Personas are one of the most controversial tools in the professional UX toolbox. People either swear by them or swear at them. When they work, they are awesome, but when they fail, well, they fail gloriously. For the past few years, we’ve been researching why so many persona projects have such dismal results. We discovered [...]

Through the years we interviewed some awesome UX professionals and designers. Many have shared tips and techniques that shed light on new approaches and thinking in the world of design. Today’s article is based on one of those podcasts. Kate Brigham and her group at PatientsLikeMe are doing amazing work when it comes to online [...]

It was crazy. The team put a lot of effort into the design changes. Great care was taken with the navigation. The content was tight. The images were relevant. But they still missed the mark. Now the team learned from usability studies that the site wasn’t resonating with the users. They couldn’t understand why. The [...]

The migration to agile and lean development methods has thrown a wrench into the world of user experience professionals. Now in unfamiliar ground, these professionals want to know what new techniques and tricks help integrate UX into the development process. As we’ve been studying what works and what doesn’t work, we’ve realized that the successful [...]

Whether you’re looking to improve your lawn, buy a baby stroller, or figure out which new 60″ TV you want, it’s quite common to start with a search on the web. You read product reviews, reviews from other consumers, and use social media to ask others for opinions. Searching on the web is a pretty [...]

“There are no problems, only opportunities. However, there are some insurmountable opportunities.” Just when we thought we knew what we were doing, suddenly we realize everything has changed. We thought we had finally mastered building great applications on the desktop, only to realize that we now have to challenges of the mobile platform to deal [...]

Web-based applications are a different beast than other types of software or web sites. Web app designers have to take care of the users’ goals, and also ensure that the business needs are taken into account. Business needs can be complex. They come from all over the enterprise, originating from initiatives (like marketing campaigns), infrastructure [...]

Even the best of plans can go awry. We role play in our head how a usability test will proceed, understand the objectives at hand, and do a rigorous job of screening the participants. But what do you do when something totally unexpected occurs? Life circumstances among the participants can throw a curve ball at [...]

Woody Allen once said, “There is no scientific evidence to support the notion that life should be taken seriously.” When it comes to designing applications, Woody was right on the mark. We’ve spent some quality time with Stephen Anderson. Steve makes it his business to explore how serious applications can be fun and engaging. The [...]

We’ve all been there. Your mobile phone, tucked away in your back pocket, accidentally dials someone you have no intent on speak with. Or perhaps you deleted an important message to quickly. Mishaps do happen with mobile devices, but there are ways that design can protect against those accidental occurrences or even undue the mistakes. [...]