Re: [IxDA Discuss] UCD vs Design Again? Really?!? [was: We don't blah blah blah]
Hi Ambrose, Thanks for posting. My experience is that all three roles you mention here (software developers, designers and UX professionals) don't bother pointing out the deficiencies of the other's approach... they just focus on their roles in whatever project process is required to do the work. The culture dictates how closely they work together, and their interaction preferences determine how they communicate. Yours, Robert On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 10:03 PM, J. Ambrose Little ambr...@aspalliance.com wrote: Jared, Andrei, Charlie, et al, I'm writing as someone working full time in the software industry for over 10 years and a hobbyist/wannabe for most of my life. I came up through the ranks with no formal computer, science, or design education. The only degree I hold is in history and humanities. I was a developer and architect for most of my career. So why the heck am I presuming to speak up amidst you juggernauts of usability and design? Because I'm someone who really cares about making great software and making the software industry in general better. Look, I'm here because it seems pretty obvious to me that the best way to make software better is through a focus on people *and* good design. The last 8 years of my career have been a steady enlightenment in that direction that all started with a rather silly incident involving some terribly amateurish visual design. (I guess my humanities background predisposes me, too.) Anyways, the point is that from my perspective (i.e., not having much vested interest in UCD, Usability, HCI, Design, IA, and so on), you're setting up an unnecessary (and damaging) dichotomy. It's not understanding people OR designing. It's both. Even software devs (those arch nemeses!) have figured out that involving the actual people who will use their software in the design process helps them to make more successful software. They also have figured out that being able to iterate and try different things helps them come to better solutions. These two principles underly what is broadly known as Agile. And if you want an amorphous term, man, Agile beats UCD any day! The way I see it, the people advocating UCD/UX and the people advocating Agile both see the light--they see the way to make this stuff better. They're coming at it from different directions but essentially marching to the same drum. In the last few years they've been sidling up to each other and saying, hey, we can learn from and work with each other and achieve our common goals. Now you got folks coming alongside, saying, no, you silly people don't get it, it's Design! Well, of course it's design! It's never not been design. You say, no Dee-sign, with a BIG D. We say, okay, what the heck do you mean by that? And you (IMO) have slowly been articulating it in ever clearer ways. Now, I have gone from more skeptical to almost a believer in Dee-sign, but still, I don't see it as some magic or something antithetical to Agile or UX. I see it as complimentary. Because all along we've known we gotta do good design--that's what the frak we've been trying to do. So you have a different background and discipline, and maybe it's better. Yeah, I think so. So again, from my perspective, you have the UX folks coming in and helping the somewhat floundering software developers do better in understanding people and you have the Design folks coming in and helping the somewhat floundering software developers do better in design. Awesome! More, smart, educated, passionate, and talented people marching together. Now what heck are we arguing about?? -a 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] We don\'t make consumer products, hence no need for a User Centered Design development process.
Hi Ali, Do you believe in a user-centered design process as a benefit to creating better web interfaces? It doesn't sound like there's much room for discussion about the topic at your current company. Who else shares your view amongst your peers, or even in different departments? - Robert On Mon, Aug 24, 2009 at 1:59 AM, Ali Naqvi a...@amroha.dk wrote: Time and time again I am being told that a user centered design development process isn't needed in our company since we do not make consumer products. Yet we make web interfaces for them to use, we create billions of features for them to use etc. A manager said last week: We are a technology driven corporation and that is why we are so successful. 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] Shaun Inman's Fever
