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Digg it UP - User-Centered Design (UCD) - 6 Methods
A bookmark is an item that you place into a paper book to mark the place where you stopped reading. This bookmark allows you to easily return to the exact spot you were before, without having to memorize the page number.An online bookmark serves the same purpose. When you find an internet site you want to mark for later viewing, or that you'll want to find again, you tell your browser to set a bookmark. These are also called favorites. This bookmark allows you to return exactly to the same site again and again, without ever having to memorize the link.What Is Social BookmarkingYou've been using social bookmarking, even if you didn't know it! When you forward a funny e-mail joke or picture to a friend, that's a form of social bookmarking. You are socially sharing a bookmar
Interviews
What are they? An interview usually involves one interviewer speaking to one participant at a time.
The advantages of an interview are that a participant's unique point of view can be explored in detail. It is also the case that any misunderstandings between the interviewer and the participant are likely to be quickly identified and addressed.
The output of an interview is almost exclusively non-statistical - it's critical that reports of interviews are carefully analysed by experienced practitioners.
When to use
Interviews are usually employed early in the design process in order to gain a more detailed understanding of a domain/area of activity or specific requirements.
Issues
Interviewing places a high premium on the experience and skill of the interviewer and analyst.
Conclusion
This has been an introduction to the major user-centered design methods. It's vital to remember that although each can be extremely valuable, using them in the right way, for the right reasons and at the right time is critical.
Exactly w
YOU don't need a fancy diploma or a big budget to earn a lot of money online.YOU can set your own home business, work from home and make money online without breaking a sweat.What YOU need is an ability to KNOW for what are people willing to pay for. And then YOU provide this product or service to them. It really is simple to earn money once YOU figure this out.And of course when YOU believe in yourself that YOU CAN DO IT.Let me show YOU few steps to make money online.STEP 1:The easiest way to make money online without a website is by using your mailing list.YOU simply send an email to your friends or subscribers to your newsletter with a message about your new product or about a product that you're an affiliate for.
The stages are carried out in an iterative fashion, with the cycle being repeated until the project's usability objectives have been attained. This makes it critical that the participants in these methods accurately reflect the profile of your actual users.
Focus groups
What are they?
A focus group involves encouraging an invited group of intended/actual users of a site (i.e. participants) to share their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and ideas on a certain subject.
Organising focus groups within an organisation can also be very useful in getting buy-in to a project from within that company.
When to use
Focus groups are most often used as an input to design. They generally produce non-statistical data and are a good means of getting information about a domain (e.g. what peoples' tasks involve).
Issues
It's necessary to have an experienced moderator and analyst for a focus group to be effective.
Usability testing
What is it? Usability testing sessions evaluate a site by collecting data from people as they use it. A person is invited to attend a session in which they'll be asked to perform a series of tasks while a moderator takes note of any difficulties they encounter.
Users can be asked to follow the think-aloud protocol which asks them to verbalise what they're doing and why they're doing it.
You can also time users to see how long it takes them to complete tasks, which is a good measure of efficiency (although you should bear in mind that using the 'think aloud' protocol will slow users down considerably).
Two specialists' time is normally required per session - one to moderate, one to note problems.
When to use
Usability testing can be used as an input to design or at the end of a project. It represents an excellent way finding out what the most likely usability problems with a site are likely to be.
Usability testing can be used generate non-statistical or statistical data.
Issues
Usability testing requires some form of design to be available to test - even if it's only on paper. Testing works best if it focuses either on gathering non-statistical feedback on a design through 'talk aloud' or statistical measures.
Card sorting
What is it? Card sorting is a method for suggesting intuitive structures/categories. A participant is presented with an unsorted pack of index cards. Each card has a statement written on it that relates to a page of the site.
The participant is asked to sort these cards into groups and then to name these groups. The results of multiple individual sorts are then combined and analysed statistically.
When to use Card sorting is usually used as an input to design. It's an excellent way of suggesting good categories for a site's content and deriving its information architecture.
Card sorting can be used generate statistical data.
