Sign Up Forms Must Die

You load a new web service, eager to dive in and start engaging, and what's the first thing that greets you? A sign-up form. We can do better, says Luke Wroblewski, author of Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks. Via a technique of "gradual engagment," we can get people using and caring about our web services instead of frustrating them (or sending them to a competitor's site) by forcing them to fill out a sign-up form first.

Wroblewski, Luke. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Web Design>Forms>User Centered Design

Simplicity Costs Less and Works Better

If ordinary people have to use it, make it simple. You'll be doing your users a favour, and saving money too.

Baker, Adam. Merges.net (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

So What Is User Requirements Gathering?

More than one reader has pointed out that our recent article 'Alternatives To User Requirement Gathering' spent plenty of time illustrating why certain methods were inappropriate for the task of requirement gathering, without actually detailing the correct way to undertake this type of research. In way of compensation, this week we provide some (brief) advice on this absolutely crucial area to successful application or site development.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

Social Web Application Design

Luke has made some great slides about Social Web Application Design, saying some very sensible things very well. I particularly like the 'System' diagram that shows how, when thinking about a simple photo, how it can be connected to other entities and related, aggregated and re-presented.

Smith, Tom. Other Blog, The (2006). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>User Centered Design

The Software for Cultures and the Cultures in Software  

Software is viewed as an artifact which interacts with cultures of societies in which it functions. Software manufacturers make efforts to adapt the appearance of their products to aesthetic and historical values of the markets in which they are sold (“software for cultures”). It is well known that software embeds behavioral and organizational principles that are culture-determined (“cultures in software”). Internet and e-commerce bring these phenomena into the fore of the debate on societal implications of Information Technology. The paper argues for a research agenda on the multifaceted interactions between software and culture.

Kersten, Gregory E., Stan Matwin, Sunil J. Noronha and Mik A. Kersten. University of Ottawa (1999). Articles>User Centered Design>Software

Review: Some Reflections on the Emergence of a Profession    

Producing Quality Technical Information played a major role in the shift from product-oriented information to user-oriented information. It brought to a large community of technical communicators an awareness of the role that technical information should play: not a description of a technical product or process but, rather, a description of what people need to do to use the product or perform the process. This shift in focus -- from product to user -- led to many changes in our profession and in our professional careers. No longer mere documentors of what others had done, we emerged as professionals who added value and usability to the project on which we worked.

Grice, Roger A. Journal of Computer Documentation (2002). Articles>Reviews>User Centered Design

Stalking the User: Practical Field Research  

Describes how technical communicators can use field research--observing people in their workplaces, homes, and schools--to gain a better understanding of user behavior.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. Intercom (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>User Centered Design

Stop Obsessing About Conversion Rate

Perhaps there is no other single metric that is abused as much as conversion rate, none that is perhaps more detrimental to solving for a holistic customer experience on the website because of the company behavior it drives.

Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Stop Writing Documentation!  

Redesign your information; write topics, not books.

Hackos, JoAnn T. ComTech Services (2001). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design

Strategies for Sizing UCD Projects

When discussing strategies for sizing UCD projects with consultants, it quickly becomes evident that there seem to be as many strategies as there are consultants. This document will define and describe commonly used strategies, identify each strategy’s scope (i.e., whether it applies to design, research, or evaluation), suggest situations in which each strategy would be best suited, and identify pros, cons, and caveats to its use.

Usability Body of Knowledge. Articles>User Centered Design>Project Management

Strategies for Usability: Putting ISO Standards to Practice  

Is your documentation and training a solution for complex product design? Whether designing software, hardware, documentation, online help, or a telecommunication network, a strategy for usability is essential to user-friendly design.

Dick, David J. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

Success Factors in Developing Electronic Performance Support Systems (EPSS)  

This session examines the factors that underlie a successful implementation of an electronic performance support system (EPSS). It introduces the concept of performance support and differentiates between supporting a software application and supporting a person performing work. An electronic performance support system being used in a major corporation to improve the performance of documentation developers is demonstrated. The results of a survey of implementors of electronic performance support systems to gague success factors is presented.

Hyman, Francine N. and Thomas W. Jury. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>User Centered Design>EPSS

Synthesis of Results of 'Interview with Designer': Goals of the Designer and Implications for Research and Re-Design  

In order to gain a better understanding of the designer’s intentions with the Arthritis Source, we conducted an interview with the designer, Rick Matsen, on November 15, 1999. Further, we wanted to gather more information that would generate potential research questions for the PETTT team as well as re-design ideas for the D3 team. Below is a summary of Rick’s interview compiled from observations of four researchers, followed by the implications for re-design and research questions.

