404 Page on a Static Site

Here’s a very quick, but very useful trick. You can catch 404 errors (page not found) on a static site and serve up a custom 404 page with a one-liner in your .htaccess file.

Coyier, Chris. CSS-Tricks (2008). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design

Using Persona Advocates to Develop User-Centric Intranets and Portals

One powerful design tool, personas, can help provide a framework for building Intranets that will satisfy a variety of needs. Effectively developed and used, personas enable Intranet teams to hone in on user needs and build interfaces and user experiences that end-user audiences can and will use.

McQueen, Howard. McQueen Consulting (2008). Articles>User Centered Design>Methods>Personas

Does the Typeface of a Resume Impact Our Perception of the Applicant?

Resumes play an important role when applying for a job. Unfortunately, many applicants focus only on the content of the resume and not the appearance. The typeface chosen to display the resume not only influences the physical appearance, but also influences how an employer may view the applicant. In this study, resumes displayed in a high appropriate typeface (Corbel), resulted in the applicant being perceived as more knowledgeable, mature, experienced, professional, believable, and trustworthy than when displayed in a neutral typeface (Tempus Sans) or low appropriate typeface (Vivaldi). Moreover, the applicant was more likely to be called for an interview when their resume was displayed in a high appropriate typeface than a neutral or low appropriate typeface.

Shaikh, A. Dawn and Doug Fox. Usability News (2008). Careers>Resumes>Typography>User Centered Design

Usability Evaluation of a University Portal Website

This article provides a summary of a usability evaluation of a university portal website. University faculty, staff, and student users were asked to complete representative search tasks and provide feedback on the portal usability. Several user interface design issues were found to impact user performance in terms of task success and perceived task difficulty, in addition to overall satisfaction. From these results, recommendations are made for university portal design related to the default 'home' page, channel customization and configuration, and placement of user-specific functions.

Chaparro, Barbara S. Usability News (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design

Has Anyone Used Your Product

Before you release a product, have some people use it. From these "test users" get solutions to problems, tips and knowledge that would help your real-life Users. Put that information in your User Documentation, and on your product support website.

Great Technical Writing (2008). Articles>Documentation>Technical Writing>User Centered Design

Children Are Users Too  

The following is what has been collectively pulled-through as the main points from Ella Tallyn's and Jon Pettigrew's respective presentations. These points should serve as introductory guidelines for UCD with children.

Demming, GiGi. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Presentations>User Centered Design>Accessibility>Children

When Kids Use the Web: A Naturalistic Comparison of Children's Navigation Behavior and Subjective Preferences on Two WWW Sites

This paper reports the results of scavenger-hunt usability tests conducted with 16 adolescent children (8 males and 8 females) in two age groups (12 years old and 16 years old), using two general-interest topical Web sites. The tests yield comparison data regarding both search performance and self-reported subjective preferences. The sole independent variable affecting search performance was the age of the subject, from which the authors conclude that children's domain knowledge may be a key component of their ability to retrieve information successfully from Web-based systems. Subjective preferences of children are systematically compared to previously reported preference data for adults who tested the same topical Web sites. Based on these data, as well as on insights based on subjects' verbal protocols, conclusions regarding both commonalities and differences in Web usability requirements between adults and children are suggested.

Sullivan, Terry, Cathleen Norris, Martha Peet and Elliot Soloway. Conference on Human Factors and the Web (2000). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Children

Brint.com: Why More is Not Better

Information architect Lou Rosenfeld never thought he'd criticize a website for being over-architected. Then he saw Brint.com and its 16 navigational systems.

Rosenfeld, Louis. CIO Magazine (2000). Articles>Web Design>Information Design>User Centered Design

Everybody Hates the Cable Guy

It's all too common for IT players to emphasize the technology and ignore the information that the technology exists to convey. Take my friendly local cable provider, MediaOne.

Rosenfeld, Louis. CIO Magazine (2000). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Case Studies

Making Decisions About User Research

We know that we should do user research for projects. All the user-centred design material says so, we talk about it at conferences, we put it in proposals. We just know that it is a good thing to do. But when I talk to people about their actual projects, I find that very few people actually do user research. There are many many reasons (no time, no money, already know what users need etc etc etc). I think that part of the reason it doesn’t happen is also that we don’t have good tools to tell us just how much research to do, and even when it isn’t necessary at all to do research.

Spencer, Donna. DonnaM (2008). Articles>Research>Usability>User Centered Design

Are Designers Focused Enough on User Needs?

I find that many designers give much more of their time to learning the latest standards trick than learning the latest “designing for users” trick. Here are a few reasons why this may be so.

Porter, Joshua. Bokardo (2008). Articles>Web Design>Standards>User Centered Design

An Ethnographic Approach to User Experience: A Bibliography

A 2002 bibliography of writings in the area of ethnography and user experience.

