RSS Feed
process
2004 March 6 • processAn introduction to personas and how to create them
article: Explains what personas are, benefits of using personas, answers to common objections about personas, and practical steps towards creating them. It is meant as an introduction to personas, and provides enough information to start creating your own. [credit: Column Two]
2004 February 29 • code, process, usabilityClient Side Optimization
article: Cost-Effective Website Acceleration Part 1 - offering several useful options on optimizing your site for better performance. [credit: design PRINCIPLES]
2004 February 29 • processThe Visual Vocabulary Three Years Later
interview: "In October 2000, Jesse James Garrett introduced a site architecture documentation standard called the Visual Vocabulary. Since then, it has become widely adopted among information architects and user experience professionals. The Visual Vocabulary is a simple set of shapes for documenting site architectures. In conceiving the vocabulary, Jesse sought to create a system that was “tool-independent“—that is, readily adaptable to any diagramming software as well as any medium (pen and paper, dry-erase, etc.). The vocabulary was also designed to be portable, fitting easily on letter-sized paper for convenient printing." [credit: Weblog]
2004 February 26 • processSix steps to better interviews and simplified task analysis
article: Indi Young discusses how to conduct effective interviews as part of a needs analysis process. Her five suggestions:
- Focus on Deeper Goals
- Slow Down
- Ask Why
- Forget the Clock
- Dig for Details
- Scrap the Questionnaire
[credit: elearningpost.] 2004 January 25 • ia, process
Vocabulary, taxonomy, thesaurus, ontology, and meta-model?
article: A great article that answers the question: What are the differences between a vocabulary, a taxonomy, a thesaurus, an ontology, and a meta-model? [credit: Digital Web Magazine]
2004 January 21 • design, processThe Importance of Process in Web Design
article: Having a process can protect designers and clients throughout a web design project. [ credit: Digital Web Magazine]
2004 January 16 • code, processA Standard for Site Organization
article: The example root level site structure makes a lot of sense for visitors and for developing and maintaining a website. [credit: Brainstorms and Raves]
2004 January 11 • design, ia, processRichard Saul Wurman: The InfoDesign interview
interview: Wurman coined the term ‘information architecture’ almost 30 years ago. While ‘information architecture’ has a different connotation today, for the purposes of this interview, it is treated as synonymous with ‘information design. [credit: xBlog]
2004 January 4 • code, process, resourcesFavelets (AKA Bookmarklets)
resource: Jeffrey Zeldman Presents has added a Goodies page with several of his favorite Favelets including: Resize 800, Resize 1024, Beta Validate and Fussy Parsing.
2004 January 4 • design, process, resourcesInfoDesign: Understanding by Design
website: A new site was launched for Information Designers, an ezine for information design. The site strives to be the leading source for information relating to a myriad of fields that are central to information design and often grouped as "experience design," "user experience," or even just "Design" itself. [credit: Digital Web Magazine]
2004 January 1 • ia, processInformation Architecture Made as Simple as Possible
article: by Gerry McGovern "web design has been through the evolutionary period - the period of experimentation. There was a time when nobody really understood how to design a website. It was new for all of us. But the Web is not so new anymore. So much has been learned and figured out about what works and what doesn't work. Your job can be so much easier by adapting best practices."
2003 December 21 • design, processNavigation Stress Test
article: The idea behind Keith Instone's Navigation Stress Test is to ask the basic questions users often have upon arriving at a web page...
- Where am I?
- Whats here?
- Where can I go?
[credit: GUUUI]
Quality control: The importance of website testing
article: "A website needs to be as close to perfect as possible before it is presented to the intended audience, and the adherence to a formal test plan and test procedures will assist in making sure that all bases are covered before the site is launched." (Julie Price - Thread Inc.)... [credit: InfoDesign]
2003 December 19 • process, web standardsBest Web Development: Best Practices
article: The Apple Developer Connection has posted a nice little crash course titled Best Web Development: Best Practices. [credit: Digital Web Magazine]
2003 December 5 • process, resources, usabilityUsability Methods Toolbox
resource: Includes explanations for inquiry, inspection, testing methods and related techniques such as prototyping and affinity diagrams. Includes an extensive bibliography.
2003 December 5 • design, processTesting the Three-Click Rule
article: The rule simply states every piece of content on a site should take no more than three clicks to access. Well, Josh Porter of ULE is attempting to debunk the rule through known facts acquired in user testing. [credit: Nick Bradbury]
2003 November 27 • business, process, resources, toolsAIfIA Tools
tools: Document templates, process map posters and other IA tools.
2003 October 27 • processConversations with Jesse James Garrett
interview: Q and A conversation with Jesse James Garrett and Jim Leftwich regarding Jesse's model of The Elements of User Experience.
2003 October 25 • design, process, resourcesWeb Design on a Shoestring
book: Web design on a Shoestring reveals all sorts of free or inexpensive resources that are available but unknown. Learn how to test your web sites efficiencies and functionalities, to understand content management systems, and what commercial products to use or avoid. By New Riders.
2003 October 25 • design, processExamining the Role of De Facto Standards on the Web
article: What are the design practices on the web that have the highest frequency? And are there design practices that all (or nearly all) sites employ?