UX newsletter — February 2019
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Message from the Editor
Hi {!email}
I'm pleased to tell you that 'Think Like a UX Researcher', the book I've co-authored with Philip Hodgson, was finally published last month. It sold out on Amazon on Day 1 of its US and UK release dates but the publisher is shipping more copies to meet demand.
If you've not yet ordered the book, this is the paragraph where I encourage you to do so. You'll get a bunch of free bonus material: a 35 minute video seminar on the 4 ways that UX Researchers think differently; workshop materials to run a UX maturity workshop with your development team; a crib sheet containing concise descriptions of 36 UX research methods; and two extra essays that we couldn't fit in the book. More detail here.
Because of the delays in shipping, we're keeping the bonus material up for another month, but once the backlog has cleared we're taking the bonus material down. So if you're interested, now's the time to order.
This month's article is on the impact of UX Certification. I hope you find it useful.
— David Travis
BCS launched their Foundation Certificate in User Experience 3 years ago. We thought this was an opportune time to review its effectiveness. We contacted candidates who had taken (and passed) the certificate through Userfocus and asked, 'What impact has attaining the BCS Foundation Certificate in UX had on your job?' Ten key themes emerged. Read the article in full: Is UX Certification worth it?
When planning user research studies, there are four fundamental principles from psychology that user researchers must know. These are: your users do not think like you think; your users don't have good insight into the reasons for their behaviour; the best predictor of your users' future behaviour is their past behaviour; and your users' behaviour depends on context. Read the article in full: The User Researcher's Field Guide to Psychology.
What we’re reading
Some interesting UX-related articles that got our attention over the last month:
- The 7 principles of Universal Design.
- Date picking on mobile seems simple but is hard to get right. Here's how to do it properly (based on observational data).
- "Surveys are the most dangerous research tool —misunderstood and misused."
- "Nobody would quibble with the claim that the Apple TV remote looks totally cool. But it seems like real-world usage of the thing was merely an afterthought."
- 6 suggestions for running an iterative (RITE-style) usability test.
- Managing talent strategically using career roadmaps.
- Research questions are not interview questions. You can't just ask people what you want to know.
Like these? Want more? View our posts on Twitter or Facebook.
Upcoming UX training courses
A 5-day immersion seminar that shows you how Government Digital Services (GDS) plan and carry out user research within Government. You'll practice interviewing and contextual research, carry out usability testing, explore the bigger picture of assisted digital and discover how to plan user research on agile projects. View the full syllabus: User Research Fundamentals.
In this fun and hands-on training course, you'll practice 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 BCS Foundation Certificate exam. View the full syllabus: Foundation Certificate in User Experience.
UX quotation of the month
"You cannot understand good design if you do not understand people." — Dieter Rams.
Did I mention I've published a book?
It's titled Think Like a UX Researcher and you can get free bonus content if you order it this month.
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