I’ve been an enthusiastic listener to Gerry Gaffney’s podcast, UXpod, and was honoured to be a guest more than once. I was sad when he mentioned that he had decided to stop doing it – but a bit happier whenContinue reading… Thank you Gerry Gaffney for UXpod
Category: User research
A research incentive for a colleague
The other day, Alex Slowman asked a question about how to recompense colleagues for their time when they help us in user research activities, but it’s not appropriate to pay a financial incentive. I’ve found that a thank-you to theContinue reading… A research incentive for a colleague
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
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
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”
Sankey’s suggestion and other stories
I want to tell you about my father, John Anthony Sankey PhD CMG. Dad was a staunch Roman Catholic – ‘cradle to grave’ is the phrase. Today, 1st November, is celebrated as ‘All Saints Day’ by Catholics, so seems likeContinue reading… Sankey’s suggestion and other stories
How to improve the inevitable survey: SDinGov21 workshop
Surveys are still really popular as a research method with colleagues (if not with service designers). These slides are from a workshop at the 2021 Service Design in Government conference on ‘how to improve the survey that is going toContinue reading… How to improve the inevitable survey: SDinGov21 workshop
Surveys that work: a webinar for UXPA
Some of us find that colleagues or clients think of ‘doing a survey’ as the same as ‘doing some research’ – which may explain why organisations send out so many survey requests. In this webinar, for UXPA International, I introducedContinue reading… Surveys that work: a webinar for UXPA
Creating presentations for stakeholders: contributing to an article for UXmatters
Janet Six asked me to contribute to an ‘Ask UXMatters’ panel discussion on the topic of how to create presentations for development teams versus executive teams. I shared my thoughts, which focus on how the teams will want to knowContinue reading… Creating presentations for stakeholders: contributing to an article for UXmatters
How to test the usability of documents
Does usability testing work for documents? The answer from me and Ginny Redish is a resounding yes. In this article, we’ll give you three techniques for having people try out documents or any other stand-alone content. These techniques apply whetherContinue reading… How to test the usability of documents