UX newsletter — June 2018

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Message from the Editor

Hi {!email}

Most of the articles I write come about because someone asks me a question that I can't fully answer.

This bothers me so I spend time considering the question from different angles. I find myself exploring different ways to answer it and then honing the answer so that it's truly useful.

This month's article is no exception. A delegate on one of my training courses asked, "What are the key things I should do in my first few weeks in a new UX job?" There were some obvious top-of-mind things I said at the time, but I thought this question needed a more considered response. So here's my answer. I hope you find it useful!

— David Travis

How to spend your first month in a UX research role (and stay friends with your new work colleagues)

When you start a new job as a user researcher, you need to both charm your work colleagues (so they take action on your future research findings) and challenge them (so they become more user centred). How can you best achieve this in your first 4 weeks in a new job? Read the article in full: How to spend your first month in a UX research role (and stay friends with your new work colleagues)

From our archives: Keeping yourself out of the story: Controlling experimenter effects

We take a look at some subtle yet pervasive experimenter effects, at ways they can bias the outcome of a design experiment, and at what we can do to control their influence. Read the article in full: Keeping yourself out of the story: Controlling experimenter effects.

What we’re reading

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

• Are 'top box' (extreme) ratings on questionnaires a better predictor of behaviour?
• Stories like this make me realise that ethics, not technology, is the new frontier for those of us working user experience..
• The most recent Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology has an up-to-date review of Hick's Law. If you've ever wanted to do a deep dive on Hick's Law, this is your chance. (The PDF is free to access)..
• Journalism and user research are more similar than you might think — it's all about empathy.
• 10 questions to ask when recruiting participants for usability testing..
• 1 in 4 Web Accessibility practitioners have a disability themselves, and other interesting nuggets about web accessibility testing.

Like these? Want more? View our posts on Twitter or Facebook.

Upcoming UX training courses

Foundation Certificate in User Experience, Sep 25-27 2018, London.

2 places sold, 10 places left. 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

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." — Hans Hofmann.

Hungry for more?

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