September 17th, 2010
 Usability testing (a.k.a. user testing) is the undisputed daddy of usability techniques – it’s the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the usability world. On the face of it, it also seems incredibly simple and easy to do. You merely observe users as they use your product or prototype and then apply what you’ve learnt to improving the user experience. But like all simple ideas whilst it might be relatively easy to do, it’s difficult to do well. There’s an awful lot to think about when it comes to usability testing and so to help you get to grips with this mighty technique I’ve distilled some of what I’ve learnt in the hundreds of usability tests that I’ve run over the years into some useful usability testing hints, tips and guidelines. . . . Read more
July 15th, 2010
 What do you think is the most important tool for a UX designer? A trusty laptop (Mac of course)? Nope. A good drawing and wireframing package? Nope. A kick arse prototyping package? Nope. The most important tool for any UX designer is a pen and a stack of paper. Why? Because before you even think about using any of these for design work you should be sitting down to sketch out your ideas. . . . Read more
June 30th, 2010
 Bipolar emotional response testing (BERT) – sounds like some sort of psychological examination technique right? Well yes it is loosely based on the repertory grid (which is a psychology interviewing technique) but it is also a damn useful means of capturing subjective design feedback from users and is especially useful for comparing different designs. Find out how to use BERT and why it should be an important addition to your user research toolkit. . . . Read more
June 4th, 2010
 Like all the best techniques there is no right or wrong way to create and use personas (well there is probably a wrong way – like using your favourite TV show characters as your personas). I therefore thought that I would share some tips to consider when researching your users and when creating and using your personas, so that you too can get the most out of personas. . . . Read more
March 25th, 2010
 Pairwise comparison is a great technique for ranking, prioritising and generally comparing stuff like business requirements, personas, visual designs or even job applications. Find out how it works and how you can use it. . . . Read more
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