Happy New Year 2006
Usability Quote of the Day
November 21, 2008
In the information age, as computers invade our lives and more and more products contain a chip of silicon, we find that what lies between us humans and our devices is cognitive friction, which is something new and something that we are ill-prepared to deal with. Our engineering skills are highly refined, but when we apply them to a cognitive friction problem, they fail to solve it. -- Alan Cooper, The Inmates are Running the Asylum, p. 92. (via interaction-design.org)
In the information age, as computers invade our lives and more and more products contain a chip of silicon, we find that what lies between us humans and our devices is cognitive friction, which is something new and something that we are ill-prepared to deal with. Our engineering skills are highly refined, but when we apply them to a cognitive friction problem, they fail to solve it. -- Alan Cooper, The Inmates are Running the Asylum, p. 92. (via interaction-design.org)
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Friday, December 30, 2005
A TV where you plug into the front
Making TV cable management usabile ...
"Since getting behind your TV to plug and unplug stuff can be a royal pain in the ass, all the cables travel through a tunnel and plug into the front of HP’s latest rear projection TV (oh, and Crutchfield, why are Smiling-Help-Man’s face and the Car Editor’s photo bigger than the actual product shot!?). And the area lights up so you can see what you’re doing. And the whole thing’s hidden by a door. Pretty snazzy. And it should be if you’re gonna drop $5k on a TV." continued ... (Via Signal vs. Noise)
"Since getting behind your TV to plug and unplug stuff can be a royal pain in the ass, all the cables travel through a tunnel and plug into the front of HP’s latest rear projection TV (oh, and Crutchfield, why are Smiling-Help-Man’s face and the Car Editor’s photo bigger than the actual product shot!?). And the area lights up so you can see what you’re doing. And the whole thing’s hidden by a door. Pretty snazzy. And it should be if you’re gonna drop $5k on a TV." continued ... (Via Signal vs. Noise)
Making TV cables accessible.
The interface as a spec: including stories inline
Adding information to an interface ...
"Our very first Getting Real post was about saying no to the functional specifications document. We suggest building the interface first and using the actual screens as the functional spec. Read the post linked above to find out why.
There are times, however, when the interface doesn’t provide all the information required for the programmer to hook it up. Designers should always present the programmer with the multiple states of an interface element so the programmer understands what to display when this or that happens. But sometimes designing the static states takes more time, and doesn’t quite represent reality, as well as a brief note about how the functionality works. The key is to make this note in context — right next to the interface element its describing. The combination of real visuals and a brief contextual note shrink the chances of misunderstanding to near zero.
For example, we have tag functionality in the Sunrise app we’re developing. So, in order to fully explain the “entering a tag” functionality, we mocked up the basic UI and then included a story underneath the UI elements." continued ... (Via Signal vs. Noise)
"Our very first Getting Real post was about saying no to the functional specifications document. We suggest building the interface first and using the actual screens as the functional spec. Read the post linked above to find out why.
There are times, however, when the interface doesn’t provide all the information required for the programmer to hook it up. Designers should always present the programmer with the multiple states of an interface element so the programmer understands what to display when this or that happens. But sometimes designing the static states takes more time, and doesn’t quite represent reality, as well as a brief note about how the functionality works. The key is to make this note in context — right next to the interface element its describing. The combination of real visuals and a brief contextual note shrink the chances of misunderstanding to near zero.
For example, we have tag functionality in the Sunrise app we’re developing. So, in order to fully explain the “entering a tag” functionality, we mocked up the basic UI and then included a story underneath the UI elements." continued ... (Via Signal vs. Noise)
Tag Interface.
How To Write an Effective Manual
A good manual is part of product usability ...
"Erin Massey of the Chicago Tribune newspaper (registration required) has written a nice article on the importance of product manuals. Although she interviewed me and included several quotations, she missed the most important lessons of all. So let me provide them here.
Is a manual important? Yes, but even more important is a well-designed product, one so well conceived and constructed that either the manual is not needed at all, or if it is, where the manual can be short, simple, and easy to understand and then to remember. How is this accomplished? By following some simple rules.
Hire excellent technical writers. The technical writing profession is an essential component of any design, just as important as designers, interaction and usability specialists, and engineers." continued ... (Via jnd.org)
"Erin Massey of the Chicago Tribune newspaper (registration required) has written a nice article on the importance of product manuals. Although she interviewed me and included several quotations, she missed the most important lessons of all. So let me provide them here.
Is a manual important? Yes, but even more important is a well-designed product, one so well conceived and constructed that either the manual is not needed at all, or if it is, where the manual can be short, simple, and easy to understand and then to remember. How is this accomplished? By following some simple rules.
Hire excellent technical writers. The technical writing profession is an essential component of any design, just as important as designers, interaction and usability specialists, and engineers." continued ... (Via jnd.org)
Not a short manual.
Web fonts and typography
Website usability can be enhanced with fonts ...
"Up until a few years ago, choosing one of the two or three available typefaces, specifying a colour, and setting a font size was all you could do to affect the typography of a website. While web typography is still very limited when compared to that of print, the CSS support in modern browsers now allows web designers to actually think about typography.
Knowing how type on the web works, and more specifically how type on a computer screen works, will help you understand how it is different from print typography. And that will help you make better typographical design choices. I won’t go into further details, and instead point you to Andy Hume’s comprehensive SitePoint article on the subject: The Anatomy of Web Fonts.
The article explains the technology used to display type on computer screens, goes through the basic principles of web typography, including comparing some common web fonts, takes a look at how you can work around the current limitations, and hints at what may be available in the future. A great read." continued ... (Via 456 Berea Street)
"Up until a few years ago, choosing one of the two or three available typefaces, specifying a colour, and setting a font size was all you could do to affect the typography of a website. While web typography is still very limited when compared to that of print, the CSS support in modern browsers now allows web designers to actually think about typography.
Knowing how type on the web works, and more specifically how type on a computer screen works, will help you understand how it is different from print typography. And that will help you make better typographical design choices. I won’t go into further details, and instead point you to Andy Hume’s comprehensive SitePoint article on the subject: The Anatomy of Web Fonts.
