Everyone likes to be rewarded for their efforts. Course evaluators are no exception. We get asked often to look at new online courses and sometimes even get offered a login name and password to a course that other people wouldContinue reading… What’s in it for me? Rewarding course evaluators
Category: User research
Search is now normal behaviour. What do we do about that?
ThisĀ presentation, co-authored with Whitney Quesenbery, Ian Roddis, Viki Stirling and Sarah Allen, was delivered atĀ UPA 2008 ā The Many Faces of User Experience June 16-20,2008, Baltimore, Maryland, USA http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org Exploring the way search affects usability of a site SomeContinue reading… Search is now normal behaviour. What do we do about that?
A whole industry sector’s websites rated according to their usability
Back in March, 2008, Usability News noted the publication of the 10th annual ‘Better Connected’ report. If you work on websites for local government, this won’t have passed you by: Better Connected’s annual assessment is the point each year whenContinue reading… A whole industry sector’s websites rated according to their usability
When more data really isnāt the issue
A few years ago, a rather dull conference speaker spoke one phrase that stuck in my mind. He said: āI was at this meeting, and I heard a voice going āblah blah blahā. And then I realised: it was meā.Continue reading… When more data really isnāt the issue
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
Differences between participants and users: representative or not?
‘āRule 1 for usability testing: get representative usersā 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 Iād muse on the issue inContinue reading… Differences between participants and users: representative or not?
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
How to write good FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Comment in 2025: I wrote this in 2007. Since then, content designers have often pointed out for at least a decade that Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are a bad way to meet user needs. Nevertheless, I still find plenty ofContinue reading… How to write good FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
Good headings help, bad headings hurt
I’ve been on the road recently, teaching my ‘Editing that Works’ workshops to teams of web content providers in a government department. ‘Choose what to say,’ I urge them. And do it like this: apply temporary headings to your text,Continue reading… Good headings help, bad headings hurt
How to get clients to look at wireframes properly
It was the same old story. I was working with Whitney Quesenbery on some wireframes for a clientās website. As usual, sheād done a lovely job on the design. As usual, Iād fussed around with content. Weād done our usualContinue reading… How to get clients to look at wireframes properly