Blog - Page 15 of 124 - Boxes and Arrows

October 18, 2016 Discovery, Research, and Testing

Benchmark Your UX at All Costs

In the user experience (UX) industry, benchmarking is a practice that measures the usability of a website. Benchmarking helps the UX researcher understand the current state of the site so the team can attack problem areas and improve them. It is very difficult to fix or improve something when you don’t know what is wrong. Imagine taking your poorly-performing car to the mechanic and they ‘fix it’ without running any diagnostics or tests. They may change the spark plugs, rotate

October 4, 2016 Foundational Thinking

Beyond The Conversation: Context-Fluid Experiences and Augmented Cognition

Posted by Cameron Miller

Have you ever felt like you were having a one-sided conversation with someone? It feels as if you are exerting much effort with minimal feedback or response in return. When we use an application, we can think of this experience as a conversation between the user and the technology. Sometimes, it feels as if we are having that same one-sided conversation with the technology we are using. As modern people, we learn the ins and outs of the tech we

September 13, 2016 Case Studies / Learning From Others

Creating the Persuasive Pattern Card Deck

Posted by Anders Toxboe

One of our finest tasks as designers is to filter the abundance of choice into easily digestible bits. Creating great interfaces is as much about motivating, teasing, leading, and guiding users along—so that they experience value, faster—as it is to improve usability by removing friction. This requires an endeavor into product psychology and the art of designing with purpose and intent.

August 30, 2016 Design Principles / Learning From Others

Here’s What May Sound Like a Crazy Idea

Posted by Kevin Goyena

Build a command line option into your next user interface. Some of you techies may be reading this and thinking, “Yes! I live in a command window all the time on my computer.” Well, I’m not really thinking about you as my target audience. I’m talking more about applications used by everyday people outside the IT industry. Hear me out.

August 16, 2016 Discovery, Research, and Testing / Learning From Others / Process and Methods

10 Practical Tips for Increasing the Impact of Your Research Insights

Posted by Mike Katz

User experience (UX) researchers tasked with improving customer-facing products face many challenges on a daily basis—perhaps none more daunting than translating their research insights into positive change. This article presents 10 tips I have learned over the course of my career to help UX researchers increase the impact of their research insights in applied settings. These tips are intended primarily for in-house research teams, but they may apply to consultancies as well.