Keep

The problem with interviewing kids

At UX Brighton last night GiGi Demming (Head of User Testing at SCEE in London) gave a talk on gameplay research involving kids. She neatly summed up one of the problems with interviewing kids – the “I like turtles effect”: … Continue reading

How to stop Post-it notes from curling

Taken from Rapid Problem Solving with Post-it notes by David Straker (1997). Despite its age this book contains some really useful techniques for stakeholder workshops, such as group sorting activities, trees, and maps.

My Barcamp Presentation: “What You Need To Know About Eye Tracking”

When you see an Eye Tracking heatmap for the first time, you are probably so busy saying “wow!” that you forget to critically evaluate what you are seeing. This talk is intended to give you a set of questions to … Continue reading

A quick UI review of browser malware warning pages

Browser malware warning pages are tricky things to design. Users are a lazy bunch (productively lazy, that is), and they are unlikely to read the text in every single dialog box you put in front of their faces. They’re much … Continue reading

Bruce Archer, Hospital Equipment and the Origins of Design Research

Bruce Archer is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of Design Research. It’s worth reading his wikipedia entry. Here’s a fascinating excerpt about his initial experiences in using research to improve the design of hospital equipment. You’ll notice … Continue reading

Quote: Bill Bernbach on getting your message heard

“The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you, and they can’t believe you if they don’t know what you’re saying, and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you, and they won’t listen to you … Continue reading

More Dilbert on User Experience

It’s nice to see that Dilbert’s been taking on a UX focus lately… Step 1: Realisation Step 2: Confirmation Step 3: Response

Why conversion rate uplift percentages can be confusing

Amendment: this post has been edited for typos: Thanks Carlo! Unless you’re a mathematically-minded person, it’s easy to get muddled up when people talk about conversion rates and conversion rate “uplift”. Here’s a quick explanation: If you had 1000 users … Continue reading

Method vs Methodology.

The word “methodology” has a bit more gravitas than “method” doesn’t it. Sounds more sciency. Packs more punch in a research document. Well, that’s sort of true, if you don’t mind completely misusing the term. “Method” and “Methodology” mean completely … Continue reading

Are research labs just too scary?

Joan Doe is walking through the mall one day when she’s approached by someone with a clipboard. She has some free time, so she answers a few questions and gives them her email address. “Cool!”, she thinks to herself, ” … Continue reading