Fondiller, Julianne, Jennifer Turns, Jake Burghardt, Brett Shelton and Scott Macklin. PETTT (2000). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design

Tacit Knowledge, Knowledge Management, and Active User Participation in Web Site Navigation      

One of the reasons that people who seek out information on web sites often feel powerless is that when they do not find what they are looking for, their own tacit sense of what they know is not validated. If tacit knowledge is not calculated for in the design of a web site, it puts the people navigating the site in the position of passive observers. The primary reason for this can be found in the rigid organization schemes in place on many sites. Even the most sophisticated manuals that offer methods for designing web site architectures fail to suggest how they can replicate what is known in knowledge management circles as an “enabling environment.”

Applen, J.D. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Knowledge Management>Web Design

Task Analysis, User-Centered Design, and Group Decision Making  

Task analysis information is gathered from present and future customers within a clearly specified domain. Participants in the session are carefully selected to be representative of the target market. Information is gathered in a way to reduce the potential for bias. Participants provide information in their own words, group data in ways meaningful to them, prioritize tasks according to their business needs, and provide extensive detail on their most important tasks. By session end, there is group consensus defining the most important user tasks. And, through use of our meeting software, we have captured all the information for ready analysis.

Rauch, Thyra L., Candace Soderston and Rick LaRose. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>User Centered Design>Collaboration

Tech Writing 2.0: Special Report on New Trends in User Documentation

This report outlines the developments in what many are calling "Web 2.0" and the impact that these developments may have on technical and user documentation. We've called these trends "Tech Writing 2.0". Tech Writing 2.0 promises a new means of communication that business can use to promote and support their products and services. This means that the nature of technical communication will change.

Pratt, Ellis. Cherryleaf (2006). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>User Centered Design

Tech-Support Tales: Internet Hard to Use for Novice Users

The Internet is still much too difficult to use for novice users. Specialized information appliances like WebTV reduce complexity but still involve considerable risk of user error.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1997). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability

Technical Writing in Everyday Life: One User's Experience

The experience of setting up a new home theater system also sharply reminded me of what it is like to look at something as a new user: staring at a bunch of knobs and holes for the first time, holding a tassel of wire in one hand and a manual in the other, and really just wanting the darn piece of ?%^%! to do what it's supposed to do.

Vedrody, Sarah. MetroVoice (2002). Articles>Documentation>User Centered Design>Technical Writing

Technology for Change

If you're not using these technologies now, your thinking is already outdated.

Janisch, Troy. Icon Interactive. Articles>Technology>User Centered Design

Technology Would Be Great, If It Weren't for the Users

We are at a crucial point, where technology developments have achieved their peak, but have left users behind. Why? And what should we do about it?

Draheim, Andrew. LISA (2004). Articles>Technology>User Centered Design

Toward Integrating Our Research Scope: A Sociocultural Field Methodology    

Technical communicators have recently become interested in user-centered design (UCD) for designing and evaluating technical genres. Yet, a critical examination of the field methods of UCD suggests that they suffer from unintegrated scope: an undesirably limiting focus on a particular level of scope (either the macroscopic level of human activity or the mesoscopic level of goal-directed action) in their theoretical underpinnings and data collection and analysis. This focus is often paired with the assumption that this particular level of scope causally affects what happens at the other levels. Both the focus and the assumption are at odds with sociocultural theories of human activity. This article lays out the problem of unintegrated scope and examines it through critical analyses of two field methods used in UCD research. It concludes by proposing an integrated-scope research methodology for UCD research, with roots in both sociocultural theory and the central issues of technical communication.

Spinuzzi, Clay. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2001). Articles>Usability>Methods>User Centered Design

Trinity: A Mindset and Strategic Approach

The goal of the Trinity mindset is to power the generation of actionable insights. Its goal is not to do reporting. Its goal is not to figure out how to spam decision makers with data. Actionable Insights and Metrics are the uber-goal simply because they drive strategic differentiation and a sustainable competitive advantage.

Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Trouble Free Computing: Leveraging Published Information to Assist with Computing Errors

As computers become more complex and pervasive in modern society, humans also become more dependent on the systems and services supporting the computer. The ability to efficiently deal with problems when there is a break in the technical system will be more critical as society heads down this technological path.

Bennett, Benford A. Orange Journal, The (2004). Articles>Computing>User Centered Design

Twenty Ways to Make Lectures More Participatory

Lectures play a vital role in teaching. There will always be a place for lectures in the curriculum -- to give technical material or factual information, to provide structure to material or an argument, to display a method or example of how one thinks in a given field, or even to inspire and motivate students to explore further. At the same time, it often enhances both your presentation of the material and students’ learning when students are able to participate in some way. When students engage actively with material, they generally understand it better and remember it longer.

Harvard University (2002). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>User Centered Design