Re: [IxDA Discuss] Developing a mentorship program
I've been a mentor and a mentee in the IA Institute mentorship program, and off the top of my head, here are some things that have worked: --Set expectations up front. This is the big one, and it needs to be done by both parties. What does the mentee hope to get out of the mentorship, and is the mentor able to provide it? Is it a structured mentorship, with set sessions every week/two weeks/month, or is it a let's chat when we have a chance mentorship? Will the mentorship be goal-focused (I need specific help while I'm working on this one project), educational, career guidance, or what? And practical expectations need to be set too--where, when, how will you interact? How long will the mentorship last? etc. Putting this stuff in writing, even just in an e-mail, is a good idea. It can be modified as you get into the mentorship, of course, but having something concrete as a starting point is a big help. --Be realistic. A mentee may want someone whom they can call whenever a problem or question crops up, and some mentors may be able to provide that, but others won't. Mentors should ask themselves how much time they can *really* give, not just how much they'd like to give. And mentees should have reasonable expectations of what their mentor can provide. --Be honest. A mentor-mentee pairing may look good on paper but not work out as expected in practice. If that happens, it's a good idea to end it early on rather than dragging out the relationship out of politeness. Neither party should take it personally if it doesn't work out. --Be prepared. This may not be true for everyone, but I found that it worked best to go into each mentorship session with something specific to talk about, and I would often jot down questions to ask. Unstructured chats can be rewarding too, of course, but in general, things will proceed more smoothly if you have a plan going in.This goes for the mentor as much as the mentee. Those are just some basic ideas. Flexibility is important too--no two mentorships are exactly alike, so these suggestions won't apply to all cases either. But they've worked pretty well for me. --Amy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49305 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] List Spam (was: Re: Smart-HDL: Build your Brand)
I suspect that the moderators are a little preoccupied with the Interaction conference at the moment. I trust they'll take care of the spammer when they're back from Savannah. On Sat, Feb 6, 2010 at 3:03 AM, Eirik Midttun emidt...@gmail.com wrote: Twitter has a nice report for spam button. This forum should get one. (Alternatively the moderators should work more) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49079 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] help text in input fields - bad?
I recently saw a neat little bit of jQuery that addresses the problem of the instruction disappearing when the user clicks in the field: http://www.csskarma.com/blog/sliding-labels-v2/ demo: http://www.csskarma.com/lab/slidinglabels2/ It slides the labels to the left as soon as the cursor enters the field. It might be distracting, and I don't think it's appropriate for all uses, but the thinking behind it is good. On Tue, Feb 2, 2010 at 2:30 PM, Mark Waldo m...@markwaldo.com wrote: Hi. We just tested a site for many issues including this one. The participants needed to create a login and password for registration. An email address was required for the login and this was explained in the field. About 80% of our test subjects clicked in the field before reading this nugget of information, thereby obliterating any hope for all but one of getting any further along with the registration. We had one savvy user on his third try guess that an email address might be required based on his previous experience. As a result, this instructional text will be placed outside of the field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=48953 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] help text in input fields - bad?