The article explains the technology used to display type on computer screens, goes through the basic principles of web typography, including comparing some common web fonts, takes a look at how you can work around the current limitations, and hints at what may be available in the future. A great read." continued ... (Via 456 Berea Street)
Anatomy of web fonts.
GIS technology and the end-user experience
Usability is needed for GIS applications ...
"GIS is a technology, not a business process. As a result, taking GIS into the field by itself creates a number of potential challenges. Applications can be too slow, with learning curves that are too steep for rapid acceptance among end-users.
To ensure a successful transition, utilities will likely need to implement GIS with integrated field design. When considering your options, it is important to focus first on the end-user — not the solution itself.
New tools for field users should be easy to operate — preferably easier than accepted methods. The ideal field design solution incorporates all the information and functions needed to complete the job — such as work orders, specifications, GPS data, design tools, and maps — in an intuitive interface." continued ... (Via Putting people first)
"GIS is a technology, not a business process. As a result, taking GIS into the field by itself creates a number of potential challenges. Applications can be too slow, with learning curves that are too steep for rapid acceptance among end-users.
To ensure a successful transition, utilities will likely need to implement GIS with integrated field design. When considering your options, it is important to focus first on the end-user — not the solution itself.
New tools for field users should be easy to operate — preferably easier than accepted methods. The ideal field design solution incorporates all the information and functions needed to complete the job — such as work orders, specifications, GPS data, design tools, and maps — in an intuitive interface." continued ... (Via Putting people first)
GIS End-User.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Skype, Remember The Milk, Interface Design That Makes You Smile
Good interface design interacting with the user ...
My favorite part of Skype’s IM tool is the smiley button. Its placement in the border between the chat pane and the compose box always makes it look like the person you’re talking to just smiled at you. That’s nice.
Makes me smile back. Every time I glance at it. Whether or not there’s a smiley in the chat pane - I’m smiling, and I think that makes for a happier exchange. In the same way people can hear if you’re smiling on the phone.
This morning I signed up to check out Remember the Milk. Their sign-up process has persistent messaging for form field validation like email, password, username, etc. Though the powers of AJAX, it updates as you type. That real-time response made the annoyance of another login/pass form nearly a joy." continued ... (Via MNteractive)
My favorite part of Skype’s IM tool is the smiley button. Its placement in the border between the chat pane and the compose box always makes it look like the person you’re talking to just smiled at you. That’s nice.
Makes me smile back. Every time I glance at it. Whether or not there’s a smiley in the chat pane - I’m smiling, and I think that makes for a happier exchange. In the same way people can hear if you’re smiling on the phone.
This morning I signed up to check out Remember the Milk. Their sign-up process has persistent messaging for form field validation like email, password, username, etc. Though the powers of AJAX, it updates as you type. That real-time response made the annoyance of another login/pass form nearly a joy." continued ... (Via MNteractive)
Signup Feedback.
Delicious Lesson and Social Network Ecosystems
Getting value from the interaction ...
"Joshua Porter brings up a wonderful point he is calling the "Delicious Lesson". The Del.icio.us Lesson is incredibly important, as it is one thing that many tools and implementations of the social web do not get. The person must get value for their interaction in the service or it will fade.
I see so much focus on the technology, the interaction components, the network effect, etc. But, the driver for these services that are successful is that they have a direct primary value for the person choosing to use them.
A Little Effort for Greater Personal Payback - Jeff Hawkings (the inventor of the Palm device and pen-based writing language (Graffiti) Palm used) talks about the most important point for people to adopt and learn Graffiti was it gave the person value. Jeff points out that learning Graffiti took a little bit of time, but people could see value of learning Graffiti as it made for a quicker input of information. There was personal value that did not take a lot of initial effort to learn, which returned a much greater value." continued ... (Via Off the Top)
"Joshua Porter brings up a wonderful point he is calling the "Delicious Lesson". The Del.icio.us Lesson is incredibly important, as it is one thing that many tools and implementations of the social web do not get. The person must get value for their interaction in the service or it will fade.
I see so much focus on the technology, the interaction components, the network effect, etc. But, the driver for these services that are successful is that they have a direct primary value for the person choosing to use them.
A Little Effort for Greater Personal Payback - Jeff Hawkings (the inventor of the Palm device and pen-based writing language (Graffiti) Palm used) talks about the most important point for people to adopt and learn Graffiti was it gave the person value. Jeff points out that learning Graffiti took a little bit of time, but people could see value of learning Graffiti as it made for a quicker input of information. There was personal value that did not take a lot of initial effort to learn, which returned a much greater value." continued ... (Via Off the Top)
Learning Graffiti.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The positive side effect of big text: less text
Larger and less text is positive ...
"Some think big is in while others think big is dumb. Others call big insulting:
But I wonder if we belittle users with visuals that implicitly say, “Hey, you’re too foolish to choose what to do next, so I’ve put a really big button right here just for you.”
Our take: Like everything, the key is moderation. Too much of anything is a bad idea. However, if you’re going to err on the side of bigger or smaller, I’d take bigger. Now I’m not talking 48 px type everywhere, but 14 px vs 10 px with the occasional big headline. Newspaper design has been around a lot longer than web design and they’re still sticking with big huge headlines.
And then there’s the positive side effect of big text: less text. The bigger the text the less you write and nearly every corporate website could use less words. Better words are more important than less words, of course, but less words would be a great start." continued ... (Via Signal vs. Noise)
"Some think big is in while others think big is dumb. Others call big insulting:
But I wonder if we belittle users with visuals that implicitly say, “Hey, you’re too foolish to choose what to do next, so I’ve put a really big button right here just for you.”
Our take: Like everything, the key is moderation. Too much of anything is a bad idea. However, if you’re going to err on the side of bigger or smaller, I’d take bigger. Now I’m not talking 48 px type everywhere, but 14 px vs 10 px with the occasional big headline. Newspaper design has been around a lot longer than web design and they’re still sticking with big huge headlines.
And then there’s the positive side effect of big text: less text. The bigger the text the less you write and nearly every corporate website could use less words. Better words are more important than less words, of course, but less words would be a great start." continued ... (Via Signal vs. Noise)
Large text = less text.
Towards a learner-centred education system
User-centered education getting some attention ...
