a technique used to evaluate a product by testing it on users. This can be seen as an irreplaceable usability practice, since it gives direct input on how real users use the system.
98
votes
16answers
4k views
How to discover what users NEED and not what they WANT?
I have been thinking a lot about my favorite quote from Henry Ford:
If I asked people what they wanted, they would have said 'Faster Horses'. -Henry Ford
The trouble I have been having is that ...
23
votes
4answers
2k views
Studies showing that the more form fields there are the less conversions you will get
Same old story really; another client is requesting that they need x number of fields on their Contact Us form, and no amount of explaining that less=more will suffice without providing objective ...
20
votes
6answers
2k views
Why does the golden ratio work? Or does it?
This is just one example of an article promoting use of the golden ratio in design. Over the past few years I've seen quite a few similar articles, but none of them really seem to go into depth beyond ...
15
votes
5answers
393 views
SUS Scores and Doubts
My team just started using the SUS to baseline our applications against each other. There are some doubts regarding the relation of the questions to web applications and web sites. At times study ...
7
votes
4answers
334 views
While establishing Heuristics for usability testing,do you advise using your own heuristics or pre defined ones
I am conducting a usability study of medical content delivery systems and I was planning to use some heuristics present in a CHI paper for my Heuristic evaluation.However since the area of focus is ...
6
votes
4answers
453 views
Software to record a user completing a task
We are building a survey/testing website and one feature we would like to include is asking a user to research something on the internet. Give them a "fake" address bar to put the first URL they want ...
39
votes
7answers
2k views
How do you prevent scope creep in agile projects when usability testing?
I have a client who recently asked me about this problem. I was wondering how you'd handle it?
They are new to UX and to Agile methods, so they are struggling in interesting ways.
As part of a ...
5
votes
3answers
615 views
How to get stakeholder buy-in for proposed UX research initiatives?
Undertaking usability studies often requires selling them first. What methods have you found effective for getting your plans approved?
One example: I've used short project overview plans in the ...
14
votes
5answers
564 views
UX impact of standard stock photos
It's pretty clear to me that standard stock images (examples 1 / examples 2) don't help to build a brand or identity. Are there any studies about the impact of stock images? Any other thoughts?
In ...
6
votes
2answers
596 views
Conducting a competitive analysis
What are the questions you need to ask or the methods you perform when you're doing a competitive web site analysis from a UX perspective? How do you gather the facts? When in the project process do ...
38
votes
20answers
3k views
Do I really need a login button?
We've been having a discussion in the office surrounding a login page we're developing for a new web application. The web application is in intranet-based application, and is mainly used by users who ...
7
votes
6answers
467 views
How do approaches for UX differ between intranets and normal websites?
I have been asked to offer advice for the development of an intranet for a large international company.
The client will be developing the intranet in Sharepoint and is keen to use a user-centric ...
9
votes
3answers
124 views
How can I structure a usability study to produce findings that relate to the long-term use of a tool by an expert user?
I am building a tool that will be used in a call center. The users range from part-time temps to 5 year veterans. I have personas that reflect these.
I have two (quite different) prototypes of a ...
9
votes
3answers
97 views
How to rescue a usability test whose participant is lacking confidence?
Last night, I was conducting a usability test with a participant who was very uncertain of his actions. Before the test, I said all of the usual stuff about it being a test of the software and not ...
3
votes
2answers
422 views
Framework or plugin for tracking user actions on a web application
I've been working for a while on various proof-of-concept applications for social network privacy, which I've evaluated for publication with various user studies.
Is there a useful, free, framework ...
1
vote
1answer
75 views
Looking for best practice, articles, tests or studies on video placement on websites.
We are a publisher of many special interest (that doesn't mean x-rated! ;) news websites (tech, music, sport etc). The majority of our content is editorial but we obviously have a growing amount of ...
13
votes
2answers
438 views
Have usability studies been conducted on the use of alphanumeric characters as labels for controller buttons?
Controller Question
Over the years there have been a wide variety of home consoles each with their own (mostly) unique controller designs1. One thing that most consoles have in common is their use of ...
4
votes
1answer
240 views
Usability of Popup sharing / search toolbars on websites
I've been noticing an increase in sites that are using a dropdown / popup sharing and search panel
(The main site of note being http://www.uxmatters.com/)
Is there any research into whether this ...
