At our most recent South Florida User Experience Meet-up we discussed automated usability testing. I wanted to post the slides here for those who missed them and provide a brief description of the methodology for those who are unfamiliar. (more…)

What does it take to make your website global? I mean technically people can already access it from anywhere if it’s a public site, so all you need is a little bit of translation from babblefish right? Wrong.

Translation
Believe it or not, there is much more to a global site than the language it is written in. Even with language there are many considerations aside from rough translation. For example think about when you talk to a new English speaker. Notice how they seem to mix up certain verbs or tense and even meaning. That’s because language is unique to its culture and does not always directly translate to an equivalent word in other languages and cultures. This is why you should use not just a method of translation, but also back translation. (more…)

As the name “User Experience” professional implies, many of us would say we design for “users”, “potential users”, or “user groups”. However there are currently many trends in place trying to get us to permanently move away from this term of reference and for good reason.

What is a user anyway? If someone walked up to you on the street and said “I’m a user” you probably wouldn’t be thinking of computer user. In fact the second definition of user according to dictionary.com is “one who uses drugs, esp. as an abuser or addict.” 

So who is it we are really designing for?

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This article discusses some of the generalized definitions and critiques of different types of usability design methodologies. Generally people tend to advocate one type or another (User Centric, or Task Centric). However, most designers will tell you that while they may have strong primary preferences, going too far to one end or the other of either spectrum will limit the quality of your design. A good design focuses on all aspects of design in one way or another.

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People generally blame themselves when the design of a website causes them to error. “I should have known better” or “I didn’t know that because I’m new to the site”. This is an interesting response that seems to go against human nature. People tend to naturally blame others for mistakes, and give themselves credit for their successes. Not necessarily out of bad intentions, it’s just easier to accept responsibility for a success, than it is to own up to a failure. This is also seen with the way people interact with objects. (more…)

Testing and talking to your users is an important part of understanding the usability of your system. However, the information you get cannot necessarily be taken at face value. It’s important verify your understanding of the users feedback. (more…)