Userfocus Usability Newsletter, June 2017

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

Message from the Editor

I'm a sucker for a good psychology finding. Most of them are interesting factoids that I store away never to be used again. But a few of them find their way into the day-to-day work that I do, both as a user researcher and a designer. This month I thought I would write about those studies that I find especially relevant to user research. I hope you find it useful.

David Travis

10 findings from psychology that every user researcher should know

A knowledge of psychology can help user researchers be more effective when they plan research, make observations, analyse data and present the results. Read the article in full: 10 findings from psychology that every user researcher should know.

From our archives: Testing for a user need

One of the most important questions faced by start-ups and established companies alike isn't, "Is my system usable?" or "Is this a great user experience?", but "Do people actually need this thing?" This article presents a structured interview technique for checking if you have identified a user need. Read the article in full: Testing for a user need.

What we’re reading

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

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Upcoming user experience training courses

New dates! Foundation Certificate in User Experience, Oct 10-12 2017, London.

Gain the BCS Foundation Certificate in User Experience in this fun and hands-on training course. You'll practice in all the key areas of UX — from interviewing your users through to prototyping and usability testing your designs — while you prepare for and take the exam.

More information about this training course: Foundation Certificate in User Experience.

User Experience quotation of the month

"When you want to know how and why people do the things they do, the best people to learn from are the doers themselves, and the best place to learn is where the doing gets done." Jan Chipchase.

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