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All projects (and services) start in the middle

Caroline Jarrett 7 March 2022 17 November 2021
All projects (and services) start in the middle

I’m a big fan of the user-centred agile approach to service delivery that is gradually being adopted by most government departments in the UK, and many other organisations too. I mean – let’s turn those words around. Who would wantContinue reading… All projects (and services) start in the middle

Why plain language and Plain English are different

Caroline Jarrett 11 March 2022 16 November 2021
Why plain language and Plain English are different

When a user says to you “why can’t they write in Plain English?”, that’s a very reasonable request for us to think harder about how we are writing content. What I’m going to discuss here is the difference between “plainContinue reading… Why plain language and Plain English are different

Don’t be afraid of the big long page

Caroline Jarrett 21 December 2021 11 November 2021
Don’t be afraid of the big long page

This post is co-authored by me and Amy Hupe. Long pages of content can seem daunting, so to make them look shorter, designers and developers often reach for things that hide some of the content, such as accordions, tabs, carouselsContinue reading… Don’t be afraid of the big long page

Research needs space to breathe – an Effortmark poster

Caroline Jarrett 23 March 2022 10 November 2021
Research needs space to breathe – an Effortmark poster

‘Research needs space to breathe’ is a poster in my continuing collaboration with illustrator Julia Allum. The words come from a blog post by user researcher Amy Everett. In her post, Amy talks about setting expectations when doing research, aboutContinue reading… Research needs space to breathe – an Effortmark poster

How to prototype a digital form on paper

Caroline Jarrett 23 March 2022 9 November 2021
How to prototype a digital form on paper

Here are three ideas for creating paper prototypes of digital forms. Or any form, really. Print widgets onto stickers Long, long ago – in 1999! – Gerry Gaffney made a paper prototyping kit that is free to download. It’s aContinue reading… How to prototype a digital form on paper

Try a preliminary sift to streamline your card-sorts

Caroline Jarrett 21 December 2021 8 November 2021
Try a preliminary sift to streamline your card-sorts

Here’s my favourite tip for card sorting. I get each participant to first of all put the cards into four categories: Things I definitely need or would do right now Things I have done or needed in the past ThingsContinue reading… Try a preliminary sift to streamline your card-sorts

Sentence case or title case in forms?

Caroline Jarrett 21 December 2021 5 November 2021
Sentence case or title case in forms?

Is it better to use sentence case or title case in forms? If you think “surely there are more important forms questions than that one” then you are right. Never once, in all my many years of watching people fillContinue reading… Sentence case or title case in forms?

Why I no longer recommend “How to lie with statistics”

Caroline Jarrett 30 December 2021 4 November 2021
Why I no longer recommend “How to lie with statistics”

How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff is one of the bestselling-ever books about statistics and one I used to recommend. Its bright, readable style seemed to make it an accessible introduction to statistics, including what I believed toContinue reading… Why I no longer recommend “How to lie with statistics”

Measuring satisfaction: a round-up

Caroline Jarrett 23 March 2022 3 November 2021
Measuring satisfaction: a round-up

Measuring satisfaction is the topic that comes up more often than any other when I’m asked about surveys. It’s also one of the more complicated topics when it comes to creating surveys that work. This little post is to directContinue reading… Measuring satisfaction: a round-up

No yes/no questions

Caroline Jarrett 23 March 2022 2 November 2021
No yes/no questions

If you’ve been in a forms studio with me, you’ll be familiar with the moment where I say: “No yes/no”. It’s my shorthand for “Avoid questions that only have two available answers: ‘yes’ and ‘no’. People often struggle with them”.Continue reading… No yes/no questions

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cjforms Caroline Jarrett @cjforms ·
13h

In today’s episode of “Fix the forms, one at a time”, excellent iterative form design from @annaghartley’s child.
Note the inspirational change from first draft question (When will your meeting finish?) to more useful questions (Can I have a biscuit?)
(Via @DeanVipond)

Anna Hartley @annaghartley

Anyone else get messages like this from their child when they are working at home and on a Teams meeting?

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cjforms Caroline Jarrett @cjforms ·
2 Jul

In today's episode of 'Fix the forms, one at a time', I tried to book a hotel using the hotel's online booking service.

The errors included:
1. Boxes with mid-grey background so I could barely read what I typed into them
2. Had to accept their booking conditions ...
(1/7)

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cjforms Caroline Jarrett @cjforms ·
1 Jul

Today I learned that in La Paz, Bolivia, people dressed in zebra costumes help folks to cross the road at zebra crossings 🦓

https://youtu.be/EHPZRHax9CY

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cjforms Caroline Jarrett @cjforms ·
1 Jul

This is one of @Lenniesaurus's best ever

✨Lentil Pentil✨ @Lenniesaurus

Roll up, roll up. 🚨 https://twitter.com/Lenniesaurus/status/1542219042219507713

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Retweet on Twitter Caroline Jarrett Retweeted
amy_hupe Amy Hupe @amy_hupe ·
1 Jul

I’ve written about why we need to change the way we describe bad design patterns - and what to say instead.

Thanks to @candiwrites and @CuriousScutter for making me aware of this issue in the first place.

⚠️ Content warning: racist language

https://bit.ly/3nuC3lt

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