Jakob Nielsen. Argue his credibility if you'd like, but in practice I've seen testing a small number of representative users as effective as a lot of random users. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/2319.html I haven't seen any justification that 5-6 users is statistically accurate, according to strict mathematical rules, but for practical hands-on work, I'm not entirely sure that's necessary, either. Our six-sigma folks at one company argued heavily that we needed to test 10-20% of a 100K population for statistical accuracy, to which I replied: And meanwhile, we'll test 6-8 folks from each core group and get back to you when we hire an army of practitioners. Bryan Minihan -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Chris Ryan Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 2:06 PM To: disc...@ixda.org Subject: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants I have been looking, unsuccessfully, through back issues of interactions magazine for an article, published a few years back, written I believe by someone from Microsoft as part of a debate about statistical significance in usability testing. There was something of a debate about testing with large numbers of users, and this article, as I recall, made an eloquent case for sticking to six to eight participants. Does anyone remember this? Perhaps I'm wrong in recalling that it was in interactions. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Hi Ryan, Are you perhaps thinking of Jakob Nielsen's rule of 5? http://www.useit.com/alertbox/2319.html Kind regards, Angel Anderson Senior Interaction Designer HUGE -- IxDA Los Angeles -- Email: angel.j.ander...@gmail.com Twitter: AngelAnderson Skype: AngelJAnderson On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 11:05 AM, Chris Ryan chris.r...@visioncritical.comwrote: I have been looking, unsuccessfully, through back issues of interactions magazine for an article, published a few years back, written I believe by someone from Microsoft as part of a debate about statistical significance in usability testing. There was something of a debate about testing with large numbers of users, and this article, as I recall, made an eloquent case for sticking to six to eight participants. Does anyone remember this? Perhaps I'm wrong in recalling that it was in interactions. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Microsoft Courier ...
I agree wholeheartedly on pushing the envelope with prototypes. I disagree with you regarding the 'great use case'. The level of interaction which is pitched in the video could have been communicated with a static storyboard (and arguably the video is nothing more than a storyboard with slick animations). The mockup shown should have been a opportunity to validate the high level storyboard, instead they gloss over or avoid some fundamentals. That put the bee in my bonnet (o; We're being told that the design is in final stages prototyping and is being pitched around with a possible release mid 2010 (according to some sources, I personally dont believe that to be likely) and as such I suspect its meant to take a little steam out of the iTablet due to be announced 19th Jan. So, thats where I feel I'm justified in prodding the merits of the design a little harder than one would if it was just a high level early stage concept. Microsoft have been working on this for a while http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/23/codex-and-inkseine-the-roots-of-microsofts-courier/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45951 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Incentives for UI testing
In the past we've given cards to Amazon, Starbucks, iTunes, etc. in the amount of anything between 5 to 50 dollars depending on the time commitment. Steven has a good point about high amounts being off-putting, but I believe this is particularly true with field intercepts and blind recruiting. When going through a firm with a registered network of available participants, those folks usually expect higher compensation. Kind regards, Angel Anderson Senior Interaction Designer HUGE -- IxDA Los Angeles -- Email: angel.j.ander...@gmail.com Twitter: AngelAnderson Skype: AngelJAnderson On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 2:19 AM, Steven Diebold ste...@stevendiebold.comwrote: there is an interesting correlation to the amount of money required to engage participants and when they think its too much and it puts them off. They did a test recently for people filling out surveys and found $5-$10 gift cards to particular places were the most motivating to get people to respond. When they moved it up to $50-$250 people were less likely to respond because they thought it was too good to be true. If you are recruiting you should be careful about the incentive and test them. When they ran these tests they found the promotion that offered $250 actually received lower response rates than the $5-$10 gift card to Lowes hardware store. They actually got triple the response rates to lower amount of gift and it cost them less. Always test your incentives and don't ask people in forums what works for them unless you want them to take your test. Everyone is different and is motivated by different things. This is why its important to test incentives and not to rely on cash. If you want proof of this test visit Marketing Sherpa B2B marketing summit. Design reviews are surveys and incentives to review anything requires testing. stevendiebold.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46204 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
chris i'm not sure i know the article you're writing about but you can also take a look at what jeff sauro (oracle) has done and written about statistical significance http://www.measuringusability.com/statistics.php scroll to the section at the bottom 'Sample Size' good luck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Incentives for UI testing
Depending on the audience, we've used: * $50 Amex gift cards for remote attendees * $100-150 Amex gift cards/cash for in-person attendees * iPod nanos * Free copies of software Cheers! Todd Zaki Warfel Principal Design Researcher Messagefirst | Designing Information. Beautifully. -- Contact Info Voice: (215) 825-7423 Email: t...@messagefirst.com AIM:twar...@mac.com 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 ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] [JOB] Principal UxA %u2013 Chicago, FTE only.
