‘“Rule 1 for usability testing: get representative users” Read something like that? Said something like that? I certainly have. And I definitely agree with it, on the whole. But not always: so I thought I’d muse on the issue inContinue reading… Differences between participants and users: representative or not?
Author: Jane Matthews
How to enhance your site with Flash
‘Heard any of these remarks lately? ‘Flash is bad’; ‘I hate Flash intros’; ‘Don’t do Flash’. My long-term view has been that Flash is just another technology. Bad if it’s gratuitous showing off; good if it works for your usersContinue reading… How to enhance your site with Flash
Conducting a User-Centred Expert Review
This presentation to the 2007 Annual Conference of the Society for Technical Communication sets out five steps for a user-centred review – whether you have 30 minutes, two days or five days in which to do the work. We lookContinue reading… Conducting a User-Centred Expert Review
Usability as a legal requirement: leaflets for medicines
At the recent Information Design conference, Karel van der Waarde told us about the impact that European legislation has had on patient information leaflets. These are the pieces of paper that come with every medicine. European Law requires usability InContinue reading… Usability as a legal requirement: leaflets for medicines
How to write good FAQs
FAQs don’t have that great a reputation, but recently, I’ve been working on FAQs for a client. Their computer help desk was annoyed about answering the same things again and again. Why not divert potential callers to a FAQ instead?Continue reading… How to write good FAQs
Label placement in forms
For ages, I’ve longed to do some eyetracking experiments on how users look at forms. And recently, I’ve been delighted to see the next best thing: excellent work by Matteo Penzo and his team. Experienced users look for the searchContinue reading… Label placement in forms
Real SnailMail and other stories
Do you ever find yourself wondering if your daily work is becoming a bit repetitive; somewhat samey? The British HCI group conference, HCI2006 www.hci2006.org, broke through that ‘same old, same old’ barrier triumphantly for me. Long and short papers IContinue reading… Real SnailMail and other stories
Why people persist with using paper forms
Have you ever wondered why your shiny new online form isn’t getting the use it deserves, and the boring old paper still keeps pouring in? This month, I’ve been mostly thinking about tax forms – and tax forms on paper.Continue reading… Why people persist with using paper forms
Forms design: Gerry Gaffney interviews me
Gerry Gaffney gave me an opportunity to talk about forms in a podcast for UXpod. You can find the original on Uxpod. Transcript Caroline Jarrett: And you’ve got my permission to play this to whoever you like under whatever circumstances you like.Continue reading… Forms design: Gerry Gaffney interviews me
Useful, usable and used – your new look council website
Question: where do you go to find 225 local government officials, all talking about usability? Answer: the recent Headstar/Socitm event: Building the perfect council website. So what is Headstar / Socitm? Headstar is a pioneering e-publisher. If you’re into e-governmentContinue reading… Useful, usable and used – your new look council website