UX newsletter — May 2019
Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.
Message from the Editor
I'm often asked by project stakeholders about the benefits of focusing on users. What they're really asking is, "How much money will this make us?" The financial benefits are easy to explain (both in increasing revenue and reducing costs), but rehearsing these benefits is not a process I enjoy. This is because I believe the real benefit is that it makes users' lives better. But this argument is a bit too tree-huggy for a CFO of major corporation.
I'm reminded of this because the 737 Max air accidents may have been due to ignoring a fundamental principle of user interface design: visibility of system status. As technology gets more complicated, users are increasingly divorced from the system's inner workings and we need machines to tell us what's happening. In the 737 Max planes that crashed, a warning light wasn't connected. This warning light worked only if the airline had bought an optional extra. It would have indicated an error in some of the plane's sensors that may have averted the crash. (Thanks to newsletter reader Marco Kramer for pointing me to this story).
So the basics of user experience continue to be important. This month I've written about another fundamental principle that I often see misinterpreted: consistency. I hope you find it useful.
— David Travis
Consistency is at the heart of good product design. But consistency is often misinterpreted as making things look or behave the same way. This ignores context and can lead to a foolish consistency. Instead of consistency, designers should adhere to the Principle of Least Surprise. Read the article in full: The Principle of Least Surprise
A common myth in usability testing goes like this: '5 participants are all you need to get 85% of the usability problems.' Understanding why this is a myth helps us generate ideas to help us increase the number of problems we find in a usability test. Read the article in full: How to find more usability problems with fewer users.
What we’re reading
Some interesting UX-related articles that got our attention over the last month:
- Interaction design patterns you can't use — because they're patented.
- A bluffers' guide to thinking models.
- Rolf Molich knows more about usability testing than most people. He thinks usability testers should be certified. Do you agree?
- Free, online psychology and neuroscience courses from top universities.
- "To understand a user experience, you need to account for both actions and attitudes. You can't say a user experience is delightful or dreadful from observation alone. You need to understand how people think and feel."
- Useful checklist of UX Responsibilities in Scrum Ceremonies.
- UX Portfolio crib sheet: 1 What was your project timeline? 2 What was your contribution to collaborative efforts? 3 What leadership skills have you employed? 4 What has challenged you and what have you learned from those challenges?
- Accessible Color Generator to find variations on your base/brand colour that have a suitable contrast ratio with white.
Like these? Want more? View our posts on Twitter or Facebook.
Upcoming UX training courses and talks
I'll be giving a talk at this event. My working title is, "The future of UX research and how to stop it". Tickets: Behaviour and Design Conference.
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. Last few places. View the full syllabus: Foundation Certificate in User Experience.
UX quotation of the month
"If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own." — Henry Ford.
Did I mention I've published a book?
It's titled Think Like a UX Researcher. Grab your copy here.
Hungry for more?
Read previous newsletters.
Want to receive your own copy of this newsletter?
Join our community of people interested in user experience. Sent monthly. No spam.
|