Exploring the phase-space of information architecture

Added on 13 May 2014 Peter Bogaards

Finally, some deep thinking based upon reading the relevant sources again regarding the properties of information and how it effects information architecture.

“(…) I introduced the phase-space of information architecture, a mapping of the semantic neighborhoods created when we run through all the permutations of the two flavors of information: perceptual and linguistic. (…) Here we will look in detail at the facets of each flavor of information. Now that we’ve detailed the facets of our stuff of design, let’s situate ourselves in a design problem and visualize how we may engage the phase-space of information architecture to strategically turn the dials of perceptual and linguistic information.”

(Marsha Haverty a.k.a. @mjane_h ~ Praxicum) ~ courtesy of @resmini

The gap between UI and UX Design: Know the difference

Added on 12 May 2014 Peter Bogaards

Would the design of UI be any different than the design for the UX when you understand the delta between UI and UX?

“All of us have already understood that a UI and a UX are not the same concepts; however, they are to be combined for a greater purpose – to interest the users in your product or to convey certain information to them. The intrigue is that a UX can exist and work very effectively having a poor UI. For example, you can have an application with a stunning design that is hairy to use (good UI, bad UX). You can also have an application that has a poor look and feel, but is very intuitive to use (poor UI, good UX). We hope that now you understand the difference between these interrelated concepts and can clearly imagine a huge gap between their meanings. Nevertheless, for justice sake we would like to mention the following. Current UI design trends, tendencies and technologies are being developed with one and the same aim: to make online UX better, easier and more intuitive. In other words, UI developers finally began creating for people, so it’s safe to say that today’s user interfaces are aimed on excellent UX. So, if you want to create a stunning app, you should learn the principles of both (UI & UX) design types.”

(Helga Moreno a.k.a. @templatemonster ~ One Extra Pixel)

The death of technical writing: A two-part rant

Added on 7 May 2014 Peter Bogaards

So many in our field have a similar background of tech writing, communication or documentation. These document people became the page people when the web hit them. Now they move on to the content universe. Keep on moving…

“Since the internet bubble burst of those many years ago, we’ve seen some large software companies stick around, although usually a little smaller they once were. And we’ve seen a few upstart companies turn into similarly large behemoths. Those companies still hire technical writers, although even then they tend to have different names, and often different roles. And they also hire people with funny new job titles like content strategist.”

(Neal Kaplan a.k.a. @nealkaplan ~ Customers and Content)

Defining patient experience

Added on 5 May 2014 Peter Bogaards

Journal as a format. Online, public and to share.

“As patient experience continues to emerge as an area of research and practice in healthcare, the need for standard consistent definition becomes even more critical. Without a common foundation or at least a cornerstone on which to build or adapt, the efforts that follow are set on shaky ground. We offer these ideas not in the promotion of one idea over another, but in recognizing that in existing work and in the shared themes we uncovered there is a strong set of related concepts from which to grow. This will be critical to ensure patient experience remains a viable, respected, and highly embraced part of the healthcare conversation, as we believe it should.”

(Jason A. Wolf et al ~ Patient Experience Journal Volume 1 – Issue 1)

The role of user experience in the product development process

Added on 5 May 2014 Peter Bogaards

With the interdisciplinary work of agile/scrum, UX is not an integral part of product development. And therefore everybody’s responsibility.

“As someone who has worked in the field of user experience for decades, received training on half a dozen development methodologies, and completed over 150 agile projects, one thing that I am quite confused about these days is the term waterfall. In pre-agile times, I never worked in any organization that claimed they were doing waterfall development. If I did hear terms like ‘toss it over the wall’ – and they were as derisive back then as they are now. Product development – at least for products that anyone expects to be successful – has always been iterative, incremental, and collaborative.”

(Steven Hoober a.k.a. @shoobe01 ~ UXmatters)

Designing mobile usability

Added on 5 May 2014 Peter Bogaards

Mobile usability, the same as paper usability or usability of applications. What’s all the difference? The principles are the same, the instantiations not.

“In this interview Jakob Nielsen, explains the rules of mobile usability. He outlines how to create seamless experiences and why designers are plagued with featuritis. He then goes onto explain the reciprocity principle and the importance of user-centred design.”

(Dorm Room Tycoon)

At the INTERSECTION of design thinking and systems thinking

Added on 1 May 2014 Peter Bogaards

Great to be part of this emergent topic and community. More to follow, that’s for sure.

A trip report from a cross-disciplinary event ~ “Last month, I attended an event on what hopefully will become a new community of knowledge and practice: strategic enterprise design. At INTERSECTION (Paris, 16-17 April 2014), the communities of experience design and enterprise architecture and design hooked up, each with their own views, opinions and insights on the enterprise of the future. The conference was a cross-disciplinary encounter of communities, previously hardly aware of each others existence. And as they say, the most interesting things happen around the edges.”

(Peter Bogaards ~ BiRDS on a W!RE)

Relating Systems Thinking and Design 2013 Symposium Proceedings

Added on 29 April 2014 Peter Bogaards

Some deep thinking regarding design and systems thinking by academia.

