Blog Archive

Over a decade’s worth of blog posts, starting from day one of studying Human Computer Interaction at university.

A lot of my more recent writing has been on company blogs, you’ll find them by looking at these posts from Reach, and posts from Parliament

The older content may no longer represent my understanding or views on the topics covered, so consider ignoring anything written longer than about… 5 years ago.

Recent posts

Games user research blog posts

• Where’s all the posts about games?January 19, 2023
• Essential videos and talks for new games user researchersJuly 3, 2022
• Move from academia to the games industryFebruary 21, 2022
• Essential Games User Research Books – Games UX reading listDecember 6, 2021
• Exploring playtestingJune 21, 2021
• How To Be A Games User Researcher – Book Out Now!February 9, 2021
• How To Be A Games User Researcher – Steve Interviewed by Seb LongJanuary 21, 2021
• Increase UX research impact with collaborative studiesDecember 14, 2020
• How To Be a Games User Researcher – The BookNovember 17, 2020
• Brave UX Interview – Games User Research & Establishing User Research TeamsOctober 7, 2020
• Get user research in front of game design decisionsMay 31, 2020
• Applying service design principles to games developmentNovember 27, 2019
• Running the Games User Research Mentoring SchemeAugust 7, 2018
• Book Release and Conference TalkFebruary 28, 2018
• Measuring and Minimising Sickness in Virtual RealityMay 26, 2017
• What’s in a games user research report?March 8, 2017
• Running User Tests for Virtual RealityJune 3, 2016
• Why attend GUR conferences?February 3, 2016
• #GamesUR Conference is done!July 27, 2015
• Speakers announced for the European #GamesUR conference – Tickets on sale now!June 7, 2015
• Some things I’ve learned about observing playtesting sessionsMarch 19, 2015
• European Games User Research Conference – Call for Submissions now openFebruary 19, 2015
• Some things I’ve learned about moderating playtesting sessionsJanuary 6, 2015
• The problem with AR games…November 24, 2014
• Games User Research Community ResourcesSeptember 18, 2014
• Don’t Playtest Your GameJuly 9, 2014
• Help us shape a European Games User Research eventJune 12, 2014
• Setting up a multiplayer game in Trials Fusion.June 5, 2014
• GDC 2014 HighlightsApril 3, 2014
• How important is games usability to reviewers?February 24, 2014
• Test…then test againFebruary 7, 2014
• Usability Issues in Batman: Arkham Origins BlackgateDecember 14, 2013
• Multiplayer: Social Aspects of Digital Gaming is out now!December 2, 2013
• Book chapter out soon!September 3, 2013
• Trophy Design in The Last of UsJune 30, 2013
• Will kids like my game?June 11, 2013
• Playtesting doesn’t “make games easier”February 15, 2013
• Games User Research in 2013February 6, 2013
• 5 achievement sins in gamesDecember 5, 2012
• Collectables in games – Best PractisesSeptember 26, 2012
• Game Accessibility GuidelinesSeptember 14, 2012
• MindJack (PS3) – Usability ReviewSeptember 1, 2012
• Is my social game good?July 23, 2012
• How to save games!June 23, 2012
• What is Games User Research?June 6, 2012
• How to break into Games User Research – The Expert Opinions (Updated!)April 25, 2012
• How to break into Games User ResearchMarch 25, 2012
• Measuring Social Interaction at Games Developer Conference (GDC)March 5, 2012
• Measuring Social Interaction in games on GamasutraJanuary 28, 2012