Issues Providing participants with a trial run on some easy cards (e.g. sports, animals, etc.) can reassure about what they are expected to do and result in a more productive session.
Participatory design
What is it?
Participatory design does not just ask users opinions on design issues, but actively involves them in the design and decision-making processes.
When to use
Participatory design is usually used within a mini-project to generate prototypes that feed into an overall project's design process.
An example would be a participatory design workshop in which developers, designers and users work together to design an initial prototype. This initial prototype would then feed into a more traditional design process.
Projects which only utilise participatory design are very rare.
Issues
Participatory design sessions can be very fluid and require an experienced moderator with thorough knowledge of the domain to guide them.
Questionnaires
What are they?
Questionnaires are a means of asking users for their responses to a pre-defined set of questions and are a good way of generating statistical data.
When to use
Questionnaires are usually employed when a design team:
Can only gain remote access to users of a site Is seeking a larger sample size than can be realistically achieved through direct contact
It is for this reason that questionnaires are usually administered through post or electronic means.
Issues
Questionnaires allow statistical analysis of results, which can increase a study's credibility through its scientific appearance. This makes it all the more important that the questionnaire is well-designed and asks non-biased questions.
Interviews
What are they? An interview usually involves one interviewer speaking to one participant at a time.
The advantages of an interview are that a participant's unique point of view can be explored in detail. It is also the case that any misunderstandings between the interviewer and the participant are likely to be quickly identified and addressed.
The output of an interview is almost exclusively non-statistical - it's critical that reports of interviews are carefully analysed by experienced practitioners.
When to use
Interviews are usually employed early in the design process in order to gain a more detailed understanding of a domain/area of activity or specific requirements.
Issues
Interviewing places a high premium on the experience and skill of the interviewer and analyst.
Conclusion
This has been an introduction to the major user-centered design methods. It's vital to remember that although each can be extremely valuable, using them in the right way, for the right reasons and at the right time is critical.
Exactly wh
Time management is one of the most important definitions in contemporary world. Every other year, every other generation of devices gives more and more speeding opportunities and makes time pressure higher and higher. Several years ago employers asked from candidates simply MS Office knowledge. Now being a user is not enough. Software developers integrate more and more time-saving functionalities into every application, but users barely know of their existence.Here I provide several time-saving functionalities of different software. Did you know about it?1. I bet you know about Macro. It is an oversimplified Visual Basic script. When you do some routine job and repeat several commands very often it is quite reasonable to record a Macro. The basic problem about Macro is
Usability testing
What is it? Usability testing sessions evaluate a site by collecting data from people as they use it. A person is invited to attend a session in which they'll be asked to perform a series of tasks while a moderator takes note of any difficulties they encounter.
Users can be asked to follow the think-aloud protocol which asks them to verbalise what they're doing and why they're doing it.
You can also time users to see how long it takes them to complete tasks, which is a good measure of efficiency (although you should bear in mind that using the 'think aloud' protocol will slow users down considerably).
Two specialists' time is normally required per session - one to moderate, one to note problems.
When to use
Usability testing can be used as an input to design or at the end of a project. It represents an excellent way finding out what the most likely usability problems with a site are likely to be.
Usability testing can be used generate non-statistical or statistical data.
Issues
Usability testing requires some form of design to be available to test - even if it's only on paper. Testing works best if it focuses either on gathering non-statistical feedback on a design through 'talk aloud' or statistical measures.
Card sorting
What is it? Card sorting is a method for suggesting intuitive structures/categories. A participant is presented with an unsorted pack of index cards. Each card has a statement written on it that relates to a page of the site.
The participant is asked to sort these cards into groups and then to name these groups. The results of multiple individual sorts are then combined and analysed statistically.
When to use Card sorting is usually used as an input to design. It's an excellent way of suggesting good categories for a site's content and deriving its information architecture.
Card sorting can be used generate statistical data.
Issues Providing participants with a trial run on some easy cards (e.g. sports, animals, etc.) can reassure about what they are expected to do and result in a more productive session.
Participatory design
What is it?
