This presentation, co-authored with Whitney Quesenbery, Ian Roddis, Viki Stirling and Sarah Allen, was delivered at UPA 2008 – The Many Faces of User Experience June 16-20,2008, Baltimore, Maryland, USA http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org Exploring the way search affects usability of a site SomeContinue reading… Search is now normal behaviour. What do we do about that?
Author: Jane Matthews
A whole industry sector’s websites rated according to their usability
Back in March, 2008, Usability News noted the publication of the 10th annual ‘Better Connected’ report. If you work on websites for local government, this won’t have passed you by: Better Connected’s annual assessment is the point each year whenContinue reading… A whole industry sector’s websites rated according to their usability
How to do ‘Contact Us’ badly (and some tips for doing it well)
My email started playing up. I noticed that I was getting items out of sequence, sometimes very late. I tried the usual things: clearing the spam folders, powering the computer down, you know. But there was nothing for it: I’dContinue reading… How to do ‘Contact Us’ badly (and some tips for doing it well)
When more data really isn’t the issue
A few years ago, a rather dull conference speaker spoke one phrase that stuck in my mind. He said: “I was at this meeting, and I heard a voice going ‘blah blah blah’. And then I realised: it was me”.Continue reading… When more data really isn’t the issue
Problems and joys of reading research papers
Most of us are familiar with what it is to read a research paper and, at times, to struggle with it. Writing an editorial for the Journal of Usability Studies, I took my own experience as a user and readerContinue reading… Problems and joys of reading research papers
Adding fun and engagement to purposeful systems using augmented reality and other techniques: report from OzCHI 2007
A warm Australian November, a friendly, collaborative conference: what’s not to like? OzCHI always attracts a proportion of Scandinavians and Brits who are happy to escape to the sun. And to add to the attraction, the theme of OzCHI 2007Continue reading… Adding fun and engagement to purposeful systems using augmented reality and other techniques: report from OzCHI 2007
Formats of telephone numbers – why France and the UK don’t work like the USA
As a UK-based person often browsing US websites (and sometimes even consulting on the design of them), I’ve noticed that the US and Canada have very predictable phone number formats, as in “123-456-7890”. So it’s relatively easy to program aContinue reading… Formats of telephone numbers – why France and the UK don’t work like the USA
Expert review helps to improve a complex form
Applying for Lasting power of Attorney is often something people do at a time of challenge or stress. In this presentation to the Sixth International PLAIN Language Conference I describe a case study for the US Department of Constitutional Affairs where ourContinue reading… Expert review helps to improve a complex form
Process or outcome? Measuring the success of usability
How do we measure usability when the start and end points are hard to define, and our work is just one intervention? Maybe real successes come person by person, as attitudes change. A friend has been working with a clientContinue reading… Process or outcome? Measuring the success of usability
The book you ought to buy (even if you think you don’t need it)
This month, I’m enthusing about Ginny Redish’s new book Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works (Morgan Kaufmann). If you write, or your clients write, then you’ll learn from it. If you’re working on a content-rich website:Continue reading… The book you ought to buy (even if you think you don’t need it)