Different formal and systematic approaches to improving UX and assessing its quality.
3
votes
1answer
36 views
What sort of tasks should be included in a lab test to determine baseline for a user?
I'm starting some lab testing and I'm an on-the-job trained UXer and have watched a decent number of tests, but haven't constructed a lot on my own.
When doing a more formal test and not a guerrilla ...
11
votes
3answers
397 views
Should I ask for demographic information in a survey at the end or beginning? [duplicate]
I'm conducting a survey, and will ask for demographic information, e.g., gender, age, level of education, frequency of computer use. Should I ask users for this information at the beginning of the ...
22
votes
5answers
414 views
Avoiding designing by committee
How can one avoid making a design that satisfies everyone, but pleases no one?
As a UI designer, you often find yourself a part of a development team, with numerous stakeholders. Now, when it comes ...
-1
votes
1answer
83 views
How to prioritize content and functionality [closed]
During a brainstorm activity it's sometimes easy to come up with a lot of ideas and solutions to various user problems. How do you prioritize the ideas to focus your resources and avoid scope creep?
23
votes
15answers
1k views
Should personal data be asked at the beginning or end of an online survey
Given a 10-step online survey (mostly yes/no radio buttons), where is it best to ask for the users' personal data e.g. name, age, contact details?
My intuition says putting it at the end will yield ...
5
votes
3answers
297 views
What other UX processes exist other than user centered design?
What other well known processes or approaches for creating an user experience (such as an app or website) exist except the user centered design approach and what are their strengths and weaknesses?
11
votes
4answers
892 views
Is user centered design only about hygiene factors?
There is one thing that bothers me about UX-design. One of the shortcomings of a user centered design approach, is that it only focuses on existing needs and not on new revolutionary ideas. For ...
4
votes
3answers
239 views
What is the usual way to specify a GUI?
What is the typical or most effective way to specify the design decisions and interaction patterns of a specific application's GUI?
I began to realize I do not really know what the parts of a precise ...
3
votes
3answers
541 views
What is the difference between site objectives and business requirements?
A lot of generic ux processes usually start with defining a sites goal and objectives such as "reduce customer calls by 5%" or attract new customers by 10%" etc. Then it is recommended that you ...
7
votes
3answers
246 views
How to document user interviews
What are the best practices to document interviews with users - do you just document the conclusions and take aways or do you do a full transcript or both?
3
votes
2answers
134 views
What existing materials does a UI designer need for a web design project
I hired a web UI designer for a project. I have professionally-done page wireframes with basic mark-ups ready, and I have clear documentation about the contents and functionalities of every component ...
5
votes
2answers
283 views
Wireframes first or after rough visual design sketches?
This is how I usually work:
After completed business and user requirements gathering I have a brainstorming session together with the project group to come up with big, high-level ideas about the ...
3
votes
3answers
204 views
How to group users into personas
I'm freaking out! I've read more articles about personas than I can remember but there is one thing I can't seem to understand. And that is how do you group users into personas?
What methods and ...
3
votes
1answer
179 views
Counting Clicks vs. Path Deviations
We're developing some metrics for upcoming usability testing. Our previous practice has been to count the number of clicks required to complete a task. This works relatively well but users that enjoy ...
2
votes
1answer
206 views
Retroactive UX research
When doing UX research, this usually means laying the foundations for future building. Usability testing is a way of finding errors in prototype or fully working products. But what are the questions I ...
9
votes
4answers
270 views
How to set up an observation room
I'm going to do user testing (usability testing, like Steve Krug does).
I want :
my co-workers to listen/watch the test live, while I'm doing it, in a
seperate room.
to record the screen and ...
9
votes
1answer
699 views
Are there any project methodologies for UI Design?
For my graduation assignment I'm going to design a completely new UI for my company's software. One of the requirements my university imposes is that the entire process be based on a project ...
2
votes
2answers
295 views
What is a good method/formula for estimating how much time a usability test will require?
I was setting up a usability test at my office where we have never done much formal usability testing. One of management's first questions was, "How long will this take?" I didn't have a good answer ...
1
vote
0answers
102 views
How do product based companies differ in UX approach? [closed]
How do product based companies (say, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, etc.) differ in their UX methodologies and approaches when compared to service based companies (say, Cognizant, TCS, etc.). Service based ...
1
vote
1answer
125 views
UX and UI copy / knockoffs - looking for stories [closed]
I'm researching the concept of copying experiences and design for a lecture I'm about to give. Why are we copying, what are the right and wrong considerations we take, and how does it effect the user ...
6
votes
4answers
637 views
What is the difference between “Task Analysis” and “User Journey”?
I been recently reading about User Journey - as a Methodology to capture how user would use a website or interface - a journey as such broadly. But is it synonymous to "Task Analysis" - because both ...
5
votes
2answers
302 views
What is a simple way to explain the disciplines and benefits of UX to a client?
What is the clearest way to explain to a client the disciplines and benefits of User Experience Design?
What I've got so far...
This is the clearest definition of the disciplines I've seen, but it ...
4
votes
4answers
178 views
Methodology to determine ideal feature mix?
Aiming for a New Target: The Perfectly Featured Product presents an argument against featuritis (and provides some explanations as to how those situations arise).
The author (John Devanney) ...
2
votes
2answers
100 views
Quantifying downloaded audio: minutes?
I have this app I am making that seeks to quantify a user's book reading patterns based on what the users input themselves. it records how many pages they read (for physical books) or CDs listened to ...
5
votes
2answers
339 views
UXD Methodology - Best practices for identifying a Global Navigation Toolbar implementation
I am part of a large webapp project, but a small UX team (we just went from 1 to 2, a few weeks ago). We were brought in terribly late in the process, to the point where there was literally no chance ...
