[IxDA Discuss] Interactive Excel prototyping
I created a paper prototype that was fun testing on local users but when it got to testing remote users I thought perhaps I'd try to create an online prototype. I started with PowerPoint but found the macros deficient and a couple of things I wanted to do I couldn't. I then ordered Effective Prototyping with Excel by Bergen et al, expecting that their prototypes would involve some basic coding but found they didn't. A programming colleague showed me a couple of very basic code statements in Excel and I realised that with the Control Toolbox widgets, .Visible = True and .Visible = False statements, a couple of If statements, a little googling and a little recording of macros to figure out some code, I could create a pretty workable prototype, albeit only able to handle very specific use cases. I would appreciate responses on: * the value of this type of prototype * whether it is possible to have more control over formatting of the Control Toolbox widgets, or, alternatively substitute the Forms toolbar widgets which are more formattable * other bits of code that non-coders can add to the repertoire * ways of making the prototype more like a real prototype, that is, not totally use case dependent, without going into real coding territory * any other suggestions http://excelprototyping.weebly.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] Soliciting opinions on voice recognition software for general computer interfaces
If this is helpful, Vista comprises voice recognition which seems to be not as good as Dragon but it's free. http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/08/dragon-naturallyspeaking-9-vs-windows.html . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=36596 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 do people use applications differently from expected?
I seem to remember that in an earlier post Robert mentioned that users will not always utililse an application as expected, for example, using a wiki as a project management tool. When our company got a Confluence wiki I initially considered creating a space for a group of users but decided against it because there was no navigation menu. I later discovered there was a left navigation menu plug-in and saw other sites using the left nav with a Search above it. The position of the Search seemed so much friendlier than the remote default top right position so I had the space created with the left nav and friendlier Search. Shortly afterwards I discovered that the faster operators were using the Search to navigate the space and not bothering with the left nav. Indeed, I used the Search myself the same way - in their space though I generally used the left nav in my own space. Ironically, although it was the lack of a left nav that stopped me creating the space in the first place, I seriously thought of the possibility of removing it as perhaps a way to stop users wasting time drilling down looking for things when they could find it much more quickly with the Search. However, I feel sure users wouldn't have used the remote Search for navigation if the more friendly-placed Search wasn't there - partly because of its position and partly because its default is to search the whole wiki rather than the wiki space which makes it more cumbersome. What other ways have you experienced people using applications differently from expected? Regards, Petra 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] Is UCD Really Broken?
Almost everything I've read in UI design until very recently was about user-centered design. It seemed to make a lot of sense but then when I read that there was a book Designing the Obvious, by Robert Hoekman, and his rather disparaging posts about user-centered design that also seemed to make sense. One thing I feel very strongly is that the user is not other, that I am such rearing-to-go user myself and I identify with other users. I mean, we are all users and yet some of us are not able to put ourselves in the shoes of other people using their systems when really in a lot of cases it can be pretty straightforward to do so. I guess it's like we all have emotions and yet some of us (well, not me) are much better at empathising with other people's emotions. As we all do, I use a lot and I find so much of bad user design seems to be just mind-boggling thoughtlessness. To give a couple of examples: Where I work, a scrollable text box that was known to often contain a lot of text and was constantly scrolled by the users was reduced to three lines because of space constraints - in fact it would've been very easy to rearrange things on the interface to maintain the original size of the text box. That text box deeply offended me and I often thought about it. I just scratched my head and thought How could you possibly do that? It's a total pain. People say that users aren't considered - sometimes I wonder if some people just like to torture them. I have just spent two weeks at the Sydney Film Festival. On the website they said that in response to feedback they had made it possible this year for attenders to redeem tickets for voucher packages online. In past years, you could buy single tickets online but for voucher packages you had to submit each voucher at the venue in exchange for a ticket. Well, d'uh. They surely didn't need feedback to know that a significant customer body will, of course, want to be able to redeem vouchers online rather than wait in long queues and panic about missing the beginning of their film. I bought a 50 voucher package and was delighted with this news - until I went to redeem my first voucher. You seriously would not believe how many buttons I had to press to get a single ticket (at least 15) and repeat exactly the same process for the following 49. I even had to put in my name, address and phone number for every single ticket. They said something on the website about the process not being as seamless as they'd hoped. It was RSI-inducing but I plowed on because once I'd started on the online path it was actually a much slower process to redeem vouchers at the venue. I did thoroughly enjoy the festival but I would've enjoyed that little bit more without all the button pressing. Regards, Petra Liverani 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] What do you do best?
Yes, I think I point out the obvious, too. Sometimes something seems so staggeringly obvious you can't understand why no one else has thought of it. (And I kvetch.) An example of the obvious: a couple of days ago I was shown a form for traffic operators to enter messages such as INCIDENT AHEAD for the electronic signs on the side of the road. The form contained a single frame with a radio button to choose Alternate for a two-frame message and a forward button to click for the second frame. The form easily allowed side-by-side display of two frames so I suggested that it do that. This eliminated the need for Alternate and forward buttons (even with frames displayed on two screens only one button should be required) and also allowed operators to view the complete message. Apart from other things that might trigger this idea of side-by-side display, the lines of the frame far exceeded the length required to display the number of characters allowed. There had been about four people working on the form and no one had thought of it, even someone who was very exposed to side-by-side frame display in another system. It was shown to me two days before development was to start and the others were very surprised that I had something to contribute because they felt satisfied it was such a big improvement on the previous version and thought they'd covered all possible angles whereas to me a two-frame display was a no-brainer. Regards, Petra Liverani -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Robert Hoekman Jr Sent: Wednesday, 28 May 2008 7:04 AM To: Bryan J Busch Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] What do you do best? Ask the questions that nobody else is asking (granted, sometimes that's because the answer is obvious, but it doesn't hurt to ask). Funny-another thing I do best is ... point out the obvious. I feel like it's half my job. (Of course, many things are not obvious unless you're a designer thinking like a user, so you have to keep pointing them out.) -r- 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
