All posts from
April 2005

Implementing a Pattern Library in the Real World: A Yahoo! Case Study

Added on 30 April 2005 Peter Bogaards
“The pattern library allowed our small, centralized group to tap into the broad expertise of the Yahoo! design staff. What would have been impossible to write (authoritatively) by a small team is now being contributed to and reviewed by an expert staff. We were able to achieve this by understanding and agreeing on the problem, building a workflow that fit with the existing design process, generating buy-in by creating incentives for contributors, and by carefully designing and building an application with attention to user feedback. We were then able to convert this library of patterns into a workable set of standards by agreeing on an appropriate rating scale and by assembling a representative group of reviewers who rate the content according to the same criteria.” (Erin Malone et al. – Boxes and Arrows)

In Defense of PowerPoint

Added on 29 April 2005 Peter Bogaards
“I started this essay in January 2004 – over a year ago – but it lay hidden in my file of ‘in progress’ writings. I didn’t finish the essay because I gave an interview with Cliff Atkinson on the topic, but the paper goes into the issues in much more depth than the interview. So, here it is: it may be late, but the lessons are just as relevant as ever.” (Donald Norman)

<interactions>: Whose profession is it anyway?

Added on 28 April 2005 Peter Bogaards
“The May + June issue of <interactions> is a special issue on ‘Whose profession is it anyway?’ – in part a reaction to some of the collaboration and cooperation discussions UXnet has been encouraging. This issue should be arriving in your mailbox any day now – it is also available in the ACM digital library where subscribers can download articles and non-subscribers can purchase items.” (UXnet) – my first pub in print.

The Historical Development of Information Infrastructures and the Dissemination of Knowledge: A Personal Reflection

Added on 28 April 2005 Peter Bogaards
“With the advent of the Internet and the Web, it has become clear how pioneering and important historically the work of Paul Otlet and his colleagues was. It seems yet even more relevant today with the recently announced agreement between Google and a number of research libraries to digitize and make their collections available through the Web.” (W. Boyd Rayward – ASIS&T Bulletin April/May 2005)

Social Computing Symposium 2005

Added on 27 April 2005 Peter Bogaards
“The goal for this event is to foster an awareness of research and innovation in social technologies, and create new lines of communication between research and industry. We have over 80 people from industry labs, new technology companies, and academic research coming this year. The symposium agenda is comprised of a mix of invited speakers and panelists, research presentations, discussion sessions, and demos, to encourage ongoing conversations about new directions in social technologies.” (Microsoft Research) – courtesy of brightlycoloredfood

Visual Communication & Web Application Design

Added on 25 April 2005 Peter Bogaards
“Visual Communication is a key component of interface design and unfortunately often under-represented in interaction design methodologies. This talk introduces the core principles of Visual Communication (with an emphasis on Visual Organization) and through many practical examples details how they can be put to use during the Web application interface design process.” (Luke Wroblewski – Functioning Form)

Social Bookmarking Tools (I)

Added on 21 April 2005 Peter Bogaards
“We are here going to remind you of hyperlinks in all their glory, sell you on the idea of bookmarking hyperlinks, point you at other folks who are doing the same, and tell you why this is a good thing. Just as long as those hyperlinks (or let’s call them plain old links) are managed, tagged, commented upon, and published onto the Web, they represent a user’s own personal library placed on public record, which – when aggregated with other personal libraries – allows for rich, social networking opportunities.” (Tony Hammond – D-Lib Magazine) – courtesy of lucdesk