Yes, I think the author is narrowly focused on the problem of the disappearing instructional copy, considered without the context of the entire form. It's true that labels inside fields started out as a solution for limited space, but nowadays I'm also seeing them used in instances where there's plenty of room outside the field for instructional copy. So I think this is more an aesthetic solution--a 'hey, this is cool! technique--than a practical one. On Wed, Feb 3, 2010 at 10:03 AM, Diego Moya turi...@gmail.com wrote: I'm not sure I understand what problem the sliding labels are supposed to solve. I thought putting labels inside input fields was a compromise solution, for placing instructions in forms where few space is available. With sliding labels, the final form occupies the same space than a classic form with labels near to the input fields. So why would you want to use a form with sliding labels when you have the available space to put a complete static form? (I see that the initial state of the sliding label form is cool, and has a more beautiful design. Maybe aesthetics is the primary motivation for this technique?) On 3 February 2010 15:32, Amy Silvers wrote: I recently saw a neat little bit of jQuery that addresses the problem of the instruction disappearing when the user clicks in the field: http://www.csskarma.com/blog/sliding-labels-v2/ demo: http://www.csskarma.com/lab/slidinglabels2/ It slides the labels to the left as soon as the cursor enters the field. It might be distracting, and I don't think it's appropriate for all uses, but the thinking behind it is good. 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] Interaction Design vs Interactive Design
Just to reinforce the validity of what Christian and Adam said: I had a feeling this topic had come up before on the list*, so I did a quick search of the archives to see if I could find the thread. The vast majority of the posts that come up when you search the archives for interactive are postings for jobs at agencies. That really does seem to be the main context for the use of the term. --Amy *I was wrong--I was thinking of threads about interaction designer vs. interface designer, which is another discussion entirely. 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] Best Practices and/or Examples of Search Results for Mixing Password Protected (members-only) content and Public Content
I worked on a project with similar requirements, except that typically there would be just a handful of search results available to the public but hundreds available on the members-only site. The solution I proposed (which the client decided not to implement) was to group the public results together, then list out the first 10 or 20 results from the members-only site with a lock icon. The list would be preceded by copy explaining that these were results available on the members-only site, along with a link to learn more about becoming a member. There would also be an option to expand the password-protected results, but the results themselves would not be hyperlinked if the user was not logged into the site. It was a little clunky, but I think it would have been effective. The reason I went with that approach rather than the more straightforward one shown in the WSJ screenshot was that membership wasn't a single product or a straightforward process, and you couldn't become a member online. Partly for that reason, the client opted not to show the results from the member site at all, which avoids any potential confusion but also misses an opportunity to sell the benefits of membership. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=47242 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] Examples for successful online tutorials?
It's perhaps not the most likely source for good UX, but the tutorials on iClarified: http://www.iclarified.com/tutorials/index.php are very nicely done. Many include both video and text versions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46980 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] A minor follow-up on identifying credit cards' types
I saw a rather neat implementation related to credit card type when I was buying some tickets recently on Ticket Web. As I was checking out, I noticed that there was a reference to the security code number being a four-digit number above the credit card number, and there was an accompanying image showing where the number was located. This caught my eye, because my card's security code isn't four digits, and it's not positioned above the card number. And sure enough, when I selected my credit card type, the copy and image changed to reflect the correct information for my card type. It's just a small detail, but I've observed users having trouble remembering where to look for their card ID number, especially if they routinely use more than one type of card, so I thought this was a nice solution to a fairly common problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46563 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] 10gui responses?
FWIW, there's an active discussion of the 10Gui interface here: http://www.ixda.org/discuss.php?post=46632 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46673 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] shopping cart (basket) design pattern
We use both behaviors on Audible.com. If the customer is on a page with multiple products--for example, a category page or a wish list--adding an item to the cart triggers an AJAX notification and keeps the customer on the page. If they're on a detail page for a single item, adding that item to the cart takes them to the cart page. This supports the ways that our customers tend to shop, and it hasn't negatively affected sales at all. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=46550 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] Shop or Buy?
I agree with the previous comment. Sometimes conventions are dull and deserve to be broken, but often they exist for a reason. Personal touches, wit, and a sense of fun can all contribute to a great experience and differentiate a site from its competitors, but only if they don't actually stand in the way of getting them to their goal. On an e-commerce site, having the customer stop and think, Okay, I guess 'go and pamper' means the same thing that 'continue shopping' means on every other shopping site is probably not going to make customers or the business happy. That's not to say that you can't break convention to some extent--a shoe site that had OMG I must have these now! instead of Buy might work, for example--but if you're going to differ from established practice (Continue Shopping/Buy Now), be sure that your alternative is as clear and functional as the standard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45927 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] Examples of inline validation
The sign-up form at Audible.com does this--it validates your choice of username inline, but input in other fields isn't validated until onSubmit. (Disclaimer: I work at Audible, though I wasn't involved in the design of the current version of the form.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45791 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] [PLUG] The Joy of Running (On)
Not to be too much of a grammar nerd, but your examples are not actually run-on sentences--they're just long ones. The examples you cite (or at least the ones in are well-formed, grammatical sentences. Run-ons are ungrammatical; they string two or more independent clauses together without conjunction or punctuation. An example of a run-on would be something like I missed the train I was really mad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45670 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] Where is the Sign In on Amazon.com?