correction: was typing on the train... mark (dot) schraad (at) searshc (dot) com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46261 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
The number of participants you need to achieve statistical power will depend upon the design of your study - which will be determined (in large part) by the questions you are trying to answer. This assumes you want statistical power of course. Many studies don't feel the need for it. Sorry it's not much help but statistical questions rarely have simple answers IMHO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Laura Faulkner has written a reasoned article on sample size. You can find a copy at: http://www.geocities.com/faulknerusability/Faulkner_BRMIC_Vol35.pdf The number of participants issue depends on a number of issues including the risk inherent in the product, the number of distinct user groups, whether you are using the sample in many rounds of iterative evaliuation designed to filter out problems over the course of the design cycle (formative versus summative), the complexity of the UI, the number of paths possible, . If you look in the ACM Digital Library, you will find a number of articles related to the number of participants. Chauncey On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 2:05 PM, Chris Ryan chris.r...@visioncritical.com wrote: I have been looking, unsuccessfully, through back issues of interactions magazine for an article, published a few years back, written I believe by someone from Microsoft as part of a debate about statistical significance in usability testing. There was something of a debate about testing with large numbers of users, and this article, as I recall, made an eloquent case for sticking to six to eight participants. Does anyone remember this? Perhaps I'm wrong in recalling that it was in interactions. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Incentives for UI testing
I totally agree. My reference was exactly related to blind recruiting and field intercepts with low level involvement surveys. The longer the survey and more in depth time required then people do expect more money for sure. thanks for clarifying that point. :) thanks steven On Oct 1, 2009, at 12:31 PM, Angel Anderson wrote: In the past we've given cards to Amazon, Starbucks, iTunes, etc. in the amount of anything between 5 to 50 dollars depending on the time commitment. Steven has a good point about high amounts being off- putting, but I believe this is particularly true with field intercepts and blind recruiting. When going through a firm with a registered network of available participants, those folks usually expect higher compensation. Kind regards, Angel Anderson Senior Interaction Designer HUGE -- IxDA Los Angeles -- Email: angel.j.ander...@gmail.com Twitter: AngelAnderson Skype: AngelJAnderson On Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 2:19 AM, Steven Diebold ste...@stevendiebold.com wrote: there is an interesting correlation to the amount of money required to engage participants and when they think its too much and it puts them off. They did a test recently for people filling out surveys and found $5-$10 gift cards to particular places were the most motivating to get people to respond. When they moved it up to $50-$250 people were less likely to respond because they thought it was too good to be true. If you are recruiting you should be careful about the incentive and test them. When they ran these tests they found the promotion that offered $250 actually received lower response rates than the $5-$10 gift card to Lowes hardware store. They actually got triple the response rates to lower amount of gift and it cost them less. Always test your incentives and don't ask people in forums what works for them unless you want them to take your test. Everyone is different and is motivated by different things. This is why its important to test incentives and not to rely on cash. If you want proof of this test visit Marketing Sherpa B2B marketing summit. Design reviews are surveys and incentives to review anything requires testing. stevendiebold.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46204 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help -- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Tab order - how to escape from a grid that uses tabs
Your solution might work well, depending on the number of fields you have to TAB through to (the number of cells on a row). It can be very frustrating to cycle even through more than two empty cells just to leave a TAB order. Consider the proposition. When would a user want to TAB out of the data entry field? Most likely when finished entering data, so what would feel most natural is hitting ENTER / RETURN. I don't see why you wouldn't keep such a suggestion appearing each time or continuously with a live suggestion once you reach the end of a each row or logical sequence, or only just once after leaving the first row. I think I would try that if I hadn't worked with the app before and if I didn't feel that it would actually send the data and leave the page. But I would be interested in what would be the result of the first tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46225 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Sorry Bryan, but I need to call this out: testing a small number of representative users as effective as a lot of random users. You give the impression that larger studies choose random users as test participants. You'll find that testing sessions run to meet statistical standards are required to select a representative sample in a highly structured and formalised manner. They choose 'users at random'; they don't choose random users. And the result is a much more rigorous representation of your audience. However, what happens on this large scale is not very different to what we do on a small scale when choosing users from each persona. This is a type of stratified random sample, and the way you select the representative from each is likely to be a fairly random method. None of which changes the point you were trying to make, which is that smaller tests can be highly effective, and a much more efficient use of your budget. Regards Steve 2009/10/2 Bryan Minihan bjmini...