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601. #18937 Starting a Career in User Experience This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design. Haid, Marcus. Adaptive Path (2003). Careers>Usability>User Centered Design>User Experience 602. #21118 Statistically Analyzing Success Rates in Web Usability Testing: The Cochran's Q Test The Cochran's Q Test can be used to statistically analyze success rate data. It can be used even when only a small number of users are tested. This provides some indication that a vast amount of usability data can, and should be statistically analyzed Griffith, Jamie. WebWord (2001). Articles>Web Design>Statistics>Usability 603. #25132 Learn how to stay ahead of your competitors in the fast-paced ever-changing world of the Internet. Claiborne, Scottie. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability 604. #21139 Some users are out to destroy you. Some users want you to fail. Some users would like to crush your business. They hate you. They hate your web site. They don't like you. They don't like your company. They are poisonous, vengeful, and twisted. And they're smart. Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Design>Web Design>Usability 605. #14340 Stop the Presses! Experts Offer Tips On Usability: News Sites Have a Lot To Learn For all the hoopla of the last few years and the maturing of the online media business, this is still a medium where the practitioners have lots to learn. These are still the pioneer days. So as I look at news Web sites, in particular, I still see lots of room for improvement and experimentation. So do the self-appointed guardians of Web content quality, the usability experts and Web writing gurus. I recently asked several such individuals to make suggestions on how news-oriented sites can be improved -- how they can better serve their users and thus better evolve into viable independent enterprises. Here are some of their best ideas gleaned that might help you make improvements on your site(s) -- or help you to realize that there's a problem or need for improvement in the first place. I've added my ideas into the mix, as well. Outing, Steve. Editor and Publisher (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability 606. #18669 Strategic Usability: Partnering Business, Engineering and Ease of Use It's easy to fall into working in response to how things are going, instead of using usability engineering as a way to help lead a team in the right direction. Thinking strategically about the connections between business goals, and engineering practices can can help. Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (2002). Design>Usability 607. #19952 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 608. #24873 Streamlining an Interface Using Information Design Principles Describes a process for improving interface usability. Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Design>Usability>User Interface 609. #29156 In this article, we present a usability experiment in which participants were asked to make intensive use of information on an intranet in order to execute job-related tasks. Participants had to work with one of two versions of an intranet: one with an organization-based hyperlink structure, and one with a task-based hyperlink structure. Efficiency and effectiveness were measured in terms of execution time and task accuracy, respectively. After the task execution, participants were asked to evaluate the task as well as the intranet. The results show that participants perform more efficiently with the organization-based structure, which is probably due to their familiarity with this structure. A post hoc analysis revealed, however, a learning effect in the task condition, which suggests that once users are acquainted with it, a task structure is at least as efficient. Cozijn, Reinier, Alfons Maes, Didie Schackman and Nicole Ummelen. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2007). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>Usability 610. #19189 Stuckness and Low Vision: How Technology and Socratic Classroom Dialogue Changed my Life Gloria discusses her low-vision condition, the problems it poses in her life and work and the accommodation strategies she has developed. Reece, Gloria A. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual 611. #10399 This study investigates the effectiveness of information design principles and feedback-based usability testing in the development of clinical questionnaires, with the goal of increasing the amount of data collected in the Breast Cancer Lymphatic Mapping Database at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute. It finds that although both the Control and Study forms were generated using the same form design software, the Study form developed using information design principles collected significantly more data than the Control form developed by a systems analyst. The article observes that information designers face conflicts between the needs of users, general information design guidelines, constraints of the software, and misunderstandings by medical researchers and health professionals over the role of information designers. Zimmerman, Beverly B. and Jessica R. Schultz. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Information Design>Usability 612. #13556 Supporting Multiple-Location Users About half of the users now access the Internet from more than one location. Despite the implications of this for service design, many systems assume that users remain bound to a single computer. Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability 613. #18614 Surpassing Gutenberg--Access to Published Information for Blind Readers We examine some surprising reasons to explain why electronic book publishing will become a versatile medium comprising 10% of all consumer book sales in the U.S. by 2005, estimated by Anderson Consulting at $2.3 billion. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) and the Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF) both pin this expectation on open standards--any book, anytime, anywhere, for anyone. Electronic books will succeed, we argue, in part because they provide communicative opportunities not available in traditional, static print media. But, they will also succeed because of developments in technology for blind readers which will benefit all readers regardless of ability or disability. As evidence we offer, among other points, Microsoft Corporation's licensing of technology developed to benefit blind people for use in Microsoft Reader and mainstream publishing applications. We demonstrate, further, that technology transfer from disability to mainstream use has solid historic precedent. Sajka, Janina and George Kerscher. American Foundation for the Blind (2002). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual 614. #10582 Surprises on the Web: Results from Usability Testing We were surprised by how hard it was to compare simple facts on the web. We asked users to compare facts (Which vehicle has the better rebate: the Geo Tracker or the Isuzu Rodeo?) on sites that had all the necessary information. Users found these tasks frustrating; our randomly- chosen test sites were not designed to facilitate comparisons. User Interface Engineering (1996). Articles>Usability>Web Design 615. #22214 Make your site easier to use by giving your visitors a virtual 'ruler' to guide and track their progress down long data tables. With a pinch of JavaScript and a dash of the DOM, your table rows will light up as your visitors hover over them. Heilmann, Christian. List Apart, A (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability 616. #25536 Tackling Usability Gotchas in Large-scale Site Redesigns Redesigns can solve old usability problems while creating new ones that must be solved in turn. From the lessons of the ALA 3.0 redesign comes this quick study in remapping content without frustrating readers. Zeldman, Jeffrey. List Apart, A (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability 617. #25702 Task-Based Audience Segmentation Design research is something that is widely practiced to produce anything from a better version of tax software to a new toy for kids. Its purpose is to understand customers (users) and match products to them. To date, most corporate and nonprofit research has focused either on persuading someone towards a 'purchase decision' or asking current users what they’d like added to a product. Young, Indi. Adaptive Path (2005). Design>Usability>Audience Analysis 618. #20703 This site is dedicated to increasing awareness of the benefits derived from the use of 'user-centered' development methods in the creation of advanced technological solutions to complex social and business problems. The primary focus of our editorial content is on screen-based products and services. In the strong belief that knowledge is power and collaboration expands knowledge we have created this site with the hope of building an executive resource for user-centered design information. 619. #20869 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 620. #25291 Explaining what you actually do is the first thing your website should do, but many sites forget this most basic of information. Find out how to do this effectively and avoid leaving your site visitors in the dark. Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability 621. #24111 Being sensitive to the fact that the user is in control, many sites simply present as many options as possible on their home pages. The thinking apparently being that the more choices you show on page one, the more likely you are to present something that connects with as many visitors as possible. Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design 622. #21006 This year's winning intranet designs emphasized workflow support, self-service content management, and offloading tasks from email to collaboration tools. On average, companies spent three years between redesigns, and one year on the redesign itself. Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Design>Web Design>Intranets>Usability 623. #19342 Ten Design-less Rules for Successful Web Design Ten guidelines for effective web design. Ragouzis, Nick. Enosis.com (1997). Design>Web Design>Usability 624. #11902 Ten Guidelines for User-Centered Web Design In UCD, your development cycle includes stages for both usability design and testing. Be sure to get user feedback throughout development and don’t settle on a final direction or design too soon. Usability testing is the only way you can know if your particular site meets these users’ needs. Truchard, Aimee and Raissa Katz-Haas. Usability Interface (1998). Articles>Usability>Web Design 625. #28697 Ten High-Profit Redesign Priorities Several usability findings lead directly to higher sales and increased customer loyalty. These design tactics should be your first priority when updating your website. Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Web Design>Usability>
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