Hi all, Not to offend anyone with a vested interest or solid backing of the product, but at first glance, I thought it wasn't real. I think it was the design. The placement of the 'Only $30' next to the explanation paragraph, and the rest of the design scattershotted across the page... it just didn't seem right. The other thought I had was.. what makes this better than Reddit? It ay be more targeted to specific feeds you subscribe to and aggregate the best ones, but for me personally, I can get similiar quality of content for free. I'd like to see how the product evolves. - Robert On Mon, Jun 22, 2009 at 10:30 AM, dave malouf dave@gmail.com wrote: uh? I had an easier time w/ Wordpress b/c well I have a 1-click install through my provider. Putting that aside for a moment, your definition of web app is probably different from mine. But I have been on a host of SaaS product designs b4 and well SaaS is my model of Web App (which I know this isn't), but to arbitrarily decide to not to compare is 1 well silly, and 2 well, inaccurrate, b/c most Web Apps of the type you are comparing to (Wordpress, MT, Drupal, etc.) are application platforms and not just mere applications which for the same functionality can EASILY be done as SaaS. But yes, there were moments where I was left hanging, not exactly, or clearly understanding what i was supposed to do next. Your description of the install process is actually disingenuous in that you are missing a lot of steps in the mental model and only looking at the physical clicks. Knowing what to click, what will happen and when it will happen are NOT easily understood or anticipated. so you can dismiss my well 15 years of SaaS design, OR you might want to take it for what its worth. A very use centric (non-developer) response to this very deverloper targetted application process. Again, the OOB experience is NOT something that I would laud. So yes, I expect better than WP or MT or Drupal if I'm getting significantly less functionality. -- dave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=42925 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
[IxDA Discuss] [EVENT] - UPA-PS - UW LUTE Lab Tours - Thursday, Jan 29, 2009 - Starting 5pm PST
The Puget Sound Chapter of the Usability Professionals Association will be hosting usability lab tours at the University of Washington's Laboratory for Usability Testing and Evaluation (LUTE) on Thursday, January 29th, starting at 5pm PST. (http://uwtc.washington.edu/navresearch/lute.) LUTE was founded in 1990 as a self-supporting research facility within the Department of Technical Communication at the University of Washington. LUTE supports research projects led by UW faculty and students, and provides training facilities for graduate and undergraduate students who are studying usability engineering and user interface design. LUTE is committed to: - Building the scientific infrastructure for the field of usability engineering. - Supporting usability and user-centered design education at the University of Washington and in the Seattle-Metro area. - Working with corporate partners to advance usability and user-centered design and evaluation methods. There are 20 initial slots available. Depending on the interest level, we can accommodate a larger audience with an additional evening tour. Attendance is limited. If you're interested in attending, or have any questions, please contact Robert Skrobe by e-mailing rskr...@gmail.com. Learn more about the LUTE Labs: - *2007 ACM SIGDOC Diana Award*: http://www.sigdoc.org/awards/diana.html LUTE won ...for their long-term contribution to the field of communication design. - *About LUTE*: http://www.uwtc.washington.edu/navresearch/lute/about_lute LUTE's mission, history, hardware software, and floor plan - *People in LUTE:* http://www.uwtc.washington.edu/navresearch/lute/lutepeople - *LUTE Research Publications: * http://www.uwtc.washington.edu/navresearch/lute/lute_publications - *Using LUTE*: http://www.uwtc.washington.edu/navresearch/lute/using_lute - *DUB:* http://dub.washington.edu/ UW's alliance of faculty and students exploring Human-Computer Interaction and Design 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] [EVENT] Big Fish Games Interviewing/Improvisation Workshop: Tue, Oct 21, 6:30-9pm
Have you ever wanted to trade stories dealing with research challenges (with difficult participants, team members, emergencies) and share how you shimmy out of these situations? Want to share interviewing and improvisation skills with new and experienced researchers? Join Julie Ratner, Ph.D. Big Fish Games' Research Manager, in their new Seattle offices (in lower Queen Anne) for a casual evening of exchanging bloopers and practicing different techniques in small groups on Tuesday, October 21 from 6:30 pm-9pm. Light snacks will be provided, and a recruiting table will be provided for networking and advertising open positions at Big Fish Games. Attendees can also sign up for a guided tour of the newly built Big Fish Games research labs. This event is free to registered UPA (Usability Professional Association) members. Non-members will be charged $5 to attend. If you'd like to attend, RSVP by Oct 16th by emailing Robert Skrobe via [EMAIL PROTECTED]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UPA_PugetSound/post?postID=JEdO6YgmFTqNRA-8SDG2KvKalpidrm08HuTvJjbx7_mQ4WN_HMT-hnhTv4Jns784kcTxQxEjkkHXwZU If you'd like to volunteer to demonstrate interview techniques, email Julie Ratner at [EMAIL PROTECTED]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UPA_PugetSound/post?postID=9VhTwM-k9edf4CKpYD3HSeaaWUaydTm3KzfWygZZVeXWTe0olVfiec61HI9sq69bQHpUGwvZSpy3xl5qE52yGVJ3BnE Schedule of Events: 6:30-7:00 Networking 7:00-8:30 Demo of challenging situations and Interview Techniques and Practicing Improvisation 8:30 – 9 BFG Lab Tour (optional – limited to groups of 5) Address: Big Fish Games 333 Elliott Ave. W. Suite 200 (2nd floor) Seattle, WA 98119 Main phone line: 206.213.5753 About Big Fish Games: Big Fish Games is a global