I'm always signed in (at the most basic level of recognition) on Amazon, so I had to check to see what the experience looks like if you've signed out. There is an explicit sign-in link, though the linked part of the sentence mentions personalized recommendations rather than sign in. It's at top center rather than top right, which is a little unconventional, but it's still noticeable--and the way it's phrased (Sign in to get personalized recommendations) calls out the main benefit of signing in if you're just browsing: the recommendations. Otherwise, unless you're checking order status, it seems to me that there's no obvious benefit to signing in until you check out, so there's no particular need for a sign-in link. If you are checking something to do with an order, payment, refund, etc., clicking Your Account instead of Sign In seems natural enough. The sign-in area on the main account page is clearly set off from the rest of the page. In general, I like the fact that you aren't prompted to sign in until you need to. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=43262 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] Low Cost, Off Site, Remote Testing Options and Strategies
Have you looked at UserVue? It's another TechSmith product, like Morae: http://www.techsmith.com/uservue.asp I'm in a similar position, and so far, UserVue is looking like a good option in terms of features and ease of setup, although I really wish it weren't Windows-only. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42729 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 usability test moderator guide template
There are a few at http://www.usability.gov/templates/ that are good starting points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42210 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] Examples: 'Out of stock' messages on e-commerce sites
More important than the wording of the message, I think, is what options the site provides at the point of notification. Suggesting alternative products is good; letting users enter an e-mail address so they can be notified when the item is back in stock is even better. If that's not feasible, at least providing an estimate of how soon the item might be back in stock is also good practice. Amazon handles low stock and out of stock messages reasonably well. You'll often see Only 2 left (more coming soon) on a product detail page for a low-stock item there, and they do a good job of distinguishing between items that are out of stock but expected back, those that have been discontinued, and those of uncertain status--We don't know when or if this item will be available again. Whenever possible, IMO, out of stock notification should occur at the item level, before the user can add the item to the cart. Adding something to the cart implies that you'll be able to purchase it, and when you suddenly learn at checkout that something isn't available, it's very frustrating. An e-commerce site that I used to work for didn't display out of stock notifications until the cart page, and we received daily complaints about this. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42113 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] How long should a beta be?
I'm working on a plan for a possible beta release of a site, and I'd like to hear from others who have done the same. If you've worked on a site that had a beta phase prior to a redesign or other major change, how long did the beta last? Was there a predetermined rationale for keeping the beta going for that length of time, or was it more a matter of keeping the beta up until the new site was ready to go? My feeling is that there is no optimum length for a beta, and that it's too context-dependent to come up with even a rule of thumb. Obviously, it's possible to have a beta be too short-lived to tell you anything valuable. But I'm wondering if others think it's possible for betas to go on for too long--if the law of diminishing returns kicks in at some point. (And then there's the case of Gmail, with its apparently permanent beta--but I'm sure there's some perfectly good reason for leaving it that way.) All anecdotes, experiences, opinions, etc., greatly appreciated. Thanks. --Amy 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] Online Message Center Examples
I was just looking into this myself, and a lot of social media sites have internal messaging systems (that seems to be the most common term used to describe them). Jon Yesko pointed me to Flickr's, which is nice--simple and straightforward. Facebook has a decent one too. 2009/3/19 iamshimone shim...@shimone.info: Hi all - I'm looking for any resources, examples, literature, articles etc. around the idea of an online message center. eTrade and Wells Fargo (I'm sure others) use message centers in place of direct email communication. This is a very powerful security tool - all messages are posted in a central, secure area of their websites and an email such as you have a new message in your inbox is sent in place of the message itself. I tried some Google searches but I'm not even sure what to call this.. Thanks for the help! Shimone 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] Lightbox modal dialog boxes, your feeling about them?
