What to Usability Test First

If the idea of usability testing your website is intriguing to you, but you’re not sure where to begin—there are at least 6 good places to start.

Inside My Usability Toolkit: Participant Scheduling

When scheduling participants for a phone study, in-person interview, or moderated usability study, I ALWAYS call them to set up the appointment. I do this for several reasons:

7 Ways to Improve the Usability of Your E-Books + Other PDFs

UX is everywhere, even in PDFs. When sharing a PDF online, it’s important to remember that a percentage of your audience will print it. Yes, PRINT. And the more useful and actionable the PDF, the more likely it will be printed and kept as a reference guide. Here are 7 ways to improve the usability of your PDFs … Continue reading “7 Ways to Improve the Usability of Your E-Books + Other PDFs”

UX Is Everywhere, Even in User Research

User experience surrounds us. It’s built into every communication, physical and digital product, and environment—whether we plan for it or not. It’s even built into less visible and less obvious interactions. UX is everywhere.

UX Word of the Day: Readability

Have you ever stood outside for a photo—facing the sun—and it was so bright you couldn’t look up at the camera? Your eyes watered or even hurt? Poor readability on the web is like looking into an overly bright sky. It can literally cause eye strain and eye fatigue.

10 Mistakes to Avoid When Conducting a Usability Study

Facilitating a usability study is a lot like juggling. Not only do you need to pay attention to what’s happening on the screen in front of you, but also:

UX-First Transactional Emails

No, it’s not an oxymoron to say “UX-first transactional emails.” It really is possible to make run-of-the-mill emails engaging AND reinforce your brand.

Why Steve Jobs + Henry Ford Are Wrong

Whenever I hear someone (mistakenly) attribute Henry Ford to the quote “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would’ve said faster horses” or perpetuate Steve Job’s “Never rely on market research” ideology — it makes me sad. Just because these quotes are famous, it doesn’t make them true.

Steal These Mobile-First Content Patterns

Please steal these content patterns and use them on your website (or email templates). Usability and mobile-first thinking are built into every single one. Over the past several months, I’ve been thinking a lot about mobile-first content patterns—looking for top-notch examples and sketching ideas on paper. As a former (current?) journalist and writer, I am … Continue reading “Steal These Mobile-First Content Patterns”

Are 5 Usability Testers Really Enough?

After I read Jakob Nielsen’s findings in 2000 that usability professionals only need to test 5 users, I’ve often wondered… can that really be right? After looking at data from my own usability studies, I was amazed to find that yes, 5 testers is enough.