12
votes
6answers
796 views
How did multi-touch interfaces become natural when it should have been unnatural?
After stumbling on a webpage that rants about the fallacy of "picture under glass", I began to wonder what was it that made multi-touch interfaces seemingly become so natural to all of us today?
We ...
16
votes
6answers
757 views
What does it mean to 'humanise' interfaces?
When people say 'humanise' an interface, what exactly do they mean? Or is there a more formal word to this idea.
The word 'humanise' sounds vague to me. It could mean several ideas if not taken ...
3
votes
3answers
200 views
Relationship between anthropomorphism and NUI?
Is there any relevancy or relationship between anthropomorphism and natural user interfaces, in particular with multi-touch surface interfaces?
Since the idea of anthropomorphism gives a connotation ...
22
votes
2answers
440 views
Defining “Instantaneous” as part of usability acceptance criteria
The Setup
I have run into this problem time and time again. An interface is performing slow and QA and/or Engineering come back and ask, "can you please define the acceptance criteria for how fast ...
0
votes
2answers
188 views
What is your design Methodology?
I was asked this question once and the only honest answer I could think of was "It depends" since the process would depend on the needs of the project and what the end goal is .However do you have a ...
9
votes
2answers
160 views
How do you test phrasing of labels, links, and descriptive text?
At my workplace, an academic library, we often have extended conflicts over exactly how to phrase labels, links, and descriptive text.
For example, one link on our home page goes to a list of topics, ...
6
votes
4answers
279 views
How to convince stakeholders to invest in proper UX?
I'm working on a web app with a team of 5, including me. One database administrator, one project manager, two programmers and me the front-end designer. This project is an internal reporting system.
...
7
votes
7answers
710 views
How to measure self reported computer proficiency? Ideally with one item
For a usability test, I'd like to have a simple measure for computer proficiency, to be able to see, whether it has an impact on successfully handling the tasks.
How can we best measure that?
A ...
5
votes
2answers
240 views
How to validate large-scale IA without skewing data? Crowd-sourced techniques?
I am pitching for a job that requires validation of the information architecture of a very large health and social care website of around 6500 pages.
Here is my approach:
Analyse existing ...
3
votes
2answers
473 views
Methodology difference between UX and Usability
What methodologies do user experience professionals adopt that differentiate them from usability professionals.
2
votes
2answers
343 views
what question should be asked to make a persona
I am currently designing an interview plan in order to make a persona for our products(an ERP software, already online).
So here is the outline of the questions that i want to asked:
know your user ...
4
votes
1answer
323 views
Requirement gathering in absence of user involvement?
In typical UCD we begin requirements with methods that enable us to capture the wants and needs and get a fair idea about the user's mental model. Which helps us in developing the requirements for the ...
1
vote
1answer
96 views
Is there any testing methodology similar to A/B testing, but without a specific goal?
Please forgive me; this may be somewhat long-winded.
I work in an academic library. I'd like to study how well assorted features of our site are serving our users' needs; for example, labeling of UI ...
3
votes
1answer
219 views
User usability analysis [closed]
i am unable to find the answers to the following questions.Please help me resolve
(a) Name quantitative and qualitative techniques for analysing the usability of a software product.
(b) Compare the ...
2
votes
5answers
598 views
Explaining small sample size---influencing stakeholders
I am new to the user experience world. Based on some references I've read and threads here, it's Ok to determine statistical significance and compare means for a small sample size of 11 (7 users in ...
4
votes
1answer
610 views
methods for evaluating a complex information architecture
I have been asked to evaluate a clients proposed IA based. The IA is only in excel and we have no wireframes or mockups to test.
The most obvious method would be a card sort but due to the sheer ...
4
votes
2answers
229 views
What tools/methods do you use to get from a project kickoff to wireframes?
I'm a one man IA/IxD/UX team for a small applications development company and I also end up writing the requirements for projects.
I was wondering what tools, methods and questions are used to get ...
1
vote
1answer
63 views
Design for users - Preliminary tests / methods?
Usability seems to be placed, after the application is developed.
What methods should we look at, when we want to build a user centred application, before we actually create a version for users ...
2
votes
1answer
203 views
Data visualization for small web projects
What's an example of good data visualization for a small web projects?
I don't want to overwhelm the client. I must track progress, and keep stakeholders engaged.
What I've got so far
PERCENT OF ...
2
votes
3answers
454 views
Relationship between Front-End Dev and Interaction Design [closed]
[I am not changing the original question as there are valuable answers here. but the research I was conducting is now finished and results are published here
and http://hci.me.uk/jqueryperformance/
...
10
votes
4answers
493 views
So are there “standards” for UX?
I'm establishing a new UX unit in our organization, and whenever I try to introduce something, I get asked about "standards". You know, questions like "So do you have any standards that you based this ...
6
votes
5answers
422 views
How do you know when an interface is complete?
Meaning that a usability test measures if an interface meets the goals it sets, but only test what is present. How do I know when an interface is complete? Meaning a test, or measure of completeness, ...
13
votes
5answers
810 views
What systematic methods there are for designing user interfaces?
I'm writing my Masters thesis about one method for designing user interfaces (GUIDe+GDD from Sari Laakso) and I would like to know what other systematic methods there are for UI design/interaction ...
25
votes
12answers
4k views
Big list of UX techniques
Can anyone point to a big list of UX techniques?
I'd like to build a matrix of those I use, those I don't, along with relative cost estimates.
12
votes
9answers
153 views
How do you ensure that you've covered the whole site in your work?
I'm a relatively recent practitioner, and although my work's quality is pretty good, I still have one big back-draw (in my opinion): I always miss something or two when making or fixing a web site.
...
