Five Sketches™

The cynical information architect’s view of online newspapers: http://htxt.it/0oi6 #
No wireless access today, during the @JMSpool UIE Road Show 2009, which means no Twittering! #
During today’s UIE Road Show, @jmsppol said that great experience design is not open to introspection. It must be apprenticed. #
Online videos average 3.5 min. In total, US internet users watch […]

Designing is usually a rewarding activity, but the path from start to finish can be filled with frustration and even panic. I’ve seen design processes work—and come to the realisation that “My own designs benefited from rapid iteration!”
These humbling experiences helped me learn to trust the process, even in the face of frustration or panic. It’s these experiences that give […]

If you’re designing a bedpan washer, do you design one that nurses don’t have to wait for?
According to a newspaper report, BC’s Centre for Disease Control, or CDC, found that a British Columbia hospital had
bedpan-cleaning machines that take 13 minutes for each cycle.
If they wanted to ensure each bedpan got returned to the right patient, nurses had […]

If you missed the UPA 2009 conference, here’s a compilation of my micro-blogging: http://bit.ly/15muMY #
When it comes to sharing my PC desktop, I’m liking free #Mikogo for its features. Macworld UK likes the Mac version: http://bit.ly/LePdS #
Attempting to model the transitions in a wireframe by using Axure’s dynamic-panels feature. #

One of the things I really like about usability research is that moment of insight, when I see a problem. In the comic book of my life, those moments look like this:

This experience—this feeling of surprise and delight—is not about finding an error. It’s about learning how the product performs in the hands of users, so […]

Catherine Powell specialises in QA, to ensure software works well, but also thinks about what makes the workplace work well: being nice. Have a look at Catherine’s blog about her professional attitude of choice.

This week, my tweets will focus on the UPA conference, and my research into usability research. After that, normal broadcasting resumes. #
Made it to Portland for #upa2009. Had a nice dinner with a school friend from years ago. #
Users wiling to struggle with an unusable intranet if the info is useful. Kath Straub at #upa2009 […]

You can keep an eye on the proceedings from Portland, USA, by viewing the live Twitter feed.
For a bit more continuity between/across all the twitter messages, set the animation to tag cloud:

I’m conducting ethnographic research into how usability analysts regard usability research.
How will I conduct this research?
I’m conducting a form of community-based participatory research, so members of the community—the research subjects—will help me set the questions or lines of inquiry and will influence the research methods. This is appropriate since I’m researching people who research—people […]

Rahel Bailie at Intentional Design just told me about the podcast series, the Userability Show. In each podcast, Robert Hoekman and Jared Spool use their wit, humour, and knowledge to answer questions from practitioners.
The podcasts are great for listening to while you work. Subscribe to the Userability podcasts by using iTunes, or find the link on the […]