Participatory design does not just ask users opinions on design issues, but actively involves them in the design and decision-making processes.
When to use
Participatory design is usually used within a mini-project to generate prototypes that feed into an overall project's design process.
An example would be a participatory design workshop in which developers, designers and users work together to design an initial prototype. This initial prototype would then feed into a more traditional design process.
Projects which only utilise participatory design are very rare.
Issues
Participatory design sessions can be very fluid and require an experienced moderator with thorough knowledge of the domain to guide them.
Questionnaires
What are they?
Questionnaires are a means of asking users for their responses to a pre-defined set of questions and are a good way of generating statistical data.
When to use
Questionnaires are usually employed when a design team:
Can only gain remote access to users of a site Is seeking a larger sample size than can be realistically achieved through direct contact
It is for this reason that questionnaires are usually administered through post or electronic means.
Issues
Questionnaires allow statistical analysis of results, which can increase a study's credibility through its scientific appearance. This makes it all the more important that the questionnaire is well-designed and asks non-biased questions.
Interviews
What are they? An interview usually involves one interviewer speaking to one participant at a time.
The advantages of an interview are that a participant's unique point of view can be explored in detail. It is also the case that any misunderstandings between the interviewer and the participant are likely to be quickly identified and addressed.
The output of an interview is almost exclusively non-statistical - it's critical that reports of interviews are carefully analysed by experienced practitioners.
When to use
Interviews are usually employed early in the design process in order to gain a more detailed understanding of a domain/area of activity or specific requirements.
Issues
Interviewing places a high premium on the experience and skill of the interviewer and analyst.
Conclusion
This has been an introduction to the major user-centered design methods. It's vital to remember that although each can be extremely valuable, using them in the right way, for the right reasons and at the right time is critical.
Exactly w
Build an honest home based business without spending all your money.There are seven essential rules for home business success. They are easy to follow and simple to learn, yet less than 5% of web site owners understand how important they are.It does not matter what you promote or whom you sell to, if you ignore the basic rules for making money, you will sit in an empty store with empty pockets.The first rule for an honest home business is as easy as asking yourself a few questions!So, ask yourself some questions: What are your interests? Do you have a hobby you love? What are your skills?The first rule is to discover a Niche.
Card sorting
What is it? Card sorting is a method for suggesting intuitive structures/categories. A participant is presented with an unsorted pack of index cards. Each card has a statement written on it that relates to a page of the site.
The participant is asked to sort these cards into groups and then to name these groups. The results of multiple individual sorts are then combined and analysed statistically.
When to use Card sorting is usually used as an input to design. It's an excellent way of suggesting good categories for a site's content and deriving its information architecture.
Card sorting can be used generate statistical data.
Issues Providing participants with a trial run on some easy cards (e.g. sports, animals, etc.) can reassure about what they are expected to do and result in a more productive session.
Participatory design
What is it?
Participatory design does not just ask users opinions on design issues, but actively involves them in the design and decision-making processes.
When to use
Participatory design is usually used within a mini-project to generate prototypes that feed into an overall project's design process.
An example would be a participatory design workshop in which developers, designers and users work together to design an initial prototype. This initial prototype would then feed into a more traditional design process.
Projects which only utilise participatory design are very rare.
Issues
Participatory design sessions can be very fluid and require an experienced moderator with thorough knowledge of the domain to guide them.
Questionnaires
What are they?
Questionnaires are a means of asking users for their responses to a pre-defined set of questions and are a good way of generating statistical data.
When to use
Questionnaires are usually employed when a design team:
Can only gain remote access to users of a site Is seeking a larger sample size than can be realistically achieved through direct contact
It is for this reason that questionnaires are usually administered through post or electronic means.
Issues
Questionnaires allow statistical analysis of results, which can increase a study's credibility through its scientific appearance. This makes it all the more important that the questionnaire is well-designed and asks non-biased questions.
Interviews
What are they? An interview usually involves one interviewer speaking to one participant at a time.
The advantages of an interview are that a participant's unique point of view can be explored in detail. It is also the case that any misunderstandings between the interviewer and the participant are likely to be quickly identified and addressed.
