User-experience research methods are great at producing data and insights, while ongoing activities help get the right things done. Alongside R&D, ongoing UX activities can make everyone’s efforts more effective and valuable. At every stage in the design process, different UX methods can keep product-development efforts on the right track, in agreement with true user needs and not imaginary ones.
One of the questions we get the most is, “When should I do user research on my project?” There are three different answers:
Do user research at whatever stage you’re in right now . The earlier the research, the more impact the findings will have on your product, and by...
Users shouldn’t need to find a tooltip in order to complete their task. Tooltips are best when they provide additional explanation for a form field unfamiliar to some users or reasoning for what may seem like an unusual request. Remember that tooltips disappear, so instructions or other directly
The message the site presented--Yes, switch my membership and save up to 83%--may have sold some people on postponing canceling, as did placing the promotion in the first position in the radio-button list. But, understanding that most people really do want to unsubscribe if they have reached this
Because mega menus don’t work in a phone UI, designers often use a mega menu for desktop navigation, and an accordion or some other option for mobile navigation. Some teams opt for menu UIs that translate easily from desktop to mobile. One such pattern popular this year is the vertical navigation
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
Melissa Hathaway came across our radar recently when President Obama tasked the former Bush administration aide with leading a 60-day review of Bush’s Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative; a largely classified, purported $30 billion, multi phase plan to address cybersecurity issues
Blockchain Success Stories Show Valuable Opportunities
Over the past two years, we’ve witnessed the cryptocurrency market explode onto the scene, minting billionaires overnight, followed by an implosion that has wiped out up to 80 percent of the market’s value. All along, the true believers have continued to insist that this is just the
What Will Cryptocurrency Be Like in 10 Years?
In 10 years, people across the globe will have a deeper understanding and acceptance of cryptocurrencies. It isn’t going to fulfill bitcoin’s initial goal of completely toppling the financial system, but it won’t ever disappear, either. A decade from now, both digital and traditional will
Beyond Usability: 3 User Experiences Reshaping Their Industries
Airbnb makes it easy to satisfy the needs of these travelers by connecting them with owners who want to make an extra dollar by renting out their property. Before Airbnb, sites such as Home Away and property-management agencies used to connect owners with interested renters, but these were focused
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Trustworthiness in Web Design: 4 Credibility Factors
It is also imperative that service sites display photos from all stages of the service, not merely the end result. When evaluating cleaning services, people wanted to see not only photos of clean rooms, but also images of the actual cleaning process and who would be doing the cleaning. Especially
The Layer-Cake Pattern of Scanning Content on the Web
People don’t usually read every word on a webpage, in an app, or even in an article or text passage. Instead, they often scan — because their experience with many websites has taught them that scanning can deliver almost the same value (that is, amount of information) with significant less
10 Heuristics for User Interface Design: Article by Jakob Nielsen
Visibility of system status The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. (Read full article on visibility of system status.) Match between system and the real world The system should speak the users' language, with words
Profit Maximization vs. User Loyalty
Even though standard economic theory says that you should employ both of these strategies, I warn against them due to their impact on user loyalty. It will quickly become known that different people are charged different rates and those customers who have been charged the higher price will rebel
Don't Force Users to Register Before They Can Buy
Rather than forcing users to register before checking out, provide the option to register within the checkout process by presenting optional fields for the user to enter a password. This puts users in control and allows them to decide if it is worthwhile to register or not. In our e-commerce
WP Engine Participates in the Day of Understanding
WP Engine was proud to take part in this event sponsored by the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion. Each company was encouraged to customize the events during the day according to the needs, nature, and geography of its workplace. At WP Engine, multiple company-wide workshops were held in
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Join WP Engine in Web Week 2018
Are there old shortcodes lingering around, bulking up your code? Do you still have widgets installed that you don’t use anymore? Perhaps your dashboard is full of comment spam. Maybe you need better analytics software or want to start reaching more audiences by adding more localized content
WordPress for Good: Relieving Fatigue .
In this segment, we highlight Untire, an application that helps cancer patients and survivors reduce cancer-related fatigue (CRF) symptoms and regain life. CRF is a common side-effect of cancer and related treatments; patients describe it as a paralyzing level of fatigue that leaves patients
A Model for Conducting UX Workshops and Exercises
It is hard to play both roles well. Because the facilitators act as authority figures throughout the exercise, their contributions will be taken at a high regard (which defeats the purpose of many of our UX collaborative exercises). Better to stay neutral. If you do not have the luxury of a
User Intent Affects Filter Design
Look for user movement via mouse hover or keyboard focus. If users are moving the mouse around the filters (or using the keyboard to tab between them), they may be on their way to make another selection. Conversely, if the mouse leaves the filter area and moves to main results, it’s a good sign
Minimize Design Risk by Focusing on Outcomes not Features
Encourage team members to be creative and think of different ways to approach a goal. Generate multiple solutions and get user feedback early. Activities such as storyboarding and wireframing have two major benefits: (1) they give team members a way to communicate ideas visually; (2) teams can
Security Teams Need to Be Prepared With an Incident Response Plan
A true security incident refers to something that could negatively impact information security objectives like confidentiality, integrity, or availability. When something in the system triggers an alert or looks unusual, security teams need to have a protocol in place to diagnose, act on, and
In an Experiential-Obsessed Marketplace, Surkus Uses Tech to Stand Out
The affordability and ease created by technology hasn’t completely trickled down, and George says that’s created a misconception that lingers among small brands. “There’s a perception that events have to be grandiose, multimillion-dollar affairs that only global brands can afford,” he
Cybersecurity in IoT: Achieving Digital Security in an Age of Surveillance
The blockchain runs a decentralized ledger system, which distributes information across a network of computers and uses a consensus algorithm to ensure parity. IBMembraces this approach in its IoT for business products, noting that the blockchain “enables your business partners to access and
Building a Workplace for the Next 100 Years
Growing and maturing a company are two different operations, yet they share a common goal: to stay in business for the long run. As the number of new companies multiplies all over the globe, competition grows fierce. Surviving the digital age in a sea of competitors requires thoughtful preparedness
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Start-ups and International Talent
Dan also said that “we’ll see an increasing number of important startups based outside of the Valley over the coming few years.” Again, I think this is a trend to watch out for. Not only in big countries like China, but in very small countries like my own. I’m certainly keen
5 Tech Missteps That Are Killing Your Company’s Potential
So why all the fuss? Two words: security breach. When it comes to cyberattacks such as Heartbleed and WannaCry, no one is safe. From the everyday Joe to the largest businesses in the country, data breaches are ubiquitous. Fortunately, with Google Authenticator, Facebook Code Generator, LastPass
UX Research Cheat Sheet | "Get Started" Stops Users
"Get Started" Stops Users
We’ve seen this problem before when we wrote about the illusion of completeness. In a prior study we asked 8 users to visit a meal-delivery website and find out what service that company offered. Six of those participants clicked on the Get Started button because it seemed to match their
We recently ran a usability study in the U.K. where one user was attempting the following task: "Does Siemens have any special deals on washing machines?" Without much trouble, the user arrived at this homepage for Siemens Appliances in the U.K.: User task: "Does Siemens have any special deals on
Official Olympic Website: UI Silver - but UX DQ
Another example is even more grotesque: The site's homepage features a promotion to buy the official souvenir program for £10. So if you click this link, what would you expect? A page about the souvenir program, with a button to add it to your cart. After all, the web's one fundamental rule is