"The British educational thinktank NESTA Futurelab argues that the logic of education systems should be reversed so that the system conforms to the learner, rather than the learner to the system. This is, according to them, the essence of personalisation, which demands a system capable of offering bespoke support for each individual in order to foster engaged and independent learners able to reach their full potential.
Two recent documents are available for download:
- Vision document
- Personalisation and Digital Technologies" continued ... (Via Putting people first)
"The British educational thinktank NESTA Futurelab argues that the logic of education systems should be reversed so that the system conforms to the learner, rather than the learner to the system. This is, according to them, the essence of personalisation, which demands a system capable of offering bespoke support for each individual in order to foster engaged and independent learners able to reach their full potential.
Two recent documents are available for download:
- Vision document
- Personalisation and Digital Technologies" continued ... (Via Putting people first)
User-centered learning.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Fewer templates, more user experience
Building usability into website design from the start ...
"We’ve been getting quite a few work proposals in the last few weeks - which you’d say is by any standards, a good thing. But the percentage of people (even on very high places) who have no clear notion of how user-centered design and information architecture should work for their company and websites is astonishing.
It’s almost 2006, let’s talk 2006 - I’ve said this before, but I’ll repeat: “The key to successful web applications is how much it puts the user in the center of the process”. What this means is that any design, for any webpage or web-application needs to take into consideration the user, not the looks.
The notion that a page needs to be pixel perfect before usability snaps into the process is wrong. Usability, user experience and information architecture need to be present from the start of development and design. This means that if you’re looking for people to send you “3 photoshop templates” of pages, you’re driving steady against the wall of “bad investment." continued ... (Via WeBreakStuff)
"We’ve been getting quite a few work proposals in the last few weeks - which you’d say is by any standards, a good thing. But the percentage of people (even on very high places) who have no clear notion of how user-centered design and information architecture should work for their company and websites is astonishing.
It’s almost 2006, let’s talk 2006 - I’ve said this before, but I’ll repeat: “The key to successful web applications is how much it puts the user in the center of the process”. What this means is that any design, for any webpage or web-application needs to take into consideration the user, not the looks.
The notion that a page needs to be pixel perfect before usability snaps into the process is wrong. Usability, user experience and information architecture need to be present from the start of development and design. This means that if you’re looking for people to send you “3 photoshop templates” of pages, you’re driving steady against the wall of “bad investment." continued ... (Via WeBreakStuff)
Photoshop Template.
New Mercedes S-Class dashboard goes LCD
Trying for a more usable dashboard display ...
"Now you really won't want to have your on-board computer crash -- AutoSpies caught a glimpse of a new Mercedes S-Class where all the regular analog gauges have been replaced with a configurable LCD dashboard that can display different gauges, data, or even video. Not sure how much it'll cost as an option, but the dudes over at AutoSpies seem pretty floored by what they saw." continued ... (Via Engadget)
"Now you really won't want to have your on-board computer crash -- AutoSpies caught a glimpse of a new Mercedes S-Class where all the regular analog gauges have been replaced with a configurable LCD dashboard that can display different gauges, data, or even video. Not sure how much it'll cost as an option, but the dudes over at AutoSpies seem pretty floored by what they saw." continued ... (Via Engadget)
Mercedes LCD.
Semanticons reveal the meaning of files
Using semanticons (photo icons) as a memory aid ...
"The latest issue of Technology Research News (TRN) contains a short item about how photos can make icons meaningful. Researchers from Northwestern University are working on semanticons which will help us to quickly identify files. After analyzing a file name and its contents, their system uses a database of pictures to generate a semanticon, a specific icon based on the file type or the folder where it resides. Apparently, early users were able to navigate through their directories 20% faster than when looking at regular icons." continued ... (Via ZDNet)
"The latest issue of Technology Research News (TRN) contains a short item about how photos can make icons meaningful. Researchers from Northwestern University are working on semanticons which will help us to quickly identify files. After analyzing a file name and its contents, their system uses a database of pictures to generate a semanticon, a specific icon based on the file type or the folder where it resides. Apparently, early users were able to navigate through their directories 20% faster than when looking at regular icons." continued ... (Via ZDNet)
Semanticons.
The Year in Tags
The state of tags in 2005 ...
"This was a big year for tags. You could even say that tags went mainstream in 2005 (if tags were a band, they’d be The Killers). So, given we’re at the end of 2005, I thought I would take a look back at the major announcements and events in the world of ad hoc, user-created metadata.
These are the events I thought were important (feel free to add your own in the comments):
Technorati introduces tags (January). Technorati’s tags was the first implementation of distributed tagging (i.e. T’rati doesn’t own the tags the way Flickr does–it picks them up from blog posts while it’s crawling). It’s been criticized, but it’s widely used." continued ... (Via You're It!)
"This was a big year for tags. You could even say that tags went mainstream in 2005 (if tags were a band, they’d be The Killers). So, given we’re at the end of 2005, I thought I would take a look back at the major announcements and events in the world of ad hoc, user-created metadata.
These are the events I thought were important (feel free to add your own in the comments):
Technorati introduces tags (January). Technorati’s tags was the first implementation of distributed tagging (i.e. T’rati doesn’t own the tags the way Flickr does–it picks them up from blog posts while it’s crawling). It’s been criticized, but it’s widely used." continued ... (Via You're It!)
Technocrati.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Usability Research: Key Findings 2005
A nice summary of findings ...
"Originally written by the Pragmatic Ergonomist, Dr. Eric Schaffer.
- BROWSE OR SEARCH
On sites with clear labels and prominent navigation options, users tend to browse rather than search. Searching is no faster than browsing in this context. (Katz and Byrne 2003)
- COLOR AND GRAPHICS
Users pay attention to what they are paying attention to. Sometimes things that are quite obvious to the designer are invisible to the viewer/ users. (Simons and Chabris, 1999)
Color, shared background and co-location are stronger grouping cues than outlines. (Beck and Palmer, 2002) Layout on a Web page (white space and advanced layout of headers, indentation, and figures) may not measurably influence performance, but it does influence satisfaction. (Chaperro, Shaikh, and Baker, 2005)" continued ... (Via Robin Good)
"Originally written by the Pragmatic Ergonomist, Dr. Eric Schaffer.
