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Usability Insights |
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SPRING 2007 THE LATEST NEWS FROM TEC-ED, INC. VOLUME 8, NUMBER 8 |
IN THIS ISSUE: Tec-Ed, Inc. Contact Numbers Email Website |
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Internet User Experience 2007 |
Arbitration of a Help System
Design can be as much an act of negotiation as it is of creation, and UI designers can find themselves cast in the role of negotiator or arbitrator among competing interests. Designers of user-assistance systems often face the most difficult negotiations, because user assistance tends to be perceived as a less important module. This secondary status means that proponents of user assistance negotiate from a weak position with respect to other modules’ interests.
This January-February 2007 Interactions article by Tec-Ed senior consultant Garett Dworman, Ph.D., presents a case study describing the design of the user assistance—and that design’s negotiation—for an enterprise’s business intelligence application.
[Read more: PDF version 468KB]
User-Centered Design Stories: Real-World UCD Case Studies
As interaction design practitioners at all levels change jobs and get promoted, there are many new situations to face—many of which even a seasoned professional may not have encountered.
Each chapter in this book is based on real-world cases and complex problems, with cases covering the key tasks and issues facing UCD practitioners today. In Tec-Ed’s chapter, lead author and Tec-Ed’s vice president of client services, Laurie Kantner describes real-world scenarios for estimating the effort of conducting a UCD project and the inevitable adjustments to estimates that occur. The book is available from Amazon and will also be offered for sale at the Usability Professionals’ Conference.
Doing the RITE Thing
Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation (RITE) is a usability method that gives a design team quick feedback and turnaround on usability issues so that recommended changes to a user interface can be made as soon as possible. Following each RITE session, the user research and design teams meet to discuss the problems that were uncovered during the session. Changes can be implemented after observing only 1 or 2 users—if the usability problem is clear, and the solution is both quick and feasible.
[Read more: HTML version]
Tec-Eddie Receives “Author of a Landmark Paper” Award
Stephanie Rosenbaum’s 1989 article, “Usability evaluations versus usability testing: when and why?” has been identified as a Landmark Paper by the editorial board of the IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. Stephanie will be presented with her award at the Society’s 50th Anniversary conference in Seattle this fall.
[Read more: HTML version]
Growing Strong
Tec-Ed is growing strong with two new employees and the creation of two new VP positions. Welcome to Jennifer Carlson, senior consultant, in California, and Melissa Barnes, business development support, in Ann Arbor. Congratulations to Laurie Kantner, promoted to vice president of client services, and to Barbra Wells, promoted to vice president of market development.
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