My sense is that as long as it isn't overused, the lightbox dialog works well for providing essential information and/or interaction without taking a user out of their primary flow. There are some good examples in Designing Web Interfaces by Bill Scott and Theresa Neil, and I've seen additional examples in the wild recently. I think it's a familiar enough pattern that users understand it right away and know how to interact with it, though I haven't yet tested it myself. I'm designing a process at the moment that uses a lightbox dialog at a critical point in the sign-in/registration process. It's not ideal, but after experimenting with a bunch of different approaches, it's the one I'm most comfortable with. We'll find out whether or not users agree when we test it. 2009/3/11 Patrick Neeman p...@usabilitycounts.com: I'm working on a shopping cart, and at a couple of points we either have to: - Force someone to sign in for credit card security purposes, or... - Want to present options attached to a particular shopping cart item. The question is what do you think about using the lightbox dialog boxes for this? I really don't want to take people away from the shopping experience, and we're trying to guide the user more philosophically than give them more options so they don't drop. Comments? 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] Lightbox modal dialog boxes, your feeling about them?
Celeste, just to clarify, it's not ideal only in the sense that I'm leery of interrupting the user in the sign-in/sign-up process at all. But the information is necessary, so it has to be presented to users somehow, and the lightbox seems to be the best way to do it. 2009/3/11 Celeste Cefalu celeste.cef...@gmail.com: Amy I'm curious why you think it is not ideal, I don't disagree. I'm embarking on a registration project and weighing the options. I'm in favor of a modal box because like you say the user is not derailed from the task at hand. I'd like to hear the down sides (aside from technical hurdles.) I'm designing a process at the moment that uses a lightbox dialog at a critical point in the sign-in/registration process. It's not ideal, but after experimenting with a bunch of different approaches, it's the one I'm most comfortable with. We'll find out whether or not users agree when we test it. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=39865 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] Skittles Branding
I think the question of whether it's possible to get rid of a branded Website depends very much on the brand in question. Prior to the much-tweeted-about launch of the new Skittles site, there wasn't really a whole lot of reason for most people to go there; the new site is generating lots of buzz and is enjoying its 15 minutes of micro-fame, and there's a possibility that people will continue to check Skittles.com in the near future to see if it changes, or to see what interesting stuff might be forthcoming for the next iteration. But the lack of a branded Skittles site isn't going to have a major impact on either Skittles or its buying public, because, as Whitney Hess pointed out in her blog post about it (1), Skittles doesn't need a Website to enhance the product. So I'm guessing that over time, this technique will be perceived to have worked well for Skittles, and any impact on the brand is likely to be positive. The Modernista example is also successful, because it was kind of cool and slightly risky when they did it--good attributes to associate with an agency--and yet you can get to pretty much any part of the traditional site with a single click from the persistent menu, so functionality hasn't been lost. On the other hand, if you were going to, say, a car manufacturer's site to find the nearest dealership, would you want to be detoured to an overlay menu on top of a social networking site? Would that enhance your perception of the brand? Probably not--and that's not even a particularly good example, it's just the first one that popped into my head. What if it were your health insurance provider? And so on. My sense is that traditional branded sites aren't going away, but that we'll continue to see new ways of approaching brand interactions, well beyond the Skittles model. (1) http://whitneyhess.com/blog/2009/03/why-the-new-skittles-website-is-ridiculous-but-i-dont-actually-care/ 2009/3/5 tina725 tina...@gmail.com: Anyone beeing keeping track of skittles.com? First twitter, then facebook and now Wikipedia. Is it possible to really get rid of a branded website? Is that where the future of web design is headed? Interested to hear what people have to say. 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] Initial engagement: question
