Rounding out her series of articles on how to conduct value-adding user research when resources are limited, Meg Dickey-Kurdziolek takes us on a journey through the results of the fake door A/B test set up in Part II. After shedding light on the darker side of surveys, and offering guidelines to maximize their value for minimum input, she concludes by touching on that that old favorite: how to know when the research is done and it’s time to start building.
Topic: User Experience
The Problem with Patterns
Design systems have become the norm for organizations big and small. Yet, as more of our products and services move online, we can learn a thing or two from the world of service design. A dependence on any form of design system can create a pattern of ignoring our users’ context, hindering the design process, and even our own sense of empathy.
Orchestrating Experiences
Experiences are formed by touchpoints, some tangible, others less so. This excerpt from Orchestrating Experiences is a deep dive into the world of touchpoints, helping you understand how to coordinate them to build a seamless experience.
Working with External User Researchers: Part II
Most people agree that it’s important to get feedback from users, but in reality, not everyone can afford a dedicated user researcher on their team. In this second and final installment on working with external user researchers, we focus on how to get things done once you’ve found the right person to bring onto your project. With these best practices around on-boarding and collaboration, you’ll be able to get the most value for your money, and get the most candid insights into what your users really think.
Designing for Research
Image quality may be about striking the balance between speed and quality, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. What if, despite having methods to develop better and better image experiences for the web, the user disagrees? In a quest to find answers, Jeremy Wagner takes us through an image quality study that he designs, develops, and iterates on with user feedback. Asking “Why?” is no easy undertaking in research. His lossy is your gain.
A DIY Web Accessibility Blueprint
Good accessibility is good UX. We should seek to create the best user experience for all (not just the able-bodied). But launching a company accessibility remediation project can be a big undertaking. You will need to win over company leadership, build a multi-disciplinary accessibility team, and educate everyone on accessibility standards. In this article, Beth Raduenzel provides a step-by-step guide to making and maintaining an accessible website.
Discovery on a Budget: Part II
When it comes to evaluating the next “big idea”, not everyone has a pot of money, crowds of existing customers and a roomful of eager researchers and analysts. So in this second installment of her three-part series, Meg Dickey-Kurdziolek leads us through the next steps in budget-conscious discovery—analyzing the data gathered from initial research, refining the problem hypothesis, and setting up a fresh round of more-targeted research. For Meg’s fictitious startup, Candor Network, it’s clear that a new focus is needed …
My Accessibility Journey: What I’ve Learned So Far
It’s not about writing the most sophisticated code or finding the most clever solution to a problem; it’s about users and whether they’re able to use our products.” Manuel Matuzovic shares 11 lessons as a developer learning about & incorporating accessibility into his work.
Design Like a Teacher
A difficult user migration project led Aimee Gonzalez-Cameron to reevaluate how she approaches her work. She started to see herself not just as an expert on user experience, but as a teacher, a realization that transformed her work. She reflects on how developing a teaching mindset can improve any UX project.
The King vs. Pawn Game of UI Design
If you want to improve your UI design skills, try looking at chess. Sounds contrived, maybe, but in Erik Kennedy’s hands, it’s sublime. Marvel and learn as he uses a concept from chess to build a toolkit of UI design strategies covering color, typography, lighting and shadows, and more.
