Card sorting: A definitive guide
“Card sorting is a great, reliable, inexpensive method for finding patterns in how users would expect to find content or functionality.” (Donna Maurer and Todd Warfel – Boxes and Arrows)
All posts from
April 2004
The myth of navigation
“Data, content and functionality operate in a similar manner in the digital experience. There is a set of data, content, and functionality that exists in a binary form on some hard drive, yet how one interacts with it is through some expression of an interface.” (Andrei Herasimchuk – Design by Fire)
Interview with Donald Norman on Mental Models
Changing Lives Through Technology
“David Nagel, CEO of PalmSource, talks about his work at NASA, Apple and AT&T, and gives examples of success and failure in human factors design. (…) The fundamental problem is that if the underlying system model incorporates abstractions that are difficult for normal human beings to understand, it’s always, always going to behave in unpredictable and non-understandable ways to them.” (ACM Ubiquity)
The Way Forward with Web Standards
“Even though Web standards are being embraced by many Web authors, some businesses are reluctant to invest in standards-based Web sites without concrete reasons to do so. To help Web authors interested in advocating Web standards, this article assembles arguments and information about Web standards into one document and explains Web standards in terms of how they affect business.” (MACCAWS) – courtesy of elearningpost
What they didn’t teach me in Design & Usability school
“People who make things happen do so through the credibility they earn over time. It can take months or years to develop the relationships needed to make great things happen, so be patient. Be smart. Be helpful. Listen to ideas from other people and show them that you appreciate their help, and consider what they say.” (Scott Berkun – UIWeb)
The Structured-Unstructured Information Continuum
“If you’ve fallen into the trap of thinking of databases as ‘structured’ information, and files as ‘unstructured’ information, you’re not alone.” (Joseph Martins – Data Mobility Group)
Are you publishing too much on your website?
“Many websites are still publishing content that is not core to their business. The justification is that such content will indirectly deliver benefit. This is not a good idea. Focus on the content that is directly applicable to your organization’s objectives. Any other content confuses. It wastes time and money.” (Gerry McGovern)
Web Design is Information Design
“Whereas the graphic designers job is usually to make something look good, the information designers job is to make something as logical and as easy to understand as possible. The information designer is less artist and more information architect and usability expert.” (Andy Budd – Blogography) – courtesy of d. keith robinson
Designing the User Experience: An Evolving Partnership for Collaborative Research and Development
“This paper describes a collaborative partnership between the University of Central England and Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery. The project evolved out of the University’s mission to serve local and regional communities and the needs of Birmingham Museums Service to improve its provision in line with local and national directives on social inclusion, audience development and lifelong learning. This paper describes the evolution of the relationship from a series of collaborative MA design projects to user-centered design research and the creation of a jointly supervised full time PhD studentship looking at the role and future development of on-line collections.” (Marie Jefsioutine et al. – Museums and the Web 2004 Papers)
Jared Spool: The InfoDesign interview
“Jared is one of the most important – and best-recognized – voices in the field of usability. User Interface Engineering, the firm that he founded in 1988, is the world’s largest research, training and consulting firm specializing in website and product usability.” (Dirk Knemeyer)
Why Content Management Fails
“This is more than just a way to manage content, it’s the beginning of a content strategy – a plan for how your site will respond to your customers, inform them, and help them make decisions that will ultimately increase their loyalty to you and your site.” (Jeffrey Veen – Adaptive Path)
Use Cases and interaction design
“Use cases are widely used in large projects to capture the functional requirements of software systems. In the hands of interaction designers, use cases can serve as a powerful tool for brainstorming workflows and bridging the gaps between design and development.” (Henrik Olsen – guuui)