- BROWSE OR SEARCH
On sites with clear labels and prominent navigation options, users tend to browse rather than search. Searching is no faster than browsing in this context. (Katz and Byrne 2003)
- COLOR AND GRAPHICS
Users pay attention to what they are paying attention to. Sometimes things that are quite obvious to the designer are invisible to the viewer/ users. (Simons and Chabris, 1999)
Color, shared background and co-location are stronger grouping cues than outlines. (Beck and Palmer, 2002) Layout on a Web page (white space and advanced layout of headers, indentation, and figures) may not measurably influence performance, but it does influence satisfaction. (Chaperro, Shaikh, and Baker, 2005)" continued ... (Via Robin Good)
Usability Findings 2005.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Choices In Dialog Boxes
Dialog box confusion in terminology ...
"Most applications today present dialog boxes with questions and often present two or more choices. As example, if you close a modified document in an application the Save dialog appears and present two choices, Yes and No. Where Yes indicates that the user want to save the document and No to discard the document changes. In addition the Save dialog often contains the Cancel option where the modified document will not be closed." continued ... (Via User Interface Blog)
"Most applications today present dialog boxes with questions and often present two or more choices. As example, if you close a modified document in an application the Save dialog appears and present two choices, Yes and No. Where Yes indicates that the user want to save the document and No to discard the document changes. In addition the Save dialog often contains the Cancel option where the modified document will not be closed." continued ... (Via User Interface Blog)
Notepad Dialog Box.
Usability Studies 101: Making Cookies
How vistor specific navigation aids help usability ...
"The NextStage CRO explains how to develop visitor-specific navigation for your site so that your customers come back and convert.
Visitor Designed Navigation makes use of visitor-based information to create recognizable, high interest navigation paths for visitors to your website. We started this discussion by investigating weblog data in "What Comes Next?", then showed an alternative method of using weblog data for information-rich sites in "MIPS are Next". Both of the methods described in these previous columns are excellent at giving this visitor an idea of what other visitors found interesting.
We're going to continue the discussion of Visitor Designed Navigation, and this time we're going to be visitor specific. The technique described here has proven useful on information-rich sites and can be a great boon to all other sites as well." continued ... (Via iMedia Connection)
"The NextStage CRO explains how to develop visitor-specific navigation for your site so that your customers come back and convert.
Visitor Designed Navigation makes use of visitor-based information to create recognizable, high interest navigation paths for visitors to your website. We started this discussion by investigating weblog data in "What Comes Next?", then showed an alternative method of using weblog data for information-rich sites in "MIPS are Next". Both of the methods described in these previous columns are excellent at giving this visitor an idea of what other visitors found interesting.
We're going to continue the discussion of Visitor Designed Navigation, and this time we're going to be visitor specific. The technique described here has proven useful on information-rich sites and can be a great boon to all other sites as well." continued ... (Via iMedia Connection)
Breadcrumbs.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Call for Support: WebRadio is way in to looking at Customisation and User Behaviour
Customizing with skins effects user behavior ...
"The PROSKIN Project is researching the effect that user interface skins have on interaction, specifically as to whether there are correlations between user profile and observable interactive behaviours. Proskin stands for PROfiled SKINs.
PhD student Nick Fine at Brunel University is looking at how giving the user the means to change their user interface may have significant impact upon the quality of interaction, even for apparently subtle cosmetic changes.
He says: 'The ability to re-skin or customise the user interface is fast becoming a common feature of many software applications and operating systems." continued ... (Via Usability News)
"The PROSKIN Project is researching the effect that user interface skins have on interaction, specifically as to whether there are correlations between user profile and observable interactive behaviours. Proskin stands for PROfiled SKINs.
PhD student Nick Fine at Brunel University is looking at how giving the user the means to change their user interface may have significant impact upon the quality of interaction, even for apparently subtle cosmetic changes.
He says: 'The ability to re-skin or customise the user interface is fast becoming a common feature of many software applications and operating systems." continued ... (Via Usability News)
ProSkin WebRadio.
Icing or cake?
Usability is not everyones priority ...
"People who know me know I have misgivings about the phrase "user experience". Sometimes the phrase is appropriate (e.g., when discussing a purely recreational interaction), but oftentimes it is used in a lazy way to describe a raft of benefits of UCD. Today I encountered a good example how the phrase "user experience" can pollute the minds of people.
I was talking with someone who had previously engaged a well known "user experience" consultancy for advice. The consultancy has a fine, international reputation, and I have seen some of their work, which is good. I'm not slagging their ability in the least. But what I do object to is how they cast the benefits of UCD. They talked the standard talk about improving user experience. The message came through clearly. Yes, user experience is good, but face it, it really isn't our highest priority. Sure, it is nice to offer a good user experience, I'm sure our employees would be grateful, but the really important issues are functionality, how we can value from our databases." continued ... (Via Modules and Wholes)
"People who know me know I have misgivings about the phrase "user experience". Sometimes the phrase is appropriate (e.g., when discussing a purely recreational interaction), but oftentimes it is used in a lazy way to describe a raft of benefits of UCD. Today I encountered a good example how the phrase "user experience" can pollute the minds of people.
I was talking with someone who had previously engaged a well known "user experience" consultancy for advice. The consultancy has a fine, international reputation, and I have seen some of their work, which is good. I'm not slagging their ability in the least. But what I do object to is how they cast the benefits of UCD. They talked the standard talk about improving user experience. The message came through clearly. Yes, user experience is good, but face it, it really isn't our highest priority. Sure, it is nice to offer a good user experience, I'm sure our employees would be grateful, but the really important issues are functionality, how we can value from our databases." continued ... (Via Modules and Wholes)
Usability is icing on the cake?
Usability Redefined: Howability, Taskability, Recommendability, Profitability
Several old vs. new comparisons when defining usability ...
"OLD Ease of Learning: How fast can a user who has never seen the user interface before learn it sufficiently well to accomplish basic tasks?
NEW Ease of Doing: How fast can a user accomplish the desired task? How much time? How much energy applied per unit of measured time?