Even before that, I'd ask some basic questions to clarify the objectives for the UI (e.g. who is the audience, what tasks are users there to complete, how are they measuring the success of the UI, etc.) and determine why they think it needs fixing. As for what to be wary of, I've often had clients say we want our site to be more like (insert name of site for a totally different product/audience), without being able to say why. Similarly, they'll say it has to have a blog/widget/cool Web 2.0 thing without having any good reason that the site *has* to have any such features. Be prepared to help them think through their objectives and how they align with the users' goals. 2009/2/25 mark schraad mschr...@gmail.com: Break the requests into two parts, the evaluations and then the re-design (or fix as you stated it). Let them know the extent of the evaluation and recommendation effort up front. Then, when you report back, weight the importance and include a scope of effort for the various items. If they buy into this process, then you have at least half a chance of not only helping them, but coming away with a good product that you can be proud of. Mark On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 3:54 PM, oliver green oliver...@gmail.com wrote: Hi All, Frequently, various departments from my firm will ask me to fix their UI. They show me what they have implemented and what they can do to improve it. This is a new experience for me. What questions should I be asking in these initial engagement? what should I be wary of? Thanks, Oliver 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] A business case for switching Mac
There's already a sketchy stencil for Omnigraffle. http://www.graffletopia.com/stencils/414 I've also followed Michael Angeles's tips for making your own, and I'm pleased with the results so far. 2009/2/19 Alex Horstmann a.horstm...@gmail.com: I was very pleased to see that Konigi are working on a sketchy stencil - it was one of the reasons why I prefer Visio, I'll certainly be looking at Omnigraffle again once this is out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 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] A business case for switching Mac
Yeah, I can see how the sketchy stencil from Graffletopia wouldn't be for everybody. I've used it when I needed something quick and didn't have time to create my own, but it is a little limited. Having used both Visio and OmniGraffle extensively, I can't say that OG is exponentially better than Visio--Visio is a decent tool that does quite a lot. It's just that OmniGraffle does everything more elegantly (and has a lower learning curve than Visio). With the availability of virtualization tools (I prefer VMWare Fusion by many miles over Parallels), I don't see any reason not to have a Mac, and just run Windows apps, including Visio, when needed. 2009/2/19 Alex Horstmann a.horstm...@gmail.com: Hi Amy, Thanks! I did look at that, but I just didn't click with it. Sorry that that's not an objective reason - perhaps it's a little *too* sketchy! The exporting to a clickable PDF is a really big factor for Omnigraffles though. Cheers! Alex 2009/2/19 Amy Silvers ahack...@gmail.com There's already a sketchy stencil for Omnigraffle. http://www.graffletopia.com/stencils/414 I've also followed Michael Angeles's tips for making your own, and I'm pleased with the results so far. 2009/2/19 Alex Horstmann a.horstm...@gmail.com: I was very pleased to see that Konigi are working on a sketchy stencil - it was one of the reasons why I prefer Visio, I'll certainly be looking at Omnigraffle again once this is out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=38871 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 -- Alex Horstmann - http://blobfisk.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] Best spot for personalized messaging?
Hello all--Is anyone aware of research that looks at the physical placement of personalized marketing messaging? I'm looking at a mockup (for a design in which I was not involved) that has a large section of the top center of our e-commerce homepage devoted to personalized messages to the registered user. (The area is usually devoted to showcasing new items for sale; that content isn't being removed, it will just be pushed farther down the page.) The content of these messages will vary, but the one being proposed to start with is directed at users who are opted out of e-mails, telling them that they're missing a lot by not opting in and reminding them how to change their communication preferences. This strikes me as intrusive, and my gut feeling is that such a prominent position on the site should not be given over to something that's a step above a nag screen. We do have a good conversion rate from our e-mails, so from a marketing perspective, the message itself makes sense; I'm just not at all sure the placement makes sense. But that's purely a gut feeling on my part, and I would love to have some backup. Thanks in advance. 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] Any thoughts on promo codes in an ecommerce experience?
