Blogging on User Interface and experience

Several interesting entries, I didn’t want to post separately:

1. This post is written using Drivel Journal Editor running on Ubuntu 7.10. It is not polished as the MS Windows live writer. I was happy to find it includes a build in speller, though in a brief look it seems as if it is only capable of highlighting miss spelled word, later I found an option in the context menu called Spelling Suggestions. This is not the common way, but a nice solution for crowded context menus.
The meaning of Drivel is To slaver; to let spittle drop or flow from the mouth, like a child, idiot, or dotard. The software delivers basic operations (e.g. writing a post), it is straightforward and seems nice and friendly. Next …

2. Season of Usability 2008 is open and offers some interesting and challenging UI/UX practical experience. More details here: http://season.openusability.org/index.php/projects.

3. Do you have a wish list? From time to time I make a wish regarding new functionality in programs or services I use. For example, I wish I could stream my desktop using IM or at list send a screen capture easily. This can be a powerful tool for collaborative work, teaching and supporting. If this exists somewhere, let me know, if you decide to develop this feature… well this was my idea. If you have other wishes, write to us.

While installing the new MS (Microsoft) live messenger I encountered the platform I am trying right now - Windows live writer.  

The over all feel is nice, MS feel but still, familiar and smooth.

Installation was also easy and configuring my blog and user was also easy.

Downfalls: They just don’t learn… MS got a great new product out there - office 2007 with a complete new user interface method, this is based on the old UI and that is taking a step back, entering an  Image and manipulating it was easy, but not consistent with the new method - on the right of the interface.

Can’t see code? what a shame…
A lot of bloggers like their code, and manipulate it, it is part of the task flow:
I write -> embed code -> write some more…

The carryover from other blog editing (especially web based) tools is apparent by the text editing tool, and the non friendly text behavior (can’t move the pic around with the arrows?) but when writing on a pc client I would expect more.

Took me some searching to be able to play with font size.

Good stuff - MS style, there is 3 ways (or more) to do every action and the options compared to other tools out there are far greater.

One thing that is not apparent at first are the plug-ins. this is a very broad.

Bottom line - A lot of "MS going for free code" is going around… This all platform is that, the addons are suppose to be by "users/ free developers. A lot of marketing and features, again experience is lacking.

Surprisingly it was easier than I thought, if someone can tell me how I can remove my profile from Jdate it will be grate. Well this is a user experience blog, so some words on the meter are a must. In general Facebook felt to me as controlled chaos. Information or data on my friends (very interesting) leaks from every corner of the screen, do I really care? All this great plug ins, add ons, mini applications, all very nice very useful some even life saving. Well I haven’t tested them all, but the few I have tried delivered a reasonable user experience. Never the less the mesh up results in the opposite of synergy. Confusion will be my epitaph…
One thing that I found difficult was to send a good bye email to all my friends. The basic interface delivered by the site allow very easy and nice way to add or remove one friend, but I could not find a way to ad all of them at once.
Well now I have a free password I still remember maybe a try to find friends in another social networking site.

Presented a usability calender: LOVED IT

Here are my two cents about it.
January:
choose a presentation that suits your content - I would add - Choose a presentation that suits your users needs.
February:
Offer personalization only where it adds value - Completely true.
March:
Keep novel choices visible: don’t hide information in dropdowns:
This item is kind’a problematic - above all you have to support your user, so primary navigation is totally true, but when it comes to secondary actions it has to be kept in mind that too much information creates a clutter on your page, so sometimes it is good to keep some things aside, Jared spool has a good podcast on the subject.
April:
Video is dandy - as long as it support the user task.
May:
Don’t require login if you don’t have to. - again, Jared Spool (I follow his articles and podcasts regularly).
June:
Who said usability should be boring - all fun and games, article here.
July:
Fitts law: Bigger IS better - or at least easier to click - I would add - Bigger also catch more attention, so bigger isn’t always better - don’t let action objects take focus from the content.
August:
More navigation doesn’t always make your site easier to use.
September:
Don’t copy every fancy web2.0 element you see - Tag cloud anyone?
October:
Focus on your core content: the home page sees fewer visitors - does your HP visitors know what your content is about?
November:
One word: Oversharing, technically two words , but more seriously, this is pure marketing issue, has little to do with usability.
December:
We’ve all seen enough Facebook clones now, thank you! - If something is done right copy it! as for usability you don’t have to be unique, you have to be smart about what you pick to copy.
Have a great 2008

D.

