get out of the way! user-centered design for those of us that create stuff people use
DESCRIPTION
This was a presentation I gave a couple of years ago that I just ran across, sort of a case study of how we redesign the State of Florida State of Elections website in record time.TRANSCRIPT
An overview of Usability
An overview of Usability★ Get out of the way!
★ Guiding the user with emphasize.
★ Don’t make me think!
★ Don’t reinvent the wheel.
★ What’s up with those big ol’ buttons?
What are we building?
Requirements Gathering★ What’s the reason for the project?
★ What problem are we solving?
★ What are the constraints?
★ Whose your target audience(s)?
Having our cake, and eating it too.
Our clear assignment from the State of Florida was to bring sexy back.So you may be surprised to hear that we designed in black and white for two weeks.
Great design on the web happens by marrying clear functionality with strategic branding.
Development and Team Dynamics
Usability Testing
Usability Testing★ There is a big difference between how
people use stuff that we build, and how we think they use it.
★ The purpose is to identify issues.
★ It’s easy and it works.
★ You think you know more than anyone about the site. That’s the problem.
Falling with Style
Defensive Design★ Expect things to go wrong.
★ Do you have clear, (and friendly) error messages?
★ Do you have a way to handle points of frustration?
Resources
Resources★ “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug
★ “Defensive Design for the Web” by 37signals
★ www.uxbooth.com
★ Our local “reFresh” meetings.