User allan caeg - UX Exchange

Answer by Allan Caeg for UX vs IA core competencies

2010-09-08T03:45:22Z

UX covers more than just IA. As I learned from Matt, UX = IA + Accessibility + Usability + IxD.

Answer by Allan Caeg for What are some alternatives to "hover" on touch-based devices?

2010-09-01T01:48:26Z

Android devices support hover with trackballs/trackpads/whatever. My touchscreen Nexus One does that

Answer by Allan Caeg for Suggestions for an inexpensive usability lab?

2010-08-31T04:06:27Z

We're making a free and open one. Check out the Open Usability Testing Suite. The page isn't updated, though. You can find the latest mockup here.

You'll just have to wait for the GUI. It's now working, but you have to use it with the command line.

If anyone is interested in working on this, feel free to contact me.

Answer by Allan Caeg for Web apps should use desktop behavior or web behavior

2010-08-26T22:55:27Z

How do you define desktop and web behavior? How do we draw the line today? Also, keep in mind the different platforms that access the web. You don't wan't desktop behavior when you open a webpage with your tablet or smartphone.

To answer your question, it depends on the context. If it's a website that will likely be accessed by different platforms, keep in mind the non-desktops that will open it.

Answer by Allan Caeg for Action Bar, Toolbar

2010-08-25T02:30:08Z

Icon + label is best for the person's recognition. However, there are cases when it's best to have only a text label or an image to represent what a button does.

some factors to consider are:

people's familiarity with the button
importance of the button, which will influence its size and prominence
number of buttons in the toolbar
an item's ability to be represented by an icon
available space
platform conventions and user expectations

Answer by Allan Caeg for http://ui.stackexchange.com just launched

2010-08-22T11:45:32Z

Staying here because my interest in UX isn't limited to UI.

Answer by Allan Caeg for What's the symbol for UX?

2010-08-09T03:24:17Z

Ironically, it could be this, which makes people realize the value of UX.

( from http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/emotion_design.html )

Answer by Allan Caeg for Does your organization regularly do Usability Testing?

2010-08-07T02:09:24Z

Check this out -> "Do you and/or your organization do usability testing with real users? Why or why not?"

Answer by Allan Caeg for Short answer: How would this make you feel?

2010-08-04T14:50:59Z

LOL
"Wait, did it actually mean what I thought it meant?"
*calls USPS to confirm * (who knows, it could be a prank by a neighbor or whatever)

Answer by Allan Caeg for The 'Dummies Guide to Psychology for UX' - Book Recommendations

2010-08-04T14:45:16Z

The Psychology of Everyday Things by Don Norman

Answer by Allan Caeg for Combining usability into beta testing?

2010-08-04T04:03:30Z

QA is about assuring that things are done right, while UX is about doing the right things.

QA should check if the UX Design has been executed properly. You can also check usability while you're at it. It's like testing the usability of the prototype, which is the Alpha product in this case.

If people don't know what they like, how do we make things that they will like?

2010-07-22T03:11:23Z

The question "What are your favorite counter-intuitive principles or ideas within UX?" has interesting responses from DA

One I like is Steve Jobs' opinion of focus groups. "It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them.").

and Leah

The Steve Jobs comment reminds me of Henry Ford quote “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”

If we can't always ask people what they like, the challenge is to make things that they will like even if some forms of research don't back our ideas up.

Jakob Nielsen suggested here

To design an easy-to-use interface, pay attention to what users do, not what they say. Self-reported claims are unreliable, as are user speculations about future behavior

What can you add to Nielsen's suggestions? Observing people instead of listening to them is a good way of gathering data. However, this doesn't seem to be enough for Henry Ford to figure out that faster horses isn't the solution.

Answer by Allan Caeg for Pagination: how many pages to show?

2010-07-23T10:28:55Z

It's usually best to show all pages to let the user know how much stuff is out there (visibility of system status) and to let him navigate easier (user control and freedom) unless

there are business or whatever reasons against showing all pages and letting the user skip pages
there are too many pages (like on Google searches)
there aren't too many pages, but technical/creative/whatever reasons limit the number of pages displayed

Answer by Allan Caeg for Is "user experience" evil?

2010-07-20T03:04:21Z

According to ISO, UX is 9241-210

a person's perceptions and responses that result from the use or anticipated use of a product, system or service

Wordnet's definition of evil is

S: (n) evil, immorality, wickedness, iniquity (morally objectionable behavior)

S: (n) evil (that which causes harm or destruction or misfortune) "the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones"- Shakespeare

S: (n) evil, evilness (the quality of being morally wrong in principle or practice) "attempts to explain the origin of evil in the world"

Based on those definitions, is UX evil? Is the design of a person's perceptions and responses evil? It depends on how it is done and what it is done for. We don't all design UX the same way and for the same reasons.

GUI-wise, how should we prepare for the physical ergonomics of touchscreen devices?