Why better? Takes into consideration users doing something versus knowing how to get it done; practical and concrete measures; accounts for situations where learning is not needed nor desired. Deliberately factors out the need for learning, education, or necessary assistance." continued ... (Via WebWord)
"OLD Ease of Learning: How fast can a user who has never seen the user interface before learn it sufficiently well to accomplish basic tasks?
NEW Ease of Doing: How fast can a user accomplish the desired task? How much time? How much energy applied per unit of measured time?
Why better? Takes into consideration users doing something versus knowing how to get it done; practical and concrete measures; accounts for situations where learning is not needed nor desired. Deliberately factors out the need for learning, education, or necessary assistance." continued ... (Via WebWord)
Mario: Easy To Use.
Taking on QWERTY's illogic
A new alphabetical keyboard to consider ...
"John Parkinson thinks the world has been tied to an Industrial Age keyboard for long enough.
One of a long line of entrepreneurs and scientists who have been outraged by the seeming illogic of the standard QWERTY keyboard, the 62-year-old electrical engineer is showing off a new, rival keyboard design next month at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
He touted the idea at CES last year, too, but this time, he has actual keyboards that will be released to distributors in February. After years of hunt-and-peck typing, he's convinced that there is room for change and that if he can show the way, bigger companies might follow.
"For the longest time, I thought, like everyone else, there's nothing you can do about QWERTY," Parkinson said. "In the end, some ideas occurred to me, and I decided to do something about it myself." continued ... (Via CNET)
"John Parkinson thinks the world has been tied to an Industrial Age keyboard for long enough.
One of a long line of entrepreneurs and scientists who have been outraged by the seeming illogic of the standard QWERTY keyboard, the 62-year-old electrical engineer is showing off a new, rival keyboard design next month at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
He touted the idea at CES last year, too, but this time, he has actual keyboards that will be released to distributors in February. After years of hunt-and-peck typing, he's convinced that there is room for change and that if he can show the way, bigger companies might follow.
"For the longest time, I thought, like everyone else, there's nothing you can do about QWERTY," Parkinson said. "In the end, some ideas occurred to me, and I decided to do something about it myself." continued ... (Via CNET)
Alphabetical Keyboard.
Personas: User Experience Resource Collection
A good list of persona links ...
"Discussion articles
Accessibility in the analysis phase: personas
The purpose of personas is to make the users seem more real, to help designers keep realistic ideas of users throughout the design process. A persona with a disability includes the same specific characteristics, demographics, experience level, and personal details as other personas. Personas that include accessibility considerations also include a description of the limiting condition (disability or situational limitation) and the adaptive strategies for using the product.
Accessibility in the analysis phase: user group profiles
User group profiles describe the characteristics of product users, the people who use a product. Because many designers start out with little or no familiarity with accessibility issues, adding accessibility considerations to user group profiles is particularly important." continued ... (Via Dey Alexander)
"Discussion articles
Accessibility in the analysis phase: personas
The purpose of personas is to make the users seem more real, to help designers keep realistic ideas of users throughout the design process. A persona with a disability includes the same specific characteristics, demographics, experience level, and personal details as other personas. Personas that include accessibility considerations also include a description of the limiting condition (disability or situational limitation) and the adaptive strategies for using the product.
Accessibility in the analysis phase: user group profiles
User group profiles describe the characteristics of product users, the people who use a product. Because many designers start out with little or no familiarity with accessibility issues, adding accessibility considerations to user group profiles is particularly important." continued ... (Via Dey Alexander)
Accessibility Persona.
A Look At Motorola's New User Interface Review
A better mobile phone interface ...
Yes. Finally. A new UI from Motorola.
For starters, gone is the dedicated menu button and its 4 horizontal lines icon. The menu key, while making some sense, was always a point of contention for users looking to possibly move to a Motorola phone from one that was built by another manufacturer. Over the years Motorola has made a number of concessions of this type, such as swapping the position of the red and green call buttons. This isn't to say that Motorola was wrong in putting the red button on the left, just that everybody else did it the other way around. Which is what they do now. Well, the same situation applies to the menu button. I think it is a fine idea, even if the icon was not too clear, but the fact that none of the other major manufacturers made use of a similar design meant that Motorola handsets were always different from what non-Motorola users were used to." continued ... (Via MobileBurn)
Yes. Finally. A new UI from Motorola.
For starters, gone is the dedicated menu button and its 4 horizontal lines icon. The menu key, while making some sense, was always a point of contention for users looking to possibly move to a Motorola phone from one that was built by another manufacturer. Over the years Motorola has made a number of concessions of this type, such as swapping the position of the red and green call buttons. This isn't to say that Motorola was wrong in putting the red button on the left, just that everybody else did it the other way around. Which is what they do now. Well, the same situation applies to the menu button. I think it is a fine idea, even if the icon was not too clear, but the fact that none of the other major manufacturers made use of a similar design meant that Motorola handsets were always different from what non-Motorola users were used to." continued ... (Via MobileBurn)
Motorola A910 Interface.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
New guidelines for the design of ICT products and services to be used by young children
New product design guidlines for children ...
"Manufacturers and service providers are starting to design, test and launch a stream of new products specifically for young children. To support the development of these new products and services, ETSI has published a guide.
The leader of the task force which produced the new guidelines, Anne Clarke, says that 'children under 12 years of age are becoming a significant consumer group for advanced computing and communications services. In some cases, children as young as four or five are using 3G phones and the Internet'.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) plays a major role in global standardisation of technologies, including telecommunications and broadcasting. ETSI unites around 700 member companies from nearly 60 countries, including manufacturers, network operators, administrations, service providers, research bodies and users." continued ... (Via Usability News)
"Manufacturers and service providers are starting to design, test and launch a stream of new products specifically for young children. To support the development of these new products and services, ETSI has published a guide.
The leader of the task force which produced the new guidelines, Anne Clarke, says that 'children under 12 years of age are becoming a significant consumer group for advanced computing and communications services. In some cases, children as young as four or five are using 3G phones and the Internet'.
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) plays a major role in global standardisation of technologies, including telecommunications and broadcasting. ETSI unites around 700 member companies from nearly 60 countries, including manufacturers, network operators, administrations, service providers, research bodies and users." continued ... (Via Usability News)
ETSI Website.
Label your form controls properly
On clickable form labels ...