“The second Oslo symposium engaged over 120 participants in the emerging renaissance of systems thinking in design. The emerging context is being revealed in transdisciplinary responses to increasing complexity in all challenges faced by designers, innovators, and decision makers everywhere. Our worlds have become too complex for linear and goal-driven management, as the modern world is experiencing in hopelessly complicated social, economic, and political institutions. The global demand for sustainability, democratic economies, and better education, employment, and development has resulted in new movements, but perhaps insufficient redesign. The emerging social arrangements have become too complex for conventional thinking.”

(Systemic Design: Emerging contexts for systems perspectives in design)

Design better faceted navigation for your websites

Added on 28 April 2014 Peter Bogaards

Categories, tags, and facets are the descriptors for topics, themes and areas of interests.

“Facets are categories into which the properties of an object or topic can be divided. These categories in turn contain ‘values’: the sub-objects by which the list of items can be filtered. A classic example is the classification of wine. There are many properties by which wines can be categorised: region, colour, type, vineyard and price, among others.”

(Jim Kalbach a.k.a. @JimKalbach ~ Creative Blog)

When to prototype, when to wireframe: How much fidelity can you afford?

Added on 25 April 2014 Peter Bogaards

All kinds of design documents provide you with a view of the future.

“The distinction between wireframe and prototype is almost arbitrary—both are mockups of the proposed application that differ in their fidelity to the final application. The lowest fidelity mockup has hand-drawn sketches which are quick, easy to do, and cheap. A set of black and white static layouts linked via hot zones provides a medium level of fidelity.”

(Garett Dworman ~ Usability Geek)

Why UX designers need to think like architects

Added on 24 April 2014 Peter Bogaards

Design and architecture or architecting. Designer and architect. More parallels than differences: bits and atoms.

“The connections between architectural and experience design are undeniable, the thought processes nearly indistinguishable from one another. When we explore other, older design disciplines, their evolution may begin to guide ours, and we may begin to truly innovate. We are truly the architects, the chief builders, of the web (…)”

(Rima Reda a.k.a. @rimareda ~ UX Magazine)

Cross-platform service user experience: A field study and an initial framework (.pdf)

Added on 23 April 2014 Peter Bogaards

Complexity goes exponential with the IoT design challenge.

“Many web-based services utilize both desktop and mobile terminals in delivering content and functionality to their users. In terms of user experience, the overall chain of interactions, including mobile and non-mobile settings, becomes a central design target. The aim of this study was to investigate, what are the key elements of user experience associated with these, cross- platform interactions. This paper presents the findings from a four week long field study with three web-based cross-platform services. During the study, participants used the services on both their PCs and mobile devices. Diaries and interviews were used for gathering users’ experiences with the services. Based on our findings and reflection with related work, we argue that central elements of cross-platform service UX include fit for cross- contextual activities, flow of interactions and content, and perceived service coherence. We propose an initial conceptual framework of cross-platform user experience. The framework can be used to guide the design of cross-platform web services, as it draws attention to elements of user experience that are essentially influenced by the characteristics of cross-platform settings.”

(Authors: Minna Wäljas, Katarina Segerstah, Kaisa Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, Harri Oinas-Kukkonen)

Systems & design thinking: A conceptual framework for their integration (.pdf)

Added on 22 April 2014 Peter Bogaards

Two mindsets integrated, one from the 20th century, the other from the 21st century.

“This paper explores the relationship between Systems and Design Thinking. It specifically looks into the role of Design in Systems Thinking and how looking at the world through a systems lens influences Design. Our intention is to show the critical concepts developed in the Systems and Design Thinking fields, their underlying assumptions, and the ways in which they can be integrated as a cohesive conceptual framework. While there are many important distinctions that must be considered to understand the similarities and differences of these concepts, gaining a complete understanding of these factors is more than can be covered in this paper. Nevertheless, the most critical classifying variable used to distinguish these concepts will be discussed in order to make their integration possible. This variable, the recognition of purposeful behavior, will be used to develop a conceptual vision for how a combined approach can be used to research, plan, design and manage social systems. Systems in which people play the principle role.”

(Authors: John Pourdehnad, Erica R. Wexler, and Dennis V. Wilson)

The UX axioms: Design better products for people

Added on 22 April 2014 Peter Bogaards

And now not only remember these, but also act upon them accordingly.

“The set of UX axioms has gone through an evolution over the last year as I iterated through the concepts, refined and combined ideas. I started with 150 concepts that were combined and synthesized into an initial set of 50 axioms presented to IxDA Grand Rapids in December 2012. Over the course of 2013, I presented the UX Axioms several times and further synthesized the set down to 21 Axioms. I recently added a few more axioms to the set I felt were missing. The current set stands at 26 UX axioms. Once the axioms are finalized, I will work to produce a card deck similar to the previous Design Axioms and Health Axioms decks produced by Invo. As you go through the axioms, you may notice that several of them equally apply to how we make sense of the world and how we craft our products that are birthed into the world.”

(Erik Dahl a.k.a. @eadahl)