CUT TO: INT. SCREEN SHARING MEETING – DAY A client shows their consultant the progress they’ve made on a redesign. They want the consultant’s feedback before it’s too late. CLIENT Currently the user does A, then B, then C. Now the user will be able to do C, then A, then B. We don’t think [Keep Reading…]
Knowing Why Beats Knowing How
Last year around this time, I started following an eating plan called The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss. At the same time, I was feverishly traveling the globe presenting my talk Design Principles: The Philosophy of UX. Midway through the book, Tim begins a chapter with a quotation from Ralph Waldo Emerson that draws a [Keep Reading…]
User Research War Stories: “Taking empathy to a whole new level”
My friend Steve Portigal, an esteemed customer research consultant in the Bay Area, has a series on his blog titled “War Stories” — anecdotes from ethnographic researchers about the craziest things that have happened to them in the field. One entry from Priya Sohoni is particularly striking. Titled “Taking empathy to a whole new level,” [Keep Reading…]
We Don’t Know Anything
We don’t know. We believe we know. Our experiences, education, instincts and values all add up to our beliefs. They also include assumptions and misperceptions and past truths. We believe something once and then we “know” it forever, because that’s easier than always having to ask. Asking isn’t easy. It takes time. It introduces risk. [Keep Reading…]
Don Draper is the Antithesis of User Experience
Earlier this month, Fast Company began publishing a series on user experience written by industry analyst Brian Solis. As soon as I read the first article, I reached out to Brian on Twitter to say that I thought it was crucial that he incorporate the perspectives of practicing user experience designers in order for his [Keep Reading…]
Apple listens: iPad screen orientation lock
When I upgraded my iPad to iOS 4.2, I suddenly lost all sound. I freaked out, thinking I’d have to take it into the Apple Store to get fixed, or worse, reinstall the operating system and lose all my apps. So of course I asked the Twitterverse for help, as I tend to do. Turns [Keep Reading…]
Nationwide Insurance demonstrates user research with NationPam
As an independent consultant, I pitch my services a lot. I consider myself fortunate that I get the opportunity to chat with so many great companies (okay, and some not-so-great ones) about what user experience is and what value it could provide to their businesses. Without a doubt, the most difficult service for me to [Keep Reading…]
Facebook recruits for user research…on Facebook
Apple always gets flack for not conducting user research (even though that’s a myth — it’s market research they don’t conduct). Apparently Facebook doesn’t feel the same way about keeping their research under wraps. I recently happened upon an interesting page on Facebook where they allow people to apply to participate in user research studies, [Keep Reading…]
Whit Hour – Week 14
Thank you so much to the ~27 people who showed up for the fourteenth week of Whit Hour — my weekly one-hour video chat to answer any and all of your questions about user experience, consulting, and whatever else you throw at me. Tune in every Monday night from 10-11pm Eastern Time at http://www.livestream.com/whithour. Whit [Keep Reading…]
My Best Advice for Conducting User Interviews
In a previous life, I was a Professional Writing major and part-time journalist. I contributed to my school’s student newspaper, as well as the faculty and staff newspaper, and almost every week for two years, I wrote an arts column for the Pittsburgh City Paper — Western PA’s leading alternative newsweekly [read my old clips]. [Keep Reading…]
