Userfocus Usability Newsletter, May 2011

Welcome to the May edition of the Userfocus usability newsletter.

• Message from the Editor
• Feature article: How to design like Leonardo da Vinci
• What we're reading
• Upcoming training courses
• User experience quotation of the month

Message from the Editor

It's truly been Royal Wedding fever here in London and maybe that's what got me thinking about recruiting people for a user experience team.

Stay with me.

There are many similarities between choosing a life partner and recruiting an employee. You want someone who shares your world view but brings something new to the relationship. You want someone you can get on with, that you can enjoy being with day-to-day. And you want someone who can make a really good syrup pudding. (Oh, wait… maybe that’s just me). Anyway, I hope you enjoy the article.

A few of us will be in Lisbon this month at the UXLX conference. If you’re there too, please stop me and say hello.

— David Travis

Feature article: How to design like Leonardo da Vinci

Trying to recruit a single individual with all of the skills needed to create great user experiences is like trying to hire a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci. A better strategy is to build a multidisciplinary team with people specialised in the following areas: Management, Research, Information Architecture, Information Design, Visual Design, Technical Writing and Prototyping. Read the article in full: How to design like Leonardo da Vinci.

What we're reading

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

• Pixar's motto ("Going From Suck to Nonsuck") is an almost perfect metaphor for how to do user experience design.
• People enjoy expensive wine but can't tell the difference between it and cheap plonk.
• Walmart focused on what customers say, not what they do, and it cost them $1.85B.
• Think you understand error bars on charts? Try this test.
• Did you know it's 10 times more secure to use "this is fun" as your password rather than "J4fS<2"?
• 10 biases that psychological research has shown affect our judgment…and how to avoid them.

Like these? Want more? Follow us on Twitter.

Usability Training: Now Booking

Axure Essentials with Ritch Macefield, May 9, London. 4 places remaining.

This course is for those with little or no previous experience of Axure RP Pro and who what to gain expertise in rapid prototyping. More information about this training course: Axure Essentials.

Advanced Axure Prototyping with Ritch Macefield, May 10, London. 1 place remaining.

This course is for those who can already design, specify and generate basic prototypes in Axure RP pro and who now want to learn how to produce complex prototypes by exploiting the advanced features of Axure RP pro. More information about this training course: Advanced Prototyping with Axure.

Web accessibility for developers and designers with David Travis, May 23, London. Sold out.

There is no shortage of information on web accessibility. The difficulty for web developers, marketers and managers is in identifying precisely what they need to change in their web site and how to go about it. This workshop lets you experience how disabled people use the web and shows you how to design and test your site for accessibility.

Ethnography and field work with Louise Ferguson, May 27, London. 2 places remaining.

A workshop that shows delegates how to conduct, collect and interpret the data from field research. Unlike theoretical courses, this seminar shows delegates how to practically apply their ethnographic insights to the design of new technology. More information about this training course: Ethnography and field work.

Writing and editing for the web with Sue Davis, June 10, London. 6 places remaining.

A hands-on course that shows delegates how to write and edit content to engage readers from the very first word. Unlike other web writing courses, this workshop is packed with practical activites that help you put what you learn to immediate use. More information about this training course: Writing and editing for the web.

User Experience quotation of the month

“I design for real people. I think of our customers all the time. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothing or accessories that are not practical.” — Georgio Armani.

Hungry for more?

Read previous newsletters.