@gmail.com Here's the link I've used before...from Jakob Nielsen. Argue his credibility if you'd like, but in practice I've seen testing a small number of representative users as effective as a lot of random users. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/2319.html -- Steve 'Doc' Baty | Principal | Meld Consulting | P: +61 417 061 292 | E: steveb...@meld.com.au | Twitter: docbaty | Skype: steve_baty | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevebaty Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Wizard/Form Design Inspiration
I saw this neat filter recently at http://www.sixwineseight.com that changes wine choices based on selected criteria and uses a graphic image to provide instant feedback. It's a much simpler form than you're probably looking for but I think it's a nice example of graphic feedback that's fun and could apply to a wizard. Something like a small interactive graphic that mimics the form of the document being created that serves as a little map to take the user through the creation process and gives them feedback about what's been done, might be useful in your case. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46202 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Hi All: I am not a mathematician but I have conducted many usability tests. Sometimes clients have demanded large samples in tests that have spanned multiple days. In my experience, this was not productive. I generally felt that I learned everything I could from the first 6 or so users. I've thought a lot about why this might be and would like to offer the following thoughts... Generally in usability testing (at least in formative testing) we are not looking for statistical significance. Rather we are looking for problems to address. We don't particularly care, for example, if 40% vs. 60% of users make a particular error -- what is important is that we are seeing that a problem exists so we can address it. As a designer, I benefit most from the qualitative aspects of usability testing. Often, I find the metrics less useful. Though they do play well with management though. As I practice them, usability tests are deep structured interviews during which I can observe behaviors against a controlled set of tasks and really learn a lot about the user's mental models and where they clash with the design. With this perspective I learn a lot from 6 users and usually test 8-10 just to make certain. But by the end of the tests I am hearing the same things over and over again. Similar debates have been part of social science for a long time. Much scientific research is statistical (nomothetic) and relies on finding the shared characteristics of a group. This is great for assessing the outcomes of treatments but does not generate a lot of in-depth information. The other alternative is the case-study approach (ideographic research) which probes individuals in-depth. I suspect that a lot of metrically-inclined people will disagree with me but I find that thinking of usability testing as case-studies yields the most information. I might take a different position for a summative test whose purpose is to demonstrate the usability of an entire product and not as a design tool. Best, Charlie Charles B. Kreitzberg, Ph.D. CEO, Cognetics Corporation -Original Message- From: discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com [mailto:discuss-boun...@lists.interactiondesigners.com] On Behalf Of Chauncey Wilson Sent: Thursday, October 01, 2009 4:17 PM To: Chris Ryan Cc: disc...@ixda.org Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants Laura Faulkner has written a reasoned article on sample size. You can find a copy at: http://www.geocities.com/faulknerusability/Faulkner_BRMIC_Vol35.pdf The number of participants issue depends on a number of issues including the risk inherent in the product, the number of distinct user groups, whether you are using the sample in many rounds of iterative evaliuation designed to filter out problems over the course of the design cycle (formative versus summative), the complexity of the UI, the number of paths possible, . If you look in the ACM Digital Library, you will find a number of articles related to the number of participants. Chauncey On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 2:05 PM, Chris Ryan chris.r...@visioncritical.com wrote: I have been looking, unsuccessfully, through back issues of interactions magazine for an article, published a few years back, written I believe by someone from Microsoft as part of a debate about statistical significance in usability testing. There was something of a debate about testing with large numbers of users, and this article, as I recall, made an eloquent case for sticking to six to eight participants. Does anyone remember this? Perhaps I'm wrong in recalling that it was in interactions. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 2009 IA Salary and Benefits Survey is now open - Please participate
