Userfocus Usability Newsletter, August 2015

Welcome to the August edition of the Userfocus usability and user experience newsletter!

• Message from the Editor
• A task-focussed user experience reading list
• From our archives: Does your company deliver a superior customer experience?
• What we're reading
• Online training in user experience
• User experience quotation of the month

Message from the Editor

I tend not to read daily newspapers but I was given one for free on the train this week. It was a copy of The Times, and I noticed they had a special supplement on the 'Future of Market Research'. What I discovered from reading this supplement is that the future of market research appears to be doing the kind of qualitative, user research that people in the usability field have been doing for decades.

I felt a little ambivalent about this. I'm obviously pleased that market researchers realise that the future belongs to behaviour-based research techniques rather than opinion-based tools like focus groups. But I'm also a little sad that I can no longer use 'market research' as a straw man to describe all that's wrong with research in business.

If you want to live in the future today, this month's article contains a list of ten key books on user experience. I hope you find it useful.

— David Travis

A task-focussed user experience reading list

Clients and students I work with often ask me to recommend a good book on user experience. This is actually a lot harder than you might think. Someone who’s new to the field won’t gain much from a book aimed at experts, and someone looking to improve their sketching skills won’t learn much from a book about usability testing. So here is my list of recommended books along with the people I think they are best suited for. Read the article in full: A task-focussed user experience reading list.

From our archives: Does your company deliver a superior customer experience?

Many companies think of themselves as user focused but this judgement is often based on anecdotal or biased data. To truly deliver a superior customer experience, companies need to progress through four stages of maturity, finally arriving at a point where feedback is not simply welcomed or solicited — but demanded. Read the article in full: Does your company deliver a superior customer experience?.

What we’re reading

Some interesting usability-related articles that got our attention over the last month:

• Facebook's Consumer Behavior Blog is becoming a useful resource.
• How LinkedIn use 'dark patterns' in its sign-up flow.
• Tips for testing your content with users.
• Wonderfully circular error message from Photoshop.
• Fitts's Law explained (VIDEO)
• How to moderate effectively In usability research.
• 4 iOS design rules to break.

Like these? Want more? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Online training in user experience

We have three online training courses in user experience. Save money when you purchase them as a bundle.

User Experience quotation of the month

'I've learnt so much from my mistakes, I'm thinking about making a few more.' Goldie

Hungry for more?

Read previous newsletters.