• Games User Research Review of 2011January 9, 2012
• Measuring Social Interaction in EdgeDecember 3, 2011
• The effect of collectables on the player experience in gamesNovember 10, 2011
• Driver: San Francisco Usability Review (Part 2)October 31, 2011
• Driver: San Francisco Usability Review (Part 1)October 18, 2011
• This week’s gaming usability roundup – Portal 2, Deus Ex, Driver San Francisco.October 12, 2011
• Some great articles on games usability and player experienceSeptember 12, 2011
• Valve’s philosophy with User Research in Games (Gabe Newell & Mike Ambinder)September 1, 2011
• [Prototype] – Some UX and Usability thoughts.August 17, 2011
• Ian Marsh, creator of Tiny Tower, on user research, play-testing and F2PAugust 10, 2011
• multi.player Conference Review – Social Interaction, Bartle and Orcs!July 26, 2011
• “Playing to win?” @ multi.player conferenceJuly 18, 2011
• Usability Fail – Worms (and Worms 2)July 7, 2011
• Erik Rothoff Andersson (Kick Ass) on testing with users & why you shouldn’t listen to what users say!June 28, 2011
• The 5 secrets to happy players with Agile Games DevelopmentJune 21, 2011
• Perfect Dark – Game Usability from the 90’sJune 6, 2011
• How to make an addictive strategy gameMay 6, 2011
• A Celebration of Ludic InterfacesApril 27, 2011
• Desperation & Disappointment: Social interaction in We DareApril 12, 2011
• How to make an addictive social gameApril 6, 2011
• Making players into designers – Little Big Planet 2April 1, 2011
• Natural Language Programming – Can players become designers?March 30, 2011
• Does WarioWare DIY make users into designers?March 8, 2011
• Usability Fail – Monkey Island 2February 14, 2011
• Tony Gowland on playtesting for web-based gamesJanuary 31, 2011
• 5 predictions for Games UX in 2011January 17, 2011
• Usability Thoughts – Mass EffectJanuary 10, 2011
• Chatting as you frag – Why you’re better at games when not paying attention.December 3, 2010
• The usability of iPhone’s Game CenterOctober 21, 2010
• Playability Review – 56 Sage StreetOctober 14, 2010
• Pong – Playability Heuristics ReviewOctober 8, 2010
• Sony love buttonsOctober 6, 2010
• The future of games accessibilitySeptember 30, 2010
• Accessibility in gamesSeptember 23, 2010
• Selling UX in Games – Get everyone involvedSeptember 8, 2010
• The thirty minute facebook game usability testSeptember 1, 2010
• Selling UX in games – everyone else is doing it.August 16, 2010
• Evaluating User Experience in Games – Book ReviewJuly 20, 2010
• Make work fun – examples of applying the UX of gamesJuly 12, 2010
• Applying Games UX lessons makes dull tasks fun!June 29, 2010
• User Experience or Player Experience?June 15, 2010
• Games Usability Testing is not QA!June 1, 2010
• 100 Rogues – Playability Heuristics ReviewMay 18, 2010
• The importance of usability in Mobile Geolocation games.May 4, 2010
• Understanding players through biometricsApril 20, 2010
• All Change – Apple’s new social gaming networkApril 13, 2010
• Get Lost! – Improving player experience through signposting and map design in games.March 29, 2010
• Improving the Player Experience – How to make great loading screensFebruary 22, 2010
• A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Ralph Koster – Book ReviewFebruary 4, 2010
• Why you should always video players when testing gamesJanuary 15, 2010
• How real-world game usability testing is changingDecember 17, 2009