I think it's pretty standard to have promo code fields on the globally available checkout/cart pages (or elsewhere in the purchase path) for ecommerce sites, and the workaround alternatives that you suggest seem unnecessary to me. That said, it's probably wise to include the field for the promo code in a single spot (preferably in the checkout path rather than on the product detail page), because including it in multiple places may confuse customers and make them think they need to enter it multiple times, or that they can enter more than one code per purchase in order to get multiple discounts. As a frequent online shopper, if I'm visiting a site for the first time and I see a promo code field, I might do a quick Web search to see if I can find a coupon or discount code for that site, but I'm unlikely to be deterred from purchasing if I can't. I am a fan of sites that include text under the promo code field to say something like, Don't have a promo code? Click here to get one, which leads to a popup that offers a code with a small incentive for opting in for a newsletter, or something similar. That's a good way to increase the odds of the purchase being completed *and* adding email subscribers, though if the code is offered on the spot, it can also lead to lots of invalid emails ending up in the database. But there are ways around that, too. 2009/2/2 Adrian Chong chongadr...@gmail.com: I'm curious if anybody has some thoughts on the addition to promo codes to ecommerce pages of a site. Our client will have a lot of email and direct mail campaigns that lead users to input promo codes to get specific localized savings. We want to make it easy for these users to access and include the codes for savings. One thought is if we make the promo code entry global and overly pervasive, users without promo codes may feel left out and defer their purchase until they can find one? (not sure if this is even an issue). A couple of options we can take: 1) Include the ability to add promo codes on a hidden page associated to the DM or Email 2) Include the ability to add promo codes on all product pages next to a summary configurator 3) Include the ability to add promo codes only on a promo code page associated to a special pricing page 4) Include the ability to add promo codes only on the checkout experience I'm sure there are a few other options as well as combining some of the options but those are the first ones that come to mind. Any/All feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance! -- Adrian Chong www.adrianchong.com/blog 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] ID vs email address
Allowing but not requiring email address as username seems like a very good solution to me; it's unfortunately not an option in the project that I'm working on, but I did advocate for it initially before getting vetoed. I know I've seen examples of it in the wild, but I couldn't come up with many when I was making my case. Does anyone know of any large-scale sites that permit both user-created username and email address as usernames? 2009/2/2 Mat Atkinson mat.atkin...@proofhq.com: Email certainly seems to be an easy way to solve the memory issue. If you do go down the route of using email, then you could think about allowing users to create email aliases - all of which would work as a login ID. This would help solve the which email did I use problem, although would reduce security. Alternatively, if you go down the username route then allow users to use an email address as their username. This then makes it the user's choice whether to use email as a login ID. Mat Atkinson http://www.proofhq.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37879 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] ID vs email address
I appreciate this discussion, as I'm currently working on a variation of this issue: transitioning users from usernames to email addresses as their logins and identifiers on a site. It's being triggered by a change to a new platform, and unfortunately, it won't be an optional change, so I'm trying to find the best ways to mitigate the pain. My guess is that many users will actually welcome the shift rather than resenting it, because it seems to be increasingly common practice to use email address as login, but we've got a user base with a relatively low comfort level with technology and a history of resistance to change, so it's going to be a challenge. On the issue of email addresses changing, I wonder if this is becoming less of a problem as more and more people use Gmail. I know I no longer use the email address provided by my ISP for almost anything, preferring to use my Gmail addresses for most of my online presence, in part for the exact reason that it doesn't change even if I move, switch ISPs, etc. And though I'm not really a typical user, my sense is that a lot of ordinary users are doing this too. I have no statistical evidence to back up that assumption, though, just anecdotal experience. 2009/1/30 USABILITY MEDIC me...