2010-03-30T15:06:59Z

Touchscreen devices are becoming more popular these days, especially mobile ones. The market is full of great smartphones with different platforms and from different makers. The iPad will probably affect how apps and websites are designed to some extent.

My question regarding Window control positioning and arrangement started a discussion on how physical ergonomics should be considered when designing those controls. Perhaps, this issue would be a lot more relevant for touchscreen devices. Furthermore, window controls aren't the only elements that should be considered when talking about the physical ergonomics of interacting with a GUI.

The form factor of devices, screen size of devices, handedness of people, and effort required to hold the device are some of the factors that could affect the interaction of fingers of people and touchscreen interfaces.

Now that more devices, especially mobile ones, will have touchscreens, how should we prepare our skills in designing GUIs? What should we do to the apps and websites that we design so they would be more fit for those touchscreen devices?

Answer by Allan Caeg for Coding Best Practices as UX?

2010-07-16T15:41:03Z

Are you misinterpreting the scope? It depends on what your job description really is.

Are you out of line when it comes to making the UX better? No, as long as you don't fail to pay attention to other tasks as well, like usability and consistency of design that you mentioned. With those, you've covered accessibility and usability so don't forget about stuff like IA and IxD, if that's a part of your job, of course.

Answer by Allan Caeg for What is the worst thing about UX?

2010-07-16T10:06:42Z

UX is rarely valued enough. This creates challenges like having a hard time looking for a UX job, making other stakeholders value UX (when you're already employed), selling UX to customers, etc. Many of us spend too much time and energy to convince others to value our work. I suggest looking for an environment that values UX so the UX designer can focus on the actual work instead of politicking.

See my answer to the question "How to get a tough work environment to not just endorse but demand UX"

Answer by Allan Caeg for What order to choose for subnavigation links in mega-dropdowns?

2010-07-13T10:23:56Z

Before everything, now that you're having issues, is it really fit to use a mega-dropdown menu (whatever you exactly mean by that)? If you can give more information, we can assess this.

Considering that the mega-dropdown menu is fit, to give a tailor fit answer for this situation, we'll have to know

the number of links that you are to sort
if categories can actually be group logically (or if it's just a forced idea)
if people know the names of the categories (arranging them alphabetically would only make sense if people knew the names
if you are promoting some categories over others (based on business or whatever reasons)
and if you can reliably sort the link according to relevance

EDIT: With the information from the comments below, I would recommend categorizing based on clothing type (jeans/shirts/etc.). The order of clothing type and their subcategories could be affected by business considerations (like more people buy a certain type of clothing in this website, or the business owner wants to push a type of clothing). There can also be a category like "Most Popular" or "Recommended" that comes before categories of clothing types. If there's no data that would affect the order of categories and subcategories, sorting them in alphabetical order is recommended. You can refer to the mega-dropdown on http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx

Answer by Allan Caeg for How to test any site's Usability and Accessility, and how to present to client?

2010-07-09T06:53:36Z

Adding to what Harry said, if the client doesn't find you credible, they won't even have their site tweaked to fit your ideas.

If your objective is to test your knowledge about usability, a client who needs a usability expert is not the best person to approach. Instead, ask the subject matter experts to audit your work.

Answer by Allan Caeg for What can I do now without schooling to get me experienced in UX?

2010-07-08T06:20:56Z

Contribute to open source projects. That's mostly how I gained knowledge and experience (and even scored a Web UX job straight from college with an AB Psychology degree, which many employers would consider to be unrelated)

http://live.gnome.org/UsabilityProject

https://launchpad.net/ayatana

I would also suggest participating here in UXExchange, IxDA, and other related communities.

How should UX work be billed?

2010-07-05T09:32:51Z

I'm wondering how others bill a UX service and how it should really be billed. I'm exposed to basing it on hours spent doing the work. However, I don't think that it's the most fit way of doing it because time spent isn't a perfect metric of the quality of work. Some of my better works are done in a short period of time, while it takes me days to finish others.

How do you think should UX work be billed? What are the factors to consider?

Answer by Allan Caeg for Does any UX job not require coding and designing skills?

2010-07-02T05:58:12Z

It depends on the demands of the employer. If they want their UX designer to focus on UX alone, other skills like coding and graphic design aren't required.

Reputable UX resources for research paper reference

2010-07-01T13:58:57Z

I'm preparing a UX-related paper for the 1st Southeast Asian Network of Ergonomics Societies Conference. I found this thread about good UX resources, but I want your help in having a list of resources that are reputable enough to be used as references of a paper.

What resources can you suggest?

Answer by Allan Caeg for Alternative to calendar view

2010-07-01T09:32:55Z

Input into a 'diary,' huh? Check out time tracking apps.

You can find some inspirations here http://lifehacker.com/5362829/five-best-time+tracking-applications

How do we achieve harmony between UX and Creative teams?

