My sister lives in Melbourne and that naturally makes me want to get to Australia as often as I can. So I was especially pleased when a few things came together and I was able to make it to OzCHI,Continue reading… Teaching beginners to find usability problems
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Ticket, please? Thoughts on visibility of system status
We open with a story that’s a touch complicated. Hang in here with me, the usability point will come through in the end. My husband loves his railways. He’s mostly into railways as they actually are today, as a practicalContinue reading… Ticket, please? Thoughts on visibility of system status
What’s News? And what’s not?
Novelty attracts – or so we’re told. If you want to get repeat visitors to your website then you need to be offering them ‘new stuff’ with each visit. Perhaps the popularity of blogs is partly because you’re likely toContinue reading… What’s News? And what’s not?
Registration Forms – what to do if you can’t avoid them
The sad thing about registration forms is that users hate them. Stick a form in front of them and they leave your site, they lie, or if they are really web-savvy they use a privacy protection service such as Bugmenot.Continue reading… Registration Forms – what to do if you can’t avoid them
Matters of life and death: an investigation of “living wills” and other advance directives
Earlier this year, we learned of the bitter legal battles over Terri Schiavo. Her husband and her parents disagreed on whether to continue to give her treatment after she collapsed into a coma seven years ago. Like Terri, I haveContinue reading… Matters of life and death: an investigation of “living wills” and other advance directives
Sentence or title case in ISO-9241:1998
Update in 2025. This article was published in 2005 and reflected the standards available then. ISO 9241:1998 was withdrawn in 2021. Back in the 2000s, we referred a lot more to ISO standards, Twenty years later, we’re more likely toContinue reading… Sentence or title case in ISO-9241:1998
Survey response rates? 2% is not good enough
In the 1950s, a well-designed survey could often achieve over 90% response rates. Since then, response rates have consistently declined. But I was still a bit shocked the other day when a post on a usability discussion group quoted aContinue reading… Survey response rates? 2% is not good enough
Persona-led heuristic inspection is here
Last week, a sell-out crowd made their way to Oyster Partners to hear Ginny Redish talk about her recent work at a meeting of the UK chapter of the Usability Professionals’ Association. Ginny’s talk ranged widely across content and theContinue reading… Persona-led heuristic inspection is here
User Interface Design and Evaluation: Open University textbook
“User Interface Design and Evaluation” began life as the Open University distance learning course M873, part of the postgraduate diploma. More than 1000 professionals studied the course and the University decided to make the core course materials available as aContinue reading… User Interface Design and Evaluation: Open University textbook
Long forms: scroll or tab?
As some of you will know, I’m pretty much a diehard forms obsessive and there’s nothing I like more than a question about forms – especially if I have some experience or data to support my answer. So I thoughtContinue reading… Long forms: scroll or tab?