"In Label - the secret element, Robert Nyman points out how annoying it can be to use a site that does not make proper use of the label element to associate form controls with their labels.
I second that. Placing the cursor on a tiny radio button or checkbox can be tricky. However, if the corresponding text has been associated with the radio button or checkbox you can also click the text. Much easier, wouldn’t you say? Unfortunately that is one area where my favourite browser, Safari, falls short of the competition.
Oh, how I would love to have clickable form labels in Safari. Pretty please, give us clickable form labels soon!" continued ... (Via 456 Berea Street)
"In Label - the secret element, Robert Nyman points out how annoying it can be to use a site that does not make proper use of the label element to associate form controls with their labels.
I second that. Placing the cursor on a tiny radio button or checkbox can be tricky. However, if the corresponding text has been associated with the radio button or checkbox you can also click the text. Much easier, wouldn’t you say? Unfortunately that is one area where my favourite browser, Safari, falls short of the competition.
Oh, how I would love to have clickable form labels in Safari. Pretty please, give us clickable form labels soon!" continued ... (Via 456 Berea Street)
Safari Browser.
The Quantum Mechanics of Users
Finding out what the users really think ...
"People have commented that "creating passionate users" means nothing more than "listening to users like we always have--DUH!" But if it were that simple, we'd all be producing--and using--products and services that people love. That meet real needs. That fulfill real desires. That help people kick-ass.
How, then, to explain the Grand Canyon-sized gap between what users really want and what we so often produce as a direct result of our sincere listening? Maybe the physics is wrong...
Light can behave as a wave, until you ask it to explain how it got from point A to point B, in which case it can behave as a particle. In other words, asking light to explain itself can change the very nature of how we perceive it. And this notion that sometimes "observing an event changes the event" comes up in many areas of quantum physics." continued ... (Via Creating Passionate Users)
"People have commented that "creating passionate users" means nothing more than "listening to users like we always have--DUH!" But if it were that simple, we'd all be producing--and using--products and services that people love. That meet real needs. That fulfill real desires. That help people kick-ass.
How, then, to explain the Grand Canyon-sized gap between what users really want and what we so often produce as a direct result of our sincere listening? Maybe the physics is wrong...
Light can behave as a wave, until you ask it to explain how it got from point A to point B, in which case it can behave as a particle. In other words, asking light to explain itself can change the very nature of how we perceive it. And this notion that sometimes "observing an event changes the event" comes up in many areas of quantum physics." continued ... (Via Creating Passionate Users)
Determining User Priorities.
Some Hard Lessons in User Interface Design
How the UI for a login screen was fixed ...
"When you register for the Holidailies portal you must select a username and a password. They become your credentials to post to the portal. We normally have a few cases of forgotten logins on opening day. This year, however, we had a significant number of people—nearly 5% of the registrants—reporting login problems.
Developers tend to blame the stupid users when problems occur. But when it's 5% of the users reporting problems you can't even try to trot out that lame excuse. Typically, these problems arise due to flaws in the user interface (UI). I believe that's exactly what happened in Holidailies. The registration difficulties probably resulted from two bad UI decisions that I made.
This year, we used nearly the same registration process as last year. The only thing we changed was the way that we assigned usernames. Last year, when you registered for the portal you had to choose a username and enter it into an empty form field. This year we provided a default username value. When you entered your contact email address into the form it also was copied (by the magic of javascript) into the username field. That provided a default value that you could choose to keep or change. A significant number of people (114 out of 165) chose to keep the default." continued ... (Via Chromium Switch)
"When you register for the Holidailies portal you must select a username and a password. They become your credentials to post to the portal. We normally have a few cases of forgotten logins on opening day. This year, however, we had a significant number of people—nearly 5% of the registrants—reporting login problems.
Developers tend to blame the stupid users when problems occur. But when it's 5% of the users reporting problems you can't even try to trot out that lame excuse. Typically, these problems arise due to flaws in the user interface (UI). I believe that's exactly what happened in Holidailies. The registration difficulties probably resulted from two bad UI decisions that I made.
This year, we used nearly the same registration process as last year. The only thing we changed was the way that we assigned usernames. Last year, when you registered for the portal you had to choose a username and enter it into an empty form field. This year we provided a default username value. When you entered your contact email address into the form it also was copied (by the magic of javascript) into the username field. That provided a default value that you could choose to keep or change. A significant number of people (114 out of 165) chose to keep the default." continued ... (Via Chromium Switch)
Holidailies Website.
One Billion Internet Users
Big need for usability due to increased websites in China as well as the US ...
"The Internet is growing at an annualized rate of 18% and now has one billion users. A second billion users will follow in the next ten years, bringing a dramatic change in worldwide usability needs.
Some time in 2005, we quietly passed a dramatic milestone in Internet history: the one-billionth user went online. Because we have no central register of Internet users, we don't know who that user was, or when he or she first logged on. Statistically, we're likely talking about a 24-year-old woman in Shanghai.
According to Morgan Stanley estimates, 36% of Internet users are now in Asia and 24% are in Europe. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers -- one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto -- were networked together." continued ... (Via Alertbox)
"The Internet is growing at an annualized rate of 18% and now has one billion users. A second billion users will follow in the next ten years, bringing a dramatic change in worldwide usability needs.
Some time in 2005, we quietly passed a dramatic milestone in Internet history: the one-billionth user went online. Because we have no central register of Internet users, we don't know who that user was, or when he or she first logged on. Statistically, we're likely talking about a 24-year-old woman in Shanghai.
According to Morgan Stanley estimates, 36% of Internet users are now in Asia and 24% are in Europe. Only 23% of users are in North America, where it all started in 1969 when two computers -- one in Los Angeles, the other in Palo Alto -- were networked together." continued ... (Via Alertbox)
Internet Usage.
Ditch site maps? I think not...
A site map does not take the place of good navigation ...
"Building and maintaining a site map or site index is, like on-site Search, fixing the symptom and not addressing the true problem,” writes renowned usability guru Jared Spool in his most recent posting, What about Site Maps and Site Indexes? (thanks to James Robertson).
Mr. Spool is a smart guy. A web leader. A true guru. But he’s dead wrong on this issue. Well, partly wrong.