@usabilitymedic.com: I have not done any work or research in this area but based on personal experience, I agree with Yohan for precisely the same three reasons. I'll also add the following for your consideration: Despite being someone who has multiple email addresses, I would still have an easier time figuring out which one of them to use versus trying to remember which user ID to use (from the multitude of variations that I have had to craft over the years based on the different requirements each website has imposed). As for email addresses changing...yep it's a drawback Am currently noodling ideas for the best way to manage this on my end. Didn't think about what sites could do to help. First thing that comes to mind is something I've seen a few times...providing for an alternate email address as backup. Still has similar issues but it's a start. Sent from my iPhon On Jan 29, 2009, at 1:00 AM, Yohan Creemers yo...@ylab.nl wrote: The email address as user id is becoming the preferred way in my opinion. Pros: an email address is unique; an email address is easy to remember; in many cases the system requires the email address also for sending messages. Cons: still not everyone has an email address; an email address may change over time. Did you consider OpenID? http://openid.net/ - Yohan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=37879 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] ID vs email address
Interesting. So the disposable email address also appears less likely to be memorable. 2009/2/1 Jared Spool jsp...@uie.com: On Feb 1, 2009, at 9:41 AM, Amy Silvers wrote: On the issue of email addresses changing, I wonder if this is becoming less of a problem as more and more people use Gmail. In our research, we've seen free email, such as Gmail and Yahoo! mail increase the problem for many people. They end up now with one or more free email accounts, an ISP account (which may have changed domains due to mergers and acquisitions, such as roadrunner.com - ATTbi.com - ATT.com), and work email accounts. The big problem isn't for frequently used sites. Those most users can usually remember since last use. It's for sites they use infrequently, such as an e-commerce site they only use around the holidays. The problem become remember which email address you signed up under. That's where we see a lot of abandonment issues. That's my $0.02. Jared Jared M. Spool User Interface Engineering 510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845 e: jsp...@uie.com p: +1 978 327 5561 http://uie.com Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks Twitter: jmspool UIE Web App Summit, 4/19-4/22: http://webappsummit.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] ThoughtPile.org
This was mostly my reaction too. The controls were not particularly intuitive, and there was no connection between individuals' contributions nor any information about who the contributors were and why I should be interested in their thoughts. The whole thing seemed gimmicky, especially when I came across plugs for Herman Miller products. It might work better with a topic that lends itself less to platitudinous responses, but beyond that, there isn't a lot of incentive to keep exploring or to go back to the site. 2008/12/9 Michael Andrews [EMAIL PROTECTED] I find this silly. What am I supposed to click on? It is a treasure hunt, which assumes I am interested in other people's spewing of random thoughts to begin with -- which I am not. Treasure hunts only work when there's a treasure to find. I just see a bunch of orange circles with innane writing in them. Not very interesting, even though I like orange. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36319 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] Public Transportation Experiences
I use New Jersey Transit (http://www.njtransit.com) from time to time, and I can't say that their Web experience is a good one, but it has a couple of features that are reasonably well done. One, they have a station information popup that tells you the street address, parking and bike rack availability, and ticketing options (vending machines and/or humans) at the train station you've selected. And two, their trip planner service, though somewhat clunky, has some user-selected options that are nice, such as how far you're willing to walk and whether you'd rather have fewer transfers or less walking. 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] Social sharing icons
Hello all, I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts (or even better, research) about the use of those little social bookmarking/sharing icons that are now so ubiquitous. Are people using them? Do *you* use them? Are they appropriate for all types of sites? They seem best suited to news sites and blogs, IMO, but I've started to see them on e-commerce sites too, which I guess makes a certain amount of sense. Also, how many is too many? I've seen sites where the icon set takes up two or even three lines, which seems a little bit ridiculous to me. And though I use a few social bookmarking tools myself, I have never used one of the icons on a blog post or news story to share something. I'm not a user of Digg or StumbleUpon, etc., though, so my own perspective may not be particularly relevant. All opinions and feedback appreciated. Thanks, Amy Silvers 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