User Research blog posts

• Your A/B tests and surveys are missing informationJanuary 6, 2021
• Plant your research team flagDecember 1, 2020
• Three ways to make people care about user researchOctober 29, 2020
• Brave UX Interview – Games User Research & Establishing User Research TeamsOctober 7, 2020
• 5 excuses for not running user research, and how to overcome themOctober 1, 2020
• Improve the research participant experienceSeptember 8, 2020
• Calculate the ROI of user research, and other techniques for advancing researchAugust 27, 2020
• Start a new user research teamAugust 11, 2020
• Create a continually improving user research teamJuly 29, 2020
• PM Library – Some Design Book RecommendationsJuly 15, 2020
• User Research TemplatesJuly 7, 2020
• How to decide the best user research methodMay 29, 2020
• Building User Research Teams – The City Interaction Lab PodcastMarch 24, 2020
• How does user research help make better product decisions?March 11, 2020
• Create a user research lab on any budgetMarch 1, 2020
• Building User Research Teams – The BookFebruary 22, 2020
• The upcoming bookNovember 15, 2019
• Blog Posts from ReachJune 7, 2019
• Some things I’ve learned as an in-house research leadFebruary 28, 2019
• Blog Posts from ParliamentJuly 29, 2017
• Building Trust with Development TeamsOctober 21, 2015
• Opinions in User ResearchJanuary 3, 2014
• Gamification at Work by Janaki Kumar & Mario Herger – Book ReviewJune 18, 2013
• Why user researchers should learn to codeApril 11, 2013
• Is this the end of gamification? (updated)March 15, 2013
• App in Seconds Interview – Rapid iPhone PrototypingFebruary 12, 2012
• Gamification by Design by Gabe Zimmerman and Christopher Cunningham – Book ReviewSeptember 19, 2011
• UX Updates: What’s going on (Writing Workshop, Flash Games and a Conference!)May 25, 2011
• The Reflective Practitioner in User Centred DesignMay 12, 2011
• Dark Pattern – RedSave & Chairman MaoApril 20, 2011
• How to avoid ethical pitfalls when working with usersMarch 23, 2011
• How presentation affects perception when working with usersMarch 2, 2011
• Designing Interfaces by Jenifer Tidwell – Book ReviewFebruary 21, 2011
• Ethnography as an application of third space theoryFebruary 9, 2011
• Unintentionally designing with users.January 24, 2011
• Usability Fail – Twitter on iPhoneJanuary 20, 2011
• Usability Fail – Lotus NotesJanuary 13, 2011
• The User Experience of waiting for the busJanuary 4, 2011
• Amazon understands its customersNovember 19, 2010
• Improving the user experience of drivingNovember 11, 2010
• What is user experience?October 29, 2010
• UXBrighton 2010 Conference ReviewSeptember 15, 2010
• Who are you?August 22, 2010
• The right environment for user testingAugust 10, 2010
• Usability Issues in SharepointAugust 3, 2010
• Test with real users – not your teamJuly 26, 2010
• The Problems with Surveys for User Experience TestsJuly 7, 2010
• Remote Research – Book ReviewJune 23, 2010
• Replacing the Desktop?June 8, 2010
• iPad Usability StudyMay 25, 2010
• UX needs an Agile environmentMay 12, 2010
• Effective UI by the EffectiveUI team – Book ReviewApril 27, 2010
• Telling Tales – Stories for promoting user experience.April 6, 2010
• Quantifying the unquantifiable – Expert EvaluationsMarch 22, 2010
• Watching ‘average users’: WordMarch 8, 2010
• Rocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve Krug – Book ReviewMarch 1, 2010
• A Terrible User Experience & how to fix it– Zoomerang.comFebruary 16, 2010
• The Uncanny Valley of WireframesFebruary 9, 2010
• No user testing? Oops! – The Digiscent iSmellJanuary 29, 2010
• The Likert scale – Or “How I learnt to stop worrying, and ‘strongly enjoy’ the bomb”.January 25, 2010
• How to make an effective usability personaJanuary 19, 2010
• Selling Usability by John Rhodes Book ReviewJanuary 5, 2010
• Happy New DecadeDecember 31, 2009
• Five essential iPhone apps for usability professionalsDecember 11, 2009
• Conducting an Expert ReviewNovember 30, 2009
• The Humane Interface by Jef RaskinNovember 24, 2009
• The user experience of Ticketmaster ruins ChristmasNovember 19, 2009
• How to present a UX ReportNovember 17, 2009
• 7 aspects of successful usability questionnairesNovember 11, 2009
• Understanding Cognition, User Experience Winners & Losers, and a Design Failure.November 4, 2009
• Alan Cooper’s The Inmates are Running the AsylumNovember 2, 2009
• Evaluating existing technologies, paper prototypes in action, Windows 7 and the disappointing user experience of my DVD player!October 27, 2009
• HCI learning, a day analyzing user experience, and thoughts about remote usability testingOctober 19, 2009
• Introduction to Human Computer InteractionOctober 9, 2009