Skype takes the hassle out of remote usability
Remote research brings cultural relevance to usability findings, providing the kinds of insights which can only be gained by being there…virtually at least. I recently ran some remote website usability sessions for a Kiwi startup whose main customer is in the U.S.A. … sure, ‘isolation breeds innovation’ and all that, but when your customers are [...]
Keeping it ‘old school’ with Diary Studies
I’m always looking for better ways to understand customer behaviour and the experiences customers have in their own context, out in the wild. There are some interesting ‘digital ethnography’ tools on the market, using web and mobile channels to capture, collate and filter all this stuff as it occurs in the field. http://www.myservicefellow.com http://www.thethinkingshed.co.uk http://www.7daysinmylife.com [...]
When less is less and more is too much.
This Honda trunk-lid has been simplified and streamlined so much that the owner has crudely screwed on a ‘hardware store’ handle to make it easier to use. This Mazda door entry has gone the other way by adding complexity; a key-code entry, which looked to me like it had never been touched, whereas the standard [...]
Picture, or thousand words?
Outcomes of UX research projects can be difficult to put in a nutshell, and a bullet pointed list sometimes just does not cut it. As well as the usual deliverables emerging from a brief, I sometimes add a rich picture as a visual summary. These often originate from doodles generated while I’m trying to figure [...]
Prototype, Test, Rinse & repeat
The value of iteration. Switched-on digital agencies understand the value of user testing with early stage website mockups; ironing out sticking points and identifying opportunities to improve interaction design early, before committing to code. During a day of back-to-back user interviews, ‘quick wins’, like changing a navigation item can be made in seconds and validated [...]
UX in the physical world
My latest project allows me to work on some interactions with a different kind of digital – gripping fingers and thumbs, … it’s taking me back to my surfboard building days. It’s with a kiwi company developing a new type of mouse. I’m using UX methods to help refine the design, starting off with some [...]
Making the most of Optimal Treejack
If you want to find out how well your website navigation structure works for your customers, Treejack is a great tool for the job. If you want to know why certain parts performed poorly, and what to do about it, you’ll need to get inside the head of your customer. The tools for this are [...]
An augmented reality-check
Classic lack of end user understanding here from Weet Bix. A marketing campaign using augmented reality aimed at early teenagers fell at the first hurdle owing to the myopic vision of those who designed the campaign. Young All Black fans were supposed to hold a card from their cereal packet up to their webcam to [...]
Back in Black
Since being back in New Zealand I’ve heard people reckoning we are a few years behind Europe and the States in terms of the acceptance of UX. I’m back in London for a few weeks, consulting for Flow Interactive, … so if it’s true we kiwis are behind, I’m in an industry crystal ball here. [...]
The oldest trick in the customer experience book
Every Tuesday NZ business strategist Lance Wiggs issues ‘Three ways to improve your business’, Last week at number two is ‘Meet your customers’. This simple advice represents the grass roots of a customer-centric approach to building a great experience for your customers, and competitive advantage for your business. So, if this approach is simple yet [...]