The challenges presented by the global economic recession have served to motivate those of us in the field of User Experience to find more inventive approaches as an industry.More

I recently sat in on a presentation about gestures which made me think about the way in which we communicate with others around us. How do we actually convey meaning to others, and how do we communicate with others when we feel we cannot say what we think openly? As I rode the bus home from work one night, I began thinking more about this.More

Packaging and instruction manuals are as important to the usability of a product as the product itself. Understanding how and in what contexts the device is used is necessary to ensure that packaging and manuals facilitate an efficient, effective, and satisfying user experience.More

As UX researchers, we must consider the participant experience.  Knowing how to identify and combat symptoms of participant “test fatigue” are important skills of an experienced moderator.  Such symptoms include: deterioration of performance after repeated testing, one word responses to questions, and classic fatigue indicators (glassy eyes or yawning).  How do we overcome these (or better prevent them from happening in the first place!) to ensure quality feedback from our participants?

Our experience gives us some clues. More

Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to Brad Hirsch from Caesars Entertainment discuss the measures and methodologies employed by Caesars to gauge and create the customer experience at their casinos and hotels.  While I was pretty disappointed with Mr. Hirsch’s decision to present an entire keynote without recollecting one mafia-related anecdote, I was struck by the story he told about how Caesars defines the ideal customer experience and the ways in which it is implemented.More

While on a 14+ hour flight, you have time to reflect on many things, and then some (and then some still).  As usability professionals, we often think about how things can be better to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and user experience of products, but after eight hours of using the 7” touch screen monitor in United’s new 777 Economy section, I thought I’d change gears and talk about the great experience I’ve had with this unit. More

Consider the following proposition:

We can derive meaningful statistics from the smaller study samples typical of user research, and we shouldn’t be afraid to use these statistics to confidently guide business decisions!More

It’s the time of year again when companies from around the globe gather at CES in Las Vegas to show off their shiny new gadgets. Each year User Centric sends consultants to CES to spot the trending technologies and get hands on time before these new products land on store shelves. After seeing the market bank on 3DTV’s at CES in 2011, we conducted a small-scale survey to identify consumer attitudes toward 3D.More

While enjoying the company of my family and friends over these last few weeks, I found myself explaining yet again what it is I “do.” Per usual I was cut off when a friend began to explain how he knew all about my profession and that usability testing is used to improve Web page design. Having prepared myself for this response, I went on to explain how usability and the user experience are in fact very wide reaching.More