leader and innovator in the online games industry, producing and delivering the world's best games and game experiences. Big Fish Games Studios develops and publishes the industry's leading brands for computers, mobile devices and consoles. Its portfolio of hit games includes Mystery Case Files(R), Hidden ExpeditionTM and AzadaTM. Big Fish Games' portal at www.bigfishgames.com distributes more games worldwide than any other online site and offers visitors a rapidly expanding selection of content by launching A New Game Every Day! TM About the host: Julie Ratner Ph.D., Research Manager (aka Funologist) has been leading usability research in software, e-commerce, mobile, and gaming industries since 1993. Her priority at Big Fish Games is to build a team to deliver market and usability research findings on casual gamers and social community gamers; her recent research focus has been MMO personas and health benefits of gaming. She is a 'closet' gamer (Mystery Case Files Ravenhearst and Fairway Solitaire) and her prior professions were as foreign language interpreter, museum curator, and bagel chip maker. 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] why the hate-on User-centered Design? (was Re: practice vs. discipline roles vs. people
Jared wrote: I think the problem is that UCD means whatever people want it to mean. And that's often, You're not doing things the way I think they should be done, so you're not doing UCD. Personally, my argument is that we've never been able to define it with any rigor and, therefore, it quickly becomes useless when we try to make sure we're all on the same page. It's not so much *hate* for me as a desire to find a vocabulary that means the same thing to everyone. Robert writes: I think user-centered design is the measurement of subjective opinion at its core. Opinions, whether from the designer, user, or business stakeholder, color the use and application of literally all physical and web design techniques. The strength of one groups' influence over another will differ from place to place, but UCD is particular in its ability to analyze this for tactical and strategic use. It's a powerful tool for the practitioner who knows how to use it effectively. If it can ultimately inform stakeholders when making important business decisions, and influence design direction with a unique facet of customer insight. In my experience, it falls out of favor when it lacks practical application to process, or becomes a political liability. It becomes completely irrelevant if timelines are short, or business goals require expediency in the face of calculated risk. Trying to find a shared vocabulary would be admirable. Finding cases of UCD done well, or when combined with other design techniques, would be even better. - Robert On Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 11:04 AM, Dmitry Nekrasovski [EMAIL PROTECTED]wrote: Barbara, that was a great post! (Especially the first and penultimate paragraphs.) It seems to me that every term used to describe work done in our field ascends, and then eventually descends, the Gartner hype curve. This process ends with gurus and guru wannabes railing against that term. In the meantime, practitioners shrug and adopt it if helps them get their jobs done more effectively. Dmitry On Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 11:22 AM, Barbara Ballard [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I've come to two general conclusions: 1. I'm never quite doing what the current best practice/fad/terminology says 2. Whatever terminology I choose will become outmoded. I remember back in '95 or so, Donald Norman came to a local chapter of HFES, with folks from the various parts of that field. Including design. And he asserted to our faces that what we were doing was crap, that emotion was critical. This lovely assertion that all HF folks are in the evaluative side of things is just funny. And the assumption that we narrow the entire range of human factors down to cognitive factors is insulting. This obviously stuck in my mind. And now that he is asserting that the lessons you learn in HF from the engineering side (Industrial Engineering) are critical to management of design ... I just can't take the whole thing seriously. I have training in industrial design, engineering, manufacturing, cognition, vision, human performance, social psychology, emotional psychology, artificial intelligence, programming, and business. I might not have training in fundamentals of typography and color, but I can evaluate responses to these things and refine designs. And I'm tired of people assuming that because I do one of these things, I fit in some stereotype. And this is what I think the backlash against usability, usability engineering, and user centered design is. And I look ahead to the backlash against interaction design. And other backlashes. I plan to roll my eyes, figure out what the current preferred methodology is, see what I am already doing of it, see what I can learn from it, and see if I want to adopt it as a label. I might, I might not. I think I have graduated to codgerhood. Barbara Ballard [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1-785-838-3003 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 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 ..