Jared maintains that if the site navigation or ‘scent’ is good, you don’t need a site map. Wrong. Even regular users go the site map once in a while. Yes, navigating the sites navigation tree or categories is preferred, followed by using the search engine, but sometimes users just want a site map to have a bird’s eye view of the entire site... to see how content relates to each other, particularly first time users.
Spool also intimates in his above comment that search is redundant if your navigation is good. Tell that to IBM, Cisco, Oracle or anyone else who has millions of pages on their intranet. I dare anyone reading this to ditch their search engine and then sit back and see what the employee or customer user says...." continued ... (Via Intranet Blog)
"Building and maintaining a site map or site index is, like on-site Search, fixing the symptom and not addressing the true problem,” writes renowned usability guru Jared Spool in his most recent posting, What about Site Maps and Site Indexes? (thanks to James Robertson).
Mr. Spool is a smart guy. A web leader. A true guru. But he’s dead wrong on this issue. Well, partly wrong.
Jared maintains that if the site navigation or ‘scent’ is good, you don’t need a site map. Wrong. Even regular users go the site map once in a while. Yes, navigating the sites navigation tree or categories is preferred, followed by using the search engine, but sometimes users just want a site map to have a bird’s eye view of the entire site... to see how content relates to each other, particularly first time users.
Spool also intimates in his above comment that search is redundant if your navigation is good. Tell that to IBM, Cisco, Oracle or anyone else who has millions of pages on their intranet. I dare anyone reading this to ditch their search engine and then sit back and see what the employee or customer user says...." continued ... (Via Intranet Blog)
Sitemap.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
6.831 User Interface Design and Implementation
An open online graduate UI course from MIT ...
6.831 introduces the principles of user interface development, focusing on three key areas:
- Design: How to design good user interfaces, starting with human capabilities (including the human information processor model, perception, motor skills, color, attention, and errors) and using those capabilities to drive design techniques: task analysis, user-centered design, iterative design, usability guidelines, interaction styles, and graphic design principles.
- Implementation: Techniques for building user interfaces, including low-fidelity prototypes, Wizard of Oz, and other prototyping tools; input models, output models, model-view-controller, layout, constraints, and toolkits.
- Evaluation: Techniques for evaluating and measuring interface usability, including heuristic evaluation, predictive evaluation, and user testing." continued ... (Via MIT OpenCourseWare)
6.831 introduces the principles of user interface development, focusing on three key areas:
- Design: How to design good user interfaces, starting with human capabilities (including the human information processor model, perception, motor skills, color, attention, and errors) and using those capabilities to drive design techniques: task analysis, user-centered design, iterative design, usability guidelines, interaction styles, and graphic design principles.
- Implementation: Techniques for building user interfaces, including low-fidelity prototypes, Wizard of Oz, and other prototyping tools; input models, output models, model-view-controller, layout, constraints, and toolkits.
- Evaluation: Techniques for evaluating and measuring interface usability, including heuristic evaluation, predictive evaluation, and user testing." continued ... (Via MIT OpenCourseWare)
Smart Kiosk.
The Shock of the New: Designing for the Post-Consumer (Part 2 of 2)
The future role of social practices in design ...
"Last week, as I was chatting enthusiastically about a new style to my (very cool) hairdresser Amanda, she pulled out a Blackberry to retrieve an email from her tattoo artist in New Haven. Somewhat taken aback, I asked her about her new accessory. She wryly answered: “I’m a businesswoman.”
On one level, I’m not surprised that Amanda has a Blackberry. She is successful, and certainly Blackberry functionality is useful for a busy stylist. Dressed in her Tokyo-Goth street-couture, it surprised me that Amanda seemed so much cooler and more interesting than my conception of the typical Blackberry user.
We’re socialized to recognize products as signs of particular character attributes. Cultural critics hypothesize that consumers acquire particular products to project the attributes associated with those products—in this case of the Blackberry, social importance and business cachet. A product like a Blackberry (or a Louis Vuitton bag, or a Hummer, or any number of such markers) signals social status by proxy." continued ... (Via frog Design Mind)
"Last week, as I was chatting enthusiastically about a new style to my (very cool) hairdresser Amanda, she pulled out a Blackberry to retrieve an email from her tattoo artist in New Haven. Somewhat taken aback, I asked her about her new accessory. She wryly answered: “I’m a businesswoman.”
On one level, I’m not surprised that Amanda has a Blackberry. She is successful, and certainly Blackberry functionality is useful for a busy stylist. Dressed in her Tokyo-Goth street-couture, it surprised me that Amanda seemed so much cooler and more interesting than my conception of the typical Blackberry user.
We’re socialized to recognize products as signs of particular character attributes. Cultural critics hypothesize that consumers acquire particular products to project the attributes associated with those products—in this case of the Blackberry, social importance and business cachet. A product like a Blackberry (or a Louis Vuitton bag, or a Hummer, or any number of such markers) signals social status by proxy." continued ... (Via frog Design Mind)
Mod gadgit for social recognition.
Sensible Forms: A Form Usability Checklist
Tips for creating usable forms ...
"Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, not more difficult. As usability-conscious designers, we can make our users’ lives easier by thinking about the way people interact with our websites, providing clear direction, and then putting the burden of sorting out the details in the hands of the computers—not the users.
It’s that last part that we’re going to focus on here. We’ve all heard and read about big usability mistakes time and time again: “Don’t use images or flash for navigation,” “Don’t use Javascript for links,” and I certainly hope we’re all applying those lessons in our work. It’s often the smallest usability quirks, however, that create the biggest annoyances for users, especially when it comes to HTML forms. Follow these guidelines, and you’ll be off to a good start.
Use the right field for the task - With so many form elements to choose from, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages, it can be difficult to decide which elements to use in a given situation. Use radio buttons, checkboxes, and select boxes appropriately: for radio buttons or checkboxes, use the fieldset and legend tags to group the elements logically under an obvious heading. This grouping keeps the form manageable to users, as it can be broken down into smaller pieces in their minds." continued ... (Via A List Apart)
"Computers are supposed to make our lives easier, not more difficult. As usability-conscious designers, we can make our users’ lives easier by thinking about the way people interact with our websites, providing clear direction, and then putting the burden of sorting out the details in the hands of the computers—not the users.