The output of an interview is almost exclusively non-statistical - it's critical that reports of interviews are carefully analysed by experienced practitioners.
When to use
Interviews are usually employed early in the design process in order to gain a more detailed understanding of a domain/area of activity or specific requirements.
Issues
Interviewing places a high premium on the experience and skill of the interviewer and analyst.
Conclusion
This has been an introduction to the major user-centered design methods. It's vital to remember that although each can be extremely valuable, using them in the right way, for the right reasons and at the right time is critical.
Exactly w
Affiliate marketing has always been quite a hot trend when it comes to internet marketing. But does it really work? Can you really earn decent amount of money from affiliate marketing? These are the questions that we are always asking.Let me start by explaining what affiliate marketing is. When you are doing affiliate marketing, you are promoting and selling other people's product, as opposed to your own product, for a certain amount of commission. Affiliate marketing is a win-win solution for both of the affiliates and the merchants because affiliates can earn money without having to create your own product, and the merchants don't have to spend a fortune for advertising.Since the Internet became more and more popular, so were the affiliate mar
An example would be a participatory design workshop in which developers, designers and users work together to design an initial prototype. This initial prototype would then feed into a more traditional design process.
Projects which only utilise participatory design are very rare.
Issues
Participatory design sessions can be very fluid and require an experienced moderator with thorough knowledge of the domain to guide them.
Questionnaires
What are they?
Questionnaires are a means of asking users for their responses to a pre-defined set of questions and are a good way of generating statistical data.
When to use
Questionnaires are usually employed when a design team:
Can only gain remote access to users of a site Is seeking a larger sample size than can be realistically achieved through direct contact
It is for this reason that questionnaires are usually administered through post or electronic means.
Issues
Questionnaires allow statistical analysis of results, which can increase a study's credibility through its scientific appearance. This makes it all the more important that the questionnaire is well-designed and asks non-biased questions.
Interviews
What are they? An interview usually involves one interviewer speaking to one participant at a time.
The advantages of an interview are that a participant's unique point of view can be explored in detail. It is also the case that any misunderstandings between the interviewer and the participant are likely to be quickly identified and addressed.
The output of an interview is almost exclusively non-statistical - it's critical that reports of interviews are carefully analysed by experienced practitioners.
When to use
Interviews are usually employed early in the design process in order to gain a more detailed understanding of a domain/area of activity or specific requirements.
Issues
Interviewing places a high premium on the experience and skill of the interviewer and analyst.
Conclusion
This has been an introduction to the major user-centered design methods. It's vital to remember that although each can be extremely valuable, using them in the right way, for the right reasons and at the right time is critical.
Exactly w
Online businesses have become rather profitable in recent years, which have lead to the emergence of many new competing websites. Competition has increased considerably and it has now become difficult to attract online customers.To attract customers in the present scenario, online businesses are continuously involved in the process of increasing website traffic through the use SEO (search engine optimization) techniques. SEO techniques are quite effective because they not only help increase traffic, but also help in converting casual visits into actual sales. One of the prominent SEO technique is website design, which apart from other functions includes graphic design as well. Website graphics involves the creation of unique and innovative graphics that help in getting the attention of
Interviews
What are they? An interview usually involves one interviewer speaking to one participant at a time.
The advantages of an interview are that a participant's unique point of view can be explored in detail. It is also the case that any misunderstandings between the interviewer and the participant are likely to be quickly identified and addressed.
The output of an interview is almost exclusively non-statistical - it's critical that reports of interviews are carefully analysed by experienced practitioners.
When to use
Interviews are usually employed early in the design process in order to gain a more detailed understanding of a domain/area of activity or specific requirements.
Issues
Interviewing places a high premium on the experience and skill of the interviewer and analyst.
Conclusion
This has been an introduction to the major user-centered design methods. It's vital to remember that although each can be extremely valuable, using them in the right way, for the right reasons and at the right time is critical.
Exactly which method to use, and when and how to use it will differ from project to project.
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