[IxDA Discuss] [EVENT] - (Seattle) UPA Puget Sound Chapter Formation Event w/guest speaker Arnie Lund, 8/4/08, Google in Fremont
The UPA Chapter of Puget Sound will be holding it's official chapter formation event on Monday, August 4th. To celebrate, we've invited Microsoft's Arnie Lund to speak on his experiences in transforming a development culture towards user-centered practices. WHAT: UPA Puget Sound Chapter Formation Event w/Microsoft's Arnie Lund WHEN: Monday, August 4th, 2008 6-7pm – Chapter Formation Event (UPA Members Only) 7-9pm – Guest Speaker Arnie Lund WHERE: The Google offices in downtown Fremont (501 N 34th St, Seattle, WA). REGISTRATION: http://upapugetsound.eventbrite.com/ MORE INFORMATION: Arnie Lund is currently Director of User Experience and UX Community Lead for Microsoft IT. He has spent more than 20 years working in the area of human factors, managing user research and design for a variety of emerging technologies. The Usability Professionals Association (http://www.upassoc.org/) is in the process of forming a local chapter in the greater Puget Sound area. The UPA is a international, non-profit association (501(c)(6)), supporting professionals from a broad family of disciplines which structure and design the user experience in product development. Hope to see you there! Yours, Robert Skrobe UPA Puget Sound --- On Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UPA_Seattle/ On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27781592999 On Twitter: (Coming soon!) 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] [EVENT] - UPA Puget Sound Chapter Formation Event w/guest speaker Arnie Lund, 8/4/08, Google in Fremont
The UPA Chapter of Puget Sound will be holding it's official chapter formation event on Monday, August 4th. To celebrate, we've invited Microsoft's Arnie Lund to speak on his experiences in transforming a development culture towards user-centered practices. WHAT: UPA Puget Sound Chapter Formation Event w/Microsoft's Arnie Lund WHEN: Monday, August 4th, 2008 6-7pm – Chapter Formation Event (UPA Members Only) 7-9pm – Guest Speaker Arnie Lund WHERE: The Google offices in downtown Fremont (501 N 34th St, Seattle, WA). REGISTRATION: http://upapugetsound.eventbrite.com/ MORE INFORMATION: Arnie Lund is currently Director of User Experience and UX Community Lead for Microsoft IT. He has spent more than 20 years working in the area of human factors, managing user research and design for a variety of emerging technologies. The Usability Professionals Association (http://www.upassoc.org/) is in the process of forming a local chapter in the greater Puget Sound area. The UPA is a international, non-profit association (501(c)(6)), supporting professionals from a broad family of disciplines which structure and design the user experience in product development. Hope to see you there! Yours, Robert Skrobe UPA Puget Sound --- On Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UPA_Seattle/ On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=27781592999 On Twitter: (Coming soon!) 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] Where are all the designers?
Hi Andrei, On Wed, Feb 20, 2008 at 11:06 AM, Andrei Herasimchuk [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just a quick question: Where are all the interface and software designers in Silicon Valley? Has everyone just packed up and left or what? I see more job listings, postings and calls for resumes and yet there seem to be even fewer people to fill the jobs than ever before. For what it's worth, the Northwest (Seattle area) is desperate for information architects, yet most of qualified ones are already employed, are students learning the discipline, or too senior for the positions in question. In terms of interaction/interface designers, there's a big demand for them here with mobile and casual gaming. A friend of mine who's an interaction designer was recently asking me if I knew anyone looking for work. Yours, Robert Principal IA, IGN.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