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Tags: calender, fun, usability

To all you users, happy new year
!

from adaptive path

Tags: video

Experience is getting clustered.
Facebook, a little while ago added a little feature with a very sexy name: “News Feed Feedback”, it’s that little ‘thumbs up’ and ‘x’ icons next to every item in the news feed.

This is, from what the facebook blog say: “News Feed will use this feedback to further tailor stories for you and to identify the types of stories and applications you might like to see in the future”.

Just this morning I got a glimpse on a new feature by Google, doing kind of the same thing -

The wisdom of the crowds is getting more popular?

Now let’s compare this to Digg.com

Digg is a very good example of a good experience.

What are the user goals:

In Google- search and find - I am looking for something, I go in to Google search and I find it.

In facebook - follow - I am wondering what my friends are up to, I go in and follow the news feed.

In Digg - see what’s new - I am browsing digg, with no real goal, except getting a wide view of information, others users have liked or found important.

Who participate?

Google - everyone that is searching for something.

Facebook - Me and my friends.

Digg - a community that has some mutual interest.

Experience?

The first thing in experience design is to understand and design for the user goals and needs.

Digg tells me how many people in the community think the item I am looking at is important, and in a very easy step - one click, I can say I like it too.

Google and facebook don’t give me any feedback, I like an item, I click on it, but what does this action mean? Where does it lead to? Who else think this is good? In digg I know immediately.

So facebook and Google just made their screen a bit more crowded with actions a user don’t really need for his goals and needs.

Are more features always good?

Tags: Google, Digg, Facebook, experience, experience design, usability

I am a big fan of uie brain sparks, their articles and podcasts are very Informing.

Jared Spool provides a very good talk and slide show presentation on what it takes to get a good experience design. This is a bit of a pop talk, but a very good one.

I just love the slideshare.com voice over slide show thing, I think its the most informative way to do an online slide show.
This is a case of meeting user needs and provide the best feedback and information about where you are in a talk, what visual information you should be engaged in, accessibility  to any part of the talk, and that is done with the amazing informative bar at the bottom of the slide show (do yourself a favor and watch the show in ‘full’ mode).

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D.

With a little delay I would like to review the annual meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Europe Chapter, which occurred this year, October 24-26 in Braunschweig Germany. The conference was hosted by the DLR. It is Germany’s national research institute center for aeronautics, space and transportation. Therefore this human factor conference main theme was transportation, though other aspects of HMI (Human Machine Interfaces) were presented too.
The location was very nice and interesting. We had the chance to see and also experience some of the simulators that are used there for research.
First, the amazing driving simulator, which provides the driver with a 360 degrees point of view within the vehicle. It is mounted on a hydraulic platform which moves according to changes in the steering wheal and the speed. By far this was the most realistic driving experience I had and a simulator.

In addition we visited an air traffic control tower simulator. In this big room equipped with many computers and big screens, the DLR researchers examines new models for traffic control, interaction between the traffic controller and the pilot, remote traffic control for small air ports and more. They use real data from airports in Germany and in some experiments they communicate their own dedicated aircraft and pilot.

From a local point of view, Pnina Gershon was our (Israeli) representative. Her oral presentation “Using an Interactive Cognitive Task (ICT) for Maintaining Alertness During a Prolonged Drive” opened the conference and was very impressive. An interesting concept was presented by Ben Mulder , that is highly relevant to usability people. In his presentation “Using mouse-movements analysis for detecting strategies in complex task performance” he demonstrated a high correlation between results from eye-tracing system to mouse tracking data when interacting with a complex GUI. If any of you experienced in research using eye-tracking equipment you can appreciate the benefits of not having to use eye-tracking, the long calibration process, the amount of data and the complexity of the analysis. This fact emphasizes the importance of the click, or as Danny calls it “an indicator for a cognitive decision making process”. This reminds me the criticism I had on the interaction method explored in www.dontclick.it, which I might explain more in a next post.
There were many other interesting and relevant presentations, I will try to bring them up here in the future.

A nice slide show

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Did it for work….

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Tags: usability, slide,