Sample Optimal Usability Newsletter
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Optimal Usability Newsletter - June, 2004
In this issue:
- UsabilityWeek 2004
- What we've been doing
- Upcoming events
- Cool sites
- Books
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USABILITYWEEK 2004
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In terms of usability consultancy companies, it doesn't get much more prestigious than the Nielsen Norman Group (www.nngroup.com). The company was founded six years ago by several leading practitioners (including the fathers of the modern-day field of usability engineering, Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman). Every couple of years the company goes "on tour" to preach the usability gospel to the masses. I've just returned from the 5-day Usability Week 2004 conference in Sydney and thought I'd share my thoughts.
There were 145 attendees at the conference, although not all were there for all five days. The conference was structured in two halves - the first three days was a usability boot camp and the other two days consisted of a number of full day tutorials on specific usability topics (I attended Intranet and E-mail newsletter usability). The majority of the attendees were from Australia (there were 12 kiwis) and the biggest number of delegates were from the finance and government sectors. This is a good indication of where money is being spent in usability. Finance companies realise the money they can save when creating designs that are intuitive and easy-to-use, and government realises that it has a duty to ensure that online services are usable for all its citizens.
The conference content was useful. I'm not exactly the typical attendee for a how-to usability course, but the usability methodologies were well described. The trouble is that people with a little bit of knowledge can be more dangerous than those with none! The tutorials were a little bit too structured, the presenters were simply walking us through the reports we received as we walked in the door. The main benefit I got from the conference was definitely from meeting people.
I have to confess to being a bit surprised about the company itself. For such a weighty reputation, they only have a very small team of eleven people. They are also entirely virtual - they don't even have an office. It seems that the entire company is run on the reputation of the founding principals. They have no sales staff, and only a single admin/HR/legal person.
To be honest, I don't think I would attend again, but am certainly glad to have gone once. It was nice to meet Jakob, a person who had a lot to do with me pursuing a career in usability engineering. Plus, it gave me a good excuse to see the State of Origin live at Telstra Stadium! (Just don't tell Sam).
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WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING
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April and May have both been busy months for us with seven projects for seven different clients. We've done work with paper prototypes, run card sorting exercises to develop the information architecture of a website, and conducted a number of expert reviews, accessibility audits and user tests. Thank goodness we've had Nikki Bristol, who has recently joined our team as a usability engineer. She's had a busy time as she prepares the final draft of her PhD in cognitive ergonomics as well as starting a new job.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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I briefly described the Nielsen Norman conference at the start of the newsletter, but for those interested in finding out more, Optimal Usability will be running a couple of seminars to debrief people unable to attend. I will be going through the conference structure, what I learnt about the Nielsen Norma Group and also touching on parts of their methodology that I found particularly interesting. Please let me know if you are interested in attending, either in Wellington later this month, or Auckland early in July. (There are no plans for a Christchurch debrief, but please let us know if you would like to hear from us). You can email me at mailto:trent.mankelow@optimalusability.com or call the office on 0800 USABLE (0800 872-253) if you'd like to know the details.
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COOL SITES
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One site that I've been finding useful recently is Boxes and Arrows. This site is well known to information architects and has been around for quite a while, but I've recently gone back to it and been reminded of the quality and coverage of the in-depth articles it offers. It has a lot of HOW-TOs, interviews and case studies and is well worth a look.
Some of you may know that we have recently been involved in a "State of the Nation" usability and accessibility audit for the New Zealand government. The initial results of this audit are now available online at e-Gov Watch. OK, so it might not actually qualify as a "cool" site, but e-Gov Watch have done a great job.
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BOOKS
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Every now and again you read a book that feels like the author is talking directly to you, describing your exact experience. That's the way I felt reading "Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping" by Paco Underhill. There is a chapter on how men shop that describes my exact attitude, especially towards clothes shopping. Here's an excerpt:
"You'll see a man impatiently move through a store to the section he wants, pick something up, and then, almost abruptly, he's ready to buy, having taken no apparent joy in the process of finding. You've practically got to get out of his way.
When a man takes clothing into a dressing room, the only thing that stops him from buying it is if it doesn't fit. Women on the other hand, try things on as only part of the consideration process, and garments that fit fine may still be rejected on other grounds. In one study we found that 65 percent of male shoppers who tried something on bought it, as opposed to 25 percent of female shoppers."
I encourage you to read it if you have the chance — it's a fun, eye-opening book. It's a little bit scary too, when it goes into ways that sneaky marketers use human nature to sell product. Here's a link to the book on Amazon.com:
Until next time,
Warm regards,
Trent Mankelow
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Please send any suggestions, comments or questions to mailto:trent.mankelow@optimalusability.com
