Calm Technology

The terms “calm computing” and “calm technology” were coined in 1995 by PARC Researchers Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown in reaction to the increasing complexities that information technologies were creating. He felt that the promise of computing systems was that they might “simplify complexities, not introduce new ones.” Principles of Calm Technology Technology should require the smallest possible … Read more

A Focus on User Experience Increased Conversions by 350%

  Skinit was ranked #25 by Forbes in 2011 as a Most Promising Company. They make personalized adhesive logos and other artwork for consumers to stick onto cell phones, laptops, digital cameras and other electronic gadgets with distribution partners that include Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft and works with sports teams and entertainment firms like Disney to … Read more

People over Process and Tools

The first line of the Agile Manifesto is “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.” My interpretation – and my experience – of this, is that no matter how great your process and tools, it is people and their interactions that is the success of any organization. In his book, What the CEO Wants You … Read more

SoCal UX Camp 2015 UX Design and Agile Development Presentation Video

SoCal UX Camp, it is a free, user-driven, collaborative “unconference” for User Experience Designers, Research Analysts, and students held in Southern California. It is a one-day gathering of User Experience folks to share, present, network, learn and discuss. And is a ton of fun for UX geeks and enthusiasts. One of the topics that I … Read more

The Customer Experience Revolution – The Trailer

It has been an exciting year for Jeof and I and The Customer Experience Revolution this month. We had a great time as Closing Keynotes at SDL Innovate 2014 in San Francisco, the book went into a third printing, and Brigantine Media just released this trailer.

Fitts’s Law and Design

In 1954, Paul Fitts developed a model of human movement, Fitts’s law, based on rapid, aimed movement. Fitts’s model predicts that the time required to rapidly move to a target area is a function of the distance to the target and the size of the target. This law is used to model the act of … Read more

Perceived Affordance and Four Principles of Screen Interface Design

Psychologist James J. Gibson originally introduced the term “Affordance” in his 1977 article “The Theory of Affordances” and elaborated on it further in his 1979 book The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception. Gibson defined affordances as all “action possibilities” latent in the environment, objectively measurable and independent of the individual’s ability to recognize them, but … Read more

Big Data, Analytics, SaaS and the Experience

We are seeing the blooming of the Experience Economy in the Information Age. There is so much information we have create Big Data. The trend to larger data sets is due to the additional information derivable from analysis of a single large set of related data. Data sets grow in size in part because they … Read more

How Much User Experience Effort by Types of Release

The level of user experience effort that is practical for a given release depends, to some extent, on the type of release—that is, whether it is a major release, a minor release, or an update. Table 1 provides a summary of guidelines for the UX effort that is recommended for each type of release. Table … Read more

Support Corporate Strategy Through Customer Experience Design

Only with a thorough understanding of your customers’ and users’ needs can you design easy-to-use enterprise software solutions. Early research and validation of those needs reduces cycle time in defining requirements. More thorough user interface designs— prototypes and specifications— reduces cycle time in development and testing. Easy-to-use enterprise software solutions reduce training and support costs, … Read more

Conduct Usability Evaluations to Ensure Your Solution is Easy to Use

Once you have validated the workflow meets the customer and user needs, evaluate the tasks to ensure that they are easy to complete. Usability evaluation assesses the degree to which the system can be operated by its users, the efficiency of the solution and satisfaction. These evaluations validate that the tasks are easy to complete—a … Read more

Validate Your User Experience Designs with Your Customers and Users

When validating your new idea to the market, educate your customers so they can put your solution in a new context. This paradigm shift for the customer may not come easy and they may not immediately understand the value of your solution—especially if you can’t put it in context for them. Being able to put … Read more