Usabilityweb

Marketers have long been wary of the negative consequences that might arise when consumers associate their products with others not aligned with the desired positioning," write the authors. "Conventional wisdom suggests that birds of a feather should flock together. Our research cautions against over-relying on this rule of thumb. It suggests instead that this is sound advice only when the product is new to the consumer, allowing perceptions of it to be readily molded by what is around it.

The mobile web is about as tough to navigate as traditional websites were 15 years ago.

He repeated his argument that the risks of shoulder surfing are overrated, but he added: "This is not to say that shoulder surfing isn't a threat. It is. And, as many readers pointed out, password masking is one of the reasons it isn't more of a threat." Schneier now backs an approach taken by BlackBerry devices and iPhones, which display each character briefly before masking it. "That seems like an excellent compromise," he said

Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings tells Fortune how he got the idea for the DVD-by-mail service that now has more than eight million customers.

What separates a healthy, effective design practice from the horror stories we hear about when talking to others in the industry. We came up with two lists; the first list (below) talks about doing certain actions in the right order. The second list is one of relative values. While all of the items on both sides of this list have value, we value the items on the left more than the items on the right:

Companies already recognize the importance of "voice" and style in manifesting their brand through marketing communications and other messaging. As they think about delivering great customer experiences, we show them how they need a component analogous to voice for how they interact with their customers.

When the economist's guidance was available, choices were powerfully affected by this expert's advice. The reason was revealed in the brain activation patterns of the participants. In the presence of expert advice, the areas of the participants' brains linked to critical thinking and counterarguing flat-lined.

when designing eye tracking research be careful what task you give to the participants, and when drawing conclusions from eye tracking outputs be aware of the task given. It is not easy to control your eyes, but it is actually fairly easy to control what people look at during an eye tracking exercise simply by giving particular tasks. That said, you need to be careful that the outputs are not a result of inappropriate tasks.

Current usability work is an artifact of an earlier computer ecosystem, out of step with contemporary realities. Usability can no longer keep up with computing: the products are too complex, too pervasive, and too easy to build. These trends demonstrate the "new realities" that are making traditional usability difficult, if not irrelevant.

Great design is born from inspiration, obsession, commitment and diligence. You need to have your head up and observe, and sort out what the truth really is. But in the end, it is about a creative individual taking that information and translating it into something really great. And great design is more than an object: It is an idea. An idea that permeates everything

Veltkamp's research shows that, without being aware of it, besides being motivated by influences from our surroundings, the way in which we perceive the world around us can change. Earlier research had shown that people perceive objects of worth to be larger than objects that are worthless. Veltkamp's research demonstrates that it is not so much the actual worth of the objects which is important but the motivational worth; if an object is relevant for attaining your goals then you will perceive it to be bigger than it actually is. In one of Veltkamp's experiments, glasses of water were estimated to be bigger, if the participants had not had a drink for some time.

In the near future, I believe that you'll be able to get an advanced degree in Business Design. Some programs like the d.school (a formative experience for me) and Rotman are playing with this idea, but I don't think these programs really nail it yet.

Ketel benadrukt het belang om in het hele proces de gebruiker te horen: "Tijdens het proces hebben we momenten ingebouwd, waarbij we de gebruiker betrokken bij het ontwerp en om verbeteringen vroegen. Dat is zo'n 12 keer gebeurd in 2 jaar tijd." Bij de start is een propositietest uitgevoerd en zijn gebruikers op Schiphol in de businesslounge gesproken. Daarna volgde het design, het interactieve ontwerp. Elke keer werd er getest en werd alles bijgesteld.

True innovation requires the adoption of a belief system that sometimes must prevail in the face of other data metrics. Read up on the great inventions and business wins and you will note that at the core of most of them lie belief, dedication, and the passion to succeed. Today's business leaders are often too afraid to move ideas forward without ironclad data proofs that they will be successful. All too often, they are the losers. Use your head, listen to your heart, and feel what's in your gut.

In addition to Xerox - just push the green button - and Océ, who have been paying attention to the usability of their copiers and advertising that, we can now add Sharp to the 'usable copiers' list. Or at least advertised as usable

Nigerian banks must stop using attractive women to persuade customers to open accounts

Een 68-jarige Italiaan was de kuren van zijn computer zo ongelooflijk zat, dat hij bij de zoveelste vastloper zijn pistool tevoorschijn haalde en het apparaat compleet aan diggelen schoot.

That sort of thinking, though, is counterintuitive. Not adding a new feature to a product, not creating a new rule to elicit a desired behavior--these notions rub against the Western sensibility. "A bias for action naturally leads us to want to do something," writes May. Which often leads us away from simplicity. Less may be more, but that doesn't mean it's easy.

The organization behind an edgy car has to be edgy. This is called brand integration (the outside and the inside have to align). To create edgy things, people have to take risks and push the envelope. Edge is by definition NOT THE MAINSTREAM.

Few companies, indeed, are more secretive than Apple, or as punitive to those who dare violate the company's rules on keeping tight control over information. Employees have been fired for leaking news tidbits to outsiders, and the company has been known to spread disinformation about product plans to its own workers.