Ferguson, Louise. Louise Ferguson (2002). Articles>Bibliographies>User Experience>User Centered Design

Coming of Age in Ethnography

I first heard of ethnography in Sociology 101. In his sonorous voice, our professor regaled us with tales of intrepid anthropologists immersing themselves in little-known cultures in exotic settings. We discussed Margaret Mead's seminal work, Coming of Age in Samoa. We examined the rigors of fieldwork, the tension between observation and participation and the challenge of analysis. It was a great class and I even opted for Soc 102. And that was that. Ethnography faded into the recesses of my mind until reawakened with a start a few years ago when I began hearing it applied to Web design. And it scared me spitless.

Rogers, David J. GotoMedia (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Ethnographies

Accessibility in User-Centered Design

A brief introduction, with linked resources, for those unfamiliar with accessibility and/or user-centred design.

Henry, Shawn Lawton. UIaccess (2004). Articles>User Centered Design>Accessibility

Lather-Rinse-Repeat: A User-Centered Design Approach

User-Centered Design.hmm.seems intuitive, doesn't it? Obviously, if we're launching something onto the World Wide Web, we must be expecting someone to use it — duh. Though this may be true, many companies are missing the mark and their audience and, consequently, their business objectives by failing to successfully integrate the user. A User-Centered Design approach can create successes by merging business and user objectives to deliver a service that users value, while generating a benefit for the business.

Hesketh (2004). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design

User-Centered Design and Web Development

User Centered-Design (UCD) is a philosophy and a process. It is a philosophy that places the person (as opposed to the 'thing') at the center; it is a process that focuses on cognitive factors (such as perception, memory, learning, problem-solving, etc.) as they come into play during peoples' interactions with things. UCD seeks to answer questions about users and their tasks and goals, then use the findings to drive development and design.

Katz-Haas, Raissa. STC Usability SIG (1998). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design

Adapting the Design Process to Address More Customers in More Situations

While user-centered design (UCD) is a commonly used process for designing mainstream hardware, software, and web interfaces; design for accessibility is relatively uncommon in education and practice. As a result, the scope of users and the situations in which they operate products is not as inclusive as it could be. Designing for accessibility does not require a whole new process. Accessible design techniques fit well into established UCD processes for designing a range of products, from a handheld device, to office software, to a government web site. By integrating accessibility into the design process, designers can efficiently create products that work effectively for more people in more situations.

Henry, Shawn Lawton. UIaccess (2001). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design

Adopting User-Centered Design Within An Agile Process: A Conversation  

eXtreme Programming and other agile processes provide a middle ground between chaos and over-elaborate processes sometimes referred to as 'death by documentation'. A particular attrtactive aspect of the agile approach for many teams is its willingness to accomodate change no matter how advanced development might be. However, this very flexibility can cause user interface design issues and ensuing usability problems. Adopting a user-centered approach to user interface design can address these issues, as the following simulated conversation between a user-centered design consultant and an XP team leader will explain.

Hudson, William. UIaccess (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Agile>Project Management

Art, Science, and Magic: What Really Happens During User-Centered Design?

One of the great debates in user-centered design (UCD) centers on whether UCD is an art or a science. If one were to examine the research literature on how concepts are formed, some surprising insights emerge with respect to this important dilemma. A primary concept from this area of research is "subsumption." Can the concept of subsumption be helpful in resolving the "art vs. science" question for UCD? The answer is, well...maybe!

Righi, Carol. ViewPointz (2002). Articles>User Centered Design

Can You Purchase Wisdom?

Among the things that have surprised me recently happened on a brief consulting gig. We had come to talk to them about a process for user-centered design for their websites (both external and internal). Among the problems they were facing on their internal websites were implementations of enterprise software to facilitate things like tracking human resources issues (vacation days, sick leave) and financials (payroll, accounts payable, etc.) The problem wasn't one of features and functionality -- the software did everything they wanted it to do. The problem was one of design -- learning how to use this system was quite difficult, and often ran contrary to how people currently worked.

PeterMe.com (2002). Articles>User Centered Design

Client Centered Design

What is the difference between user centered design and usability? Until writing this column I didn't have the faintest idea.

Koch, Peter-Paul. Digital Web Magazine (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Usability

Delivering Expected Value to Users and Stakeholders with User Engineering  

The success of a product or service depends on how well it is received by its intended audience. Usually success results from a systematic design process that involves the intended users. The user experience consists of how a product or service is perceived by users, and the goal is to make the experience consistent and supportive. User Engineering (UE) is an evolving discipline that focuses on designing the total user experience, from initial awareness and acquisition of a product or service—the “offering”—to first use, then day-to-day use, onward through the life cycle of the offering.

Berry, D., C. Hungate and T. Temple. IBM (2003). Articles>User Centered Design

Design By Or For the People?

User-centred design is now widely accepted, but the emphasis on its usability component under-estimates people’s abilities and limits innovation.

Macdonald, Nico. Guardian Online (2003). Articles>User Centered Design

Designing for the "Average User"

User advocacy is one of the central goals of usability. User advocacy can be defined as the process an IT professional (with an interest in user experience) goes through in re-sensitizing herself to the world of the "average user."

Spillers, Frank. Demystifying Usability (2006). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design