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Author: Jane Matthews

Process or outcome? Measuring the success of usability

Jane Matthews 15 February 2021 31 August 2007
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)

Jane Matthews 4 December 2019 29 July 2007
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)

Differences between participants and users: representative or not?

Jane Matthews 4 December 2019 29 June 2007
Differences between participants and users: representative or not?

‘“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?

How to enhance your site with Flash

Jane Matthews 4 December 2019 23 May 2007
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

Jane Matthews 23 March 2020 17 May 2007
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

Jane Matthews 4 December 2019 30 April 2007
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

Jane Matthews 23 March 2020 28 February 2007
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

Jane Matthews 10 December 2019 2 November 2006
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

Jane Matthews 15 February 2021 6 September 2006
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

Jane Matthews 10 December 2019 6 September 2006
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

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