Just under 40 years ago, the desktop metaphor was devised as a way to allow computer users to understand graphical interactions with their computer. Standard tasks, like using a calculator, or deleting files, were presented in a manner familiar to workers from a traditional office place, as an effort to build their experience of computing…
read moreIt’s easy to forget how useful it is to watch less technical people use some common programs, and how helpful observation is as a tool to understand the ‘average’ user. I recently watched someone using MS Word (2003 I think), and it was…enlightening. They made a large number of ‘errors’ when using MS Word, but…
read moreWhen running a website, its important to make sure that the user can achieve their goal with the minimal fuss. This is especially important if you are selling, or trying to sell, a commercial service. I recently had to use surveymonkey.com, a site I’ve used a few times in the past to construct online surveys.…
read moreI told you it was coming, and here it is – Ticketmaster’s design faults from a user centred perspective have annoyed me enough to blog on them. And then deliver the killing blow by suggesting how they could be improved. If you’d just let me buy those Paul McCartney Tickets, it wouldn’t have come to…
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