Category: Process and Methods

Simplify your work and your life by learning the tools and techniques that authors have used to conquered gnarly problem spaces. From avoiding burnout to doing scrappy research on a shoestring budget, you’ll benefit from their experience, avoid making the mistakes they made, and go on to make all new mistakes of your own. (Then contribute your learnings back to us!)

Design Principles / Process and Methods

Mystical Guidelines for Creating Great User Experiences

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The Jewish Torah teaches that the Creator created our world through ten utterances–for example, “let there be light.” The Jewish mystical tradition explains that these utterances correspond with ten stages in the process of creation. Every creative process in the world ultimately follows this progression, because it is really a part of the continual unfolding of the world itself, in which we are co-creators. This article aims to present an overview of the mystical process of creation and principal of

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Discovery, Research, and Testing / Process and Methods

A Beginner’s Guide to Web Site Optimization—Part 2

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In the previous article we talked about why site optimization is important and presented a few important goals and philosophies to impart on your team. I’d like to switch gears now and talk about more tactical stuff, namely, process. Optimization process Establishing a well-formed, formal optimization process is beneficial for the following reasons. It organizes the workflow and sets clear expectations for completion. Establishes quality control standards to reduce bugs/errors. Adds legitimacy to the whole operation so that if questioned by stakeholders, you can explain

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Learning From Others / Process and Methods

Enhancing the Mind-Meld

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Which version of the ‘suspended account’ dashboard page do you prefer? Version A       Version B     Perhaps you don’t really care. Each one gets the job done in a clear and obvious way. However, as the UX architect of the ‘overview’ page for a huge telecom leader, it was my job to tell the team which treatment we’d be using. I was a freelancer with only four months tenure on this job, and in a company

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Discovery, Research, and Testing / Process and Methods

A Beginner’s Guide to Web Site Optimization—Part 1

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Web site optimization, commonly known as A/B testing, has become an expected competency among many web teams, yet there are few comprehensive and unbiased books, articles, or training opportunities aimed at individuals trying to create this capability within their organization. In this series, I’ll present a detailed, practical guide on how to build, fine-tune, and evolve an optimization program. Part 1 will cover some basics: definitions, goals and philosophies. In Part 2, I’ll dive into a detailed process discussion covering topics

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Design Principles / Workplace and Career

Designing for Harmony

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In 1982, Scott Cook was watching his wife sit at the kitchen table struggling to balance the family checkbook. Personal computers were just becoming popular and he had seen them transform work at Procter and Gamble; yet here was his wife fighting to do something challenging for humans but trivial for computers. In a flash of insight, he realized that software could replace pencil-and-paper accounting for everyone. This aha moment set him on a path of user-focused innovation. Cook met

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