Question: will the raw data be released this year? I'd love to crunch-n-munch the 2008 data as well, to answer specific questions about my own team relative to the industry, but the file wasn't posted to the IAI site. Any way I could get my hands on 2008, 2009, or both? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46240 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Hi: Testing with a smaller number can yield useful insights and you can reuse other portions of your budget to re-test on what you have found out from a first round of testing. Never understood the need to see the same problem repeat over and over again, when the monies could be better spent prioritizing it, mapping it against a business goal and seeing how/where to fix it. My question is: Where does the question of statistical significance in usability testing come from? It seems that when we have faced this question from business, its situations where the business: * Is testing for the first time * Knows little about Usability/UX/iterative research * Trying to win an internal battle against another team (yikes!) * Taking the need for larger numbers of participants from other methods like surveys or focus groups (historical) * Dont trust the results from a Usability Test (maturity) * Left testing too late so want to test with larger numbers to cover their behinds (political) * Fill in your own :) Something always scares me a little when we are asked the statistical significance question when the same question is not applied to other parts of the business. Perhaps the question comes from a lack of understanding and maturity around what we do? Be pleased to see this question disappear forever! Suggest by identifying where the question is coming from we may all be better in finding ways to better inform/education the business. Thoughts? rgds, Dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
You're right, Steve, and I agree. I didn't mean to imply that a statistically accurate study is less effective, or less rigorous. I ran such a survey for one company, and we were very rigorous in ensuring our sampling was randomly distributed, and had a lot of help from some brilliant statisticians to ensure we picked the right people. We didn't learn much more than we did from the first 30-odd participants. However, the weight of the results meant much more to our executives, because the stats seemed much more thorough to their thinking. I'd say I actually felt more confident, knowing we had gone the extra mile. Sorry about the slip. Just meant to say you can get pretty good results with a small sampling, which is often as much as you need, and as much as you have resources to test =] Cheers =] Bryan Minihan On Oct 1, 2009, at 6:02 PM, Steve Baty wrote: Sorry Bryan, but I need to call this out: testing a small number of representative users as effective as a lot of random users. You give the impression that larger studies choose random users as test participants. You'll find that testing sessions run to meet statistical standards are required to select a representative sample in a highly structured and formalised manner. They choose 'users at random'; they don't choose random users. And the result is a much more rigorous representation of your audience. However, what happens on this large scale is not very different to what we do on a small scale when choosing users from each persona. This is a type of stratified random sample, and the way you select the representative from each is likely to be a fairly random method. None of which changes the point you were trying to make, which is that smaller tests can be highly effective, and a much more efficient use of your budget. Regards Steve 2009/10/2 Bryan Minihan bjmini...@gmail.com Here's the link I've used before...from Jakob Nielsen. Argue his credibility if you'd like, but in practice I've seen testing a small number of representative users as effective as a lot of random users. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/2319.html -- Steve 'Doc' Baty | Principal | Meld Consulting | P: +61 417 061 292 | E: steveb...@meld.com.au | Twitter: docbaty | Skype: steve_baty | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/stevebaty Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Anyone been to FOWD?
Just to clarify...it's called the Future of Web Design. I realize now that FOWD might not make much sense. Any takers? c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46241 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Article on Number of Usability Test Participants
Chris, There is not any statistical formula or method that will tell you the correct number of people to test. In my experience it depends on the functions you are testing, how many test scenarios you want to run and how many of those can be done by one participant in one session, and how many different levels of expertise you need (e.g. novice, intermediate, and/or expert) to really exercise your application. I have gotten valuable insight from testing 6-10 people for ecommerce sites with fairly common functionality that people are generally familiar with but have used more for more complex applications where there are different levels of features that some users rely on heavily and others never use. I do believe that any testing is better than none, and realize you are likely limited by time and budget. I think you can usually get fairly effective results with 10 or fewer people. Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46278 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] 2009 IA Salary and Benefits Survey is now open - Please participate
To protect sensitive data on individuals, we do not release the complete raw file to the public. A limited version is available to the public and an expanded version is available to our members by request. Past years' data is at our Salary Survey page: http://iainstitute.org/en/learn/research/salary_survey.php Noreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46240 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... disc...@ixda.org Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
