Archive for the 'User Experience Design' Category

gesture appropriate

I’m trying to figure out which finger to attach the second flexor sensor. I had originally thought the flexors should go on the index and middle fingers, as they seem to be the most controllable fingers (no bad jokes here, ok?). But as I have been playing with my glove prototype, I realize that it’s pretty hard to move either of these fingers independently of each other. Try it: raise your hand, and then curl your index finger. The middle finger curls with it! This is because of the extensor tendons, which a quick search through Google has unearthed. It seems the thumb also has the same effect, so I am going to put the second sensor on the pinkie finger, as it seems to have the least connection to the movement of the index finger. And I think that will be kind of funny, to pull in tweets by culring your little finger. Hee hee.

I have to admit, I am quite delighted how quickly I’ve become connected back to the mechanics of the body by experimenting with wearable technology. Understanding natural gestures, the limitations of movement, ergonomics, it’s all quite intimate knowledge. It’s all just beginning to click…

winning platinum for innovative intranet design

I am so honoured to have been part of the team that designed and developed the Bennett Jones intranet, BenNet. StepTwo Designs awarded BenNet the Platinum award, finding it to be “the best of the best”. Wow. Update: check out the award ceremonies at KMWorld 2010!

Working on BenNet was a great experience. As the User Experience Designer, I was responsible for the visual and interaction design of the interface. The Bennett Jones team was excellent. They were always prepared (love lawyers!), attentive and even delighted with my creative methods (yes, I did design an icon on a riff of the ACDC logo, and they loved it). I remember feeling very respected for the work I was doing, and this helped me build a lot of confidence in my skills. To now be honoured with an award, this truly is the icing on the cake. Thanks to Ben Skelton, Ben Ng and Kurtis Beard at Habañero, it was great working with you!

It was wonderful to read these words in the Lessons Learned section of the report:

Focus on the user experience
Placing a significant amount of effort on user experience design can help mitigate risks around user adoption. Many people in our organization do not have any desire to use technology for the sake of using technology – they simply want to find the information they are looking for and complete the work they need to do.

We put considerable effort into making things visually appealing and simple to use (which had the negative effect of making things incredibly complex from a development perspective) and engaged user experience experts who were charged with this key responsibility. We would recommend that others make the same investment in user experience design.

About the Intranet Innovation Awards
Awarded by Step Two Designs a recognized thought-leader in intranet strategy and design, the Intranet Innovation Awards, now in their fourth year, are global awards celebrating new ideas and innovative approaches to the enhancement and delivery of intranets. This year 55 companies spanning various industries from around the world entered the competition, judged by an international panel of intranet experts. Countries represented by 2010 winners include Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand and the Netherlands. More information about the 2010 Intranet Innovation Awards, and a detailed report, are available at www.steptwo.com.au/products/iia2010.

More information
Bennett Jones Innovation Award release
Habanero Consulting Group Award release
Step Two Designs release

Credits
Habanero Consulting Group User experience and design
V51 Consulting Solution architecture and SharePoint development
RBRO Solutions Inc Document management system integration

Things I’ve been thinking about

I really have been lax in my blog posts, so here I go with another attempt at capturing my thoughts here on Lightfast.

I’d like to get out there are drum up more UE focused work. I think there are a lot of opportunities, but as everything, you just have to go out there and find them. I’d like to put together a presentation that explains the value of User Experience, with the audience being non-traditional audiences. For instance, Marketing and IT groups will be familiar with our practice, but what about Finance or Human Resources? I’m thinking the outline looks something like this:

UE Visioning

• What is User Experience?
• How is User Experience research done?
• What kinds of projects are User Experience focused?
• What are the benefits of User Experience visioning?

I think this will help lead me to doing more of the work I’d like to do. Wish me luck!

A collaborative approach to design and development

I’ve been working on a fairly complex web form the last few weeks, and I’ve been lucky to have a very smart business analyst and systems developer to work with. Between the three of us, we have been able to engage the client in a fairly meaningful dialogue regarding the business rules, the users’ needs and the system constraints, and have made a lot of decisions along the way.

We’ve used a variety of methods for capturing comments (sticky notes, OneNote, and notebook scribblings), but there came a point when the decisions we have been making need to be visualized. We’ve developed a particular rhythm to our meetings which has facilitated great progress, and ultimately, getting to yes. We have been playing leapfrog with our sessions, with a discussion-visualize-review & revise pattern that seems to really be working. What I like about these weekly meetings is that they are just far enough apart to get some work done, but close enough together so the group of stakeholders still remember what we are working on.

Fortunately, I will also be applying the visual styling and interactivity to the project, so I am able to keep one eye on the aesthetic needs. Also, having the lead developer in the room really helps when the conversation leads to how the back end system will need to integrate with our web application. Finally, the business analyst is doing a fantastic job of capturing all the fine details. It’s a far cry from the waterfall approach, and far more effective.