It’s that last part that we’re going to focus on here. We’ve all heard and read about big usability mistakes time and time again: “Don’t use images or flash for navigation,” “Don’t use Javascript for links,” and I certainly hope we’re all applying those lessons in our work. It’s often the smallest usability quirks, however, that create the biggest annoyances for users, especially when it comes to HTML forms. Follow these guidelines, and you’ll be off to a good start.
Use the right field for the task - With so many form elements to choose from, each with distinct advantages and disadvantages, it can be difficult to decide which elements to use in a given situation. Use radio buttons, checkboxes, and select boxes appropriately: for radio buttons or checkboxes, use the fieldset and legend tags to group the elements logically under an obvious heading. This grouping keeps the form manageable to users, as it can be broken down into smaller pieces in their minds." continued ... (Via A List Apart)
Radio Buttons.
Living La Vida Virtual: Interfaces of the Near Future
What the virtual future has in store for us ...
"Personal computing is in an awkward adolescence right now. On one hand, we are rapidly moving into ubiquitous computing environments that let people constantly interact with the omnipresent network; on the other, the devices and interfaces we are using to enter these new frontiers provide woefully inadequate user experiences. Let’s take a look at one of the key technologies that will take mobile user experiences to the next level: holography.
Holography and the State of Input - The primary reason why the BlackBerry® became such an enormous success is its miniature QWERTY keyboard, which lets people rapidly enter information and, in the process, made easy-email-while-on-the-run a reality. Earlier devices such as cell phones and Palm® PDAs provided a substandard means of communicating with a computing system, but the BlackBerry took the well-established and long-practiced QWERTY keyboard interface and employed it in a practical and portable form. This allowed people to engage in a more natural human/computer interaction." continued ... (Via UXmatters)
"Personal computing is in an awkward adolescence right now. On one hand, we are rapidly moving into ubiquitous computing environments that let people constantly interact with the omnipresent network; on the other, the devices and interfaces we are using to enter these new frontiers provide woefully inadequate user experiences. Let’s take a look at one of the key technologies that will take mobile user experiences to the next level: holography.
Holography and the State of Input - The primary reason why the BlackBerry® became such an enormous success is its miniature QWERTY keyboard, which lets people rapidly enter information and, in the process, made easy-email-while-on-the-run a reality. Earlier devices such as cell phones and Palm® PDAs provided a substandard means of communicating with a computing system, but the BlackBerry took the well-established and long-practiced QWERTY keyboard interface and employed it in a practical and portable form. This allowed people to engage in a more natural human/computer interaction." continued ... (Via UXmatters)
Holographic Interface.
Small Multiples Within a User Interface ::
The use of small multiples for complex information ...
"Many software programs provide access to, and let users work with, large amounts of information. In addition to interactions that allow users to create, edit, and expand massive data sets, these information-rich applications must also support effective data interpretation.
Data monitoring, reporting, and modeling applications require people to makes sense of large amounts of information quickly and easily. It should come as no surprise, then, that for such applications many interface design problems are actually information design problems. As a result, we can leverage information design solutions when tackling such problems. Using small multiples is one such solution.
“Small multiple designs are graphical depictions of variable information that share context, but not content.”—Edward Tufte" continued ... (Via UXmatters)
"Many software programs provide access to, and let users work with, large amounts of information. In addition to interactions that allow users to create, edit, and expand massive data sets, these information-rich applications must also support effective data interpretation.
Data monitoring, reporting, and modeling applications require people to makes sense of large amounts of information quickly and easily. It should come as no surprise, then, that for such applications many interface design problems are actually information design problems. As a result, we can leverage information design solutions when tackling such problems. Using small multiples is one such solution.
“Small multiple designs are graphical depictions of variable information that share context, but not content.”—Edward Tufte" continued ... (Via UXmatters)
Small Multiples.
Monday, December 19, 2005
On Tagging Interfaces and Usability
A new user interface design for tagging ...
"Over on the Signal vs. Noise weblog a post highlighted the different tag input interfaces used by some of the major players and asked "Can't we all just get along?" This post touches on a topic I've been putting a lot of thought into these days as I plan out the next version of Tags.App, my tag-enabling plugin for Movable Type. I thought I'd highlight some of the observations made in that post and go on to present my own findings.
The post shows examples from Del.icio.us, Flickr, 43 Things and Amazon. Del.icio.us uses single word tags separated with spaces. Flickr follows a similar path, but allows for spaces by optionally wrapping multiple words in quotes. 43 Things uses commas to separate multi-word tags instead of spaces eschewing the need for quotes. Amazon allows spaces and avoids commas and quotes entirely by restricting one tag per text box instead of the one box holds all like the others. Amazon also blow out the interface with an auto suggest interface widget.
The post concludes, "when you've got a new technology, inconsistency is to be expected. With all these different formats still be around a year from now or will a standard emerge?" I wouldn't consider tags a technology, but I do believe this type of interface experimentation is a necessary part of evolving user experience." continued ... (Via Appnel Internet Solutions)
"Over on the Signal vs. Noise weblog a post highlighted the different tag input interfaces used by some of the major players and asked "Can't we all just get along?" This post touches on a topic I've been putting a lot of thought into these days as I plan out the next version of Tags.App, my tag-enabling plugin for Movable Type. I thought I'd highlight some of the observations made in that post and go on to present my own findings.
The post shows examples from Del.icio.us, Flickr, 43 Things and Amazon. Del.icio.us uses single word tags separated with spaces. Flickr follows a similar path, but allows for spaces by optionally wrapping multiple words in quotes. 43 Things uses commas to separate multi-word tags instead of spaces eschewing the need for quotes. Amazon allows spaces and avoids commas and quotes entirely by restricting one tag per text box instead of the one box holds all like the others. Amazon also blow out the interface with an auto suggest interface widget.
The post concludes, "when you've got a new technology, inconsistency is to be expected. With all these different formats still be around a year from now or will a standard emerge?" I wouldn't consider tags a technology, but I do believe this type of interface experimentation is a necessary part of evolving user experience." continued ... (Via Appnel Internet Solutions)
Flickr's use of tagging.