2010-05-29T02:09:16Z

In an organization with a UX and a Creative department, there must be a good enough system to make the two departments work in harmony. The two must mutually respect each other and other stakeholders should value inputs from the two.

We'll find different organizations with people who advocate UX or creativity. Unfortunately, they're not always equally valued. There are many organizations where creativity has always been the center and UX is just a newcomer. In those situations, how do we achieve harmony between UX and creativity? We preach about our principles and values, but we also need good enough organizational skills so our products will end up with great UX without stepping on Creatives.

Answer by Allan Caeg for IRC Channels for UX discussion?

2010-06-29T10:08:33Z

I'm not aware of any and I would hang out in one if I knew one.

There are some for Open Source UX design, though. On irc.gimp.org, there's #usability (for GNOME Usability). On irc.ubuntu.com, there's #ayatana-ux (for Ubuntu's Ayatana Project. You might be interested in joining. It's fun to learn and contribute at the same time :)

Answer by Allan Caeg for Why is the common practice of sign in error message always mix the wrong username/password cases together?

2010-06-29T03:42:44Z

It makes sense in terms of protecting the privacy of the users, because the feedback (error message) doesn't categorically inform the potentially malicious person or bot that "you found the right username, now all you have to guess/crack is the password"

Answer by Allan Caeg for UCD books for a Product Designer?

2010-06-25T03:39:24Z

This isn't a book, but you can ask him to watch Gary Hustwit's Objectified... and even Helvetica :)

Should "toggle buttons" show what they do or the system status?

2010-03-30T09:30:31Z

I find inconsistency in "toggle buttons" (I just invented the name now. See screenshot to know what I mean). I see GUI controls that may show the action that will be done or the system status. This is confusing, because I don't know the convention.

I feel that the more natural way of rendering toggle buttons would be to show what they do instead of system status, just like multimedia buttons (play, pause, next, etc). For example, if media is playing, the "play" button is rendered as pressed, just like on cassette players.

What's the best practice? Should they show those buttons show system status or should they display what the buttons do? Are there cases when it's better to show system status or vice-versa?

Answer by Allan Caeg for Your best advice for gaining most value out of an internship

2010-06-18T02:39:04Z

Gain experience and build a network. Gaining as much experience as possible is almost a given. Be involved as much as you can, and pull the job off well.

What's more interesting is the power of building your network. Interact with the right people so you'll be exposed to the right ideas and opportunities. Learn from them a be a part of their circles. Add them on LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter. Brainstorm with them, talk about your passion for UX, ask them about their views on UX, etc. Before you know it, you'll be in their UX-related organizations.

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-09-01T13:24:27Z

Hi TB. Just like how it's usually done ;) img822.imageshack.us/img822/5215/selection015.png

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-09-01T01:53:45Z

That's the thing. We don't have a launch date (yet, at least). All of us are volunteers, so we would could use some support. I'll pay much more attention to this in the near future so expect cool stuff. hehe Read more about it here! -> omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/08/…

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-08-10T01:16:04Z

Thanks. Don Norman chose the cover of "The Design of Everyday Things" well. What hurts seems to be more compelling than what works, because of how it stimulates the demand for good design.

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-08-06T01:02:28Z

What's IX? Interaction Experience?

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-08-04T04:03:30Z

I also haven't heard of Unified Communications

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-30T06:53:52Z

Bobby, to solve the issue of having a hard time remembering the format of the username, the solution isn't to loosen security features. The username format is what needs to be more friendly.

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-30T06:48:30Z

Seems to be a semantics issue. My reply to the comment was along the lines of why this is a common practice, which is the theme of the question. As for whether or not this practice is correct and what we can do about it, it's for a different thread. However, if I was asked if this is good, I would've repeated my answer. In a system where security is so important, this practice makes people comfortable. Those who don't understand what it's for would at least appreciate their safety. It's better for them to complain about this than to get their accounts hijacked.

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-23T12:47:02Z

That's a really good way of putting it. Thanks!

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-23T12:08:58Z

Henry Ford's observation led him to know the problem (need for faster transportation). Something else led him to know the solution (cars instead of faster horses, that people would've asked for).

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-23T07:56:50Z

The story about the ecommerce site is interesting!

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-15T02:34:29Z

Cool question! :D

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-15T02:31:43Z

I edited my post based on the additional information. I hope, this helps :)

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-14T05:30:38Z

How about putting the clothing categories on the main navigation instead of just one mega-dropdown? This way, the user can see all types of available clothes at first glance. It will also make your dropdown less complicated. If the top navigation wouldn't be too crowded, this would be ideal.

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-09T17:05:46Z

In relation to my answer, you can try answering questions of other people on this site and see what experts here think about your contributions.

Comment by Allan Caeg

2010-07-06T05:14:54Z

Hello Jerome. I do :)