Here’s a feature suggestion: I’d like the ability to pause and resume a post on Craigslist. Here’s the scenario: I post an ad in free stuff I get 10 responses immediately I want to stop getting responses until I can deal with the ones I’ve already received If I delete the ad, I can’t repost …
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At this year‘s SXSW Interactive festival, I’ll be moderating the panel Getting to Consistency: Don’t Make Your Users Think. The blurb: Predictable and consistent software is much easier to use. This session explores interface consistency, examples of consistency failures and their consequences. This is going to be a really interesting discussion. I have three fantastic …
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I’ve proposed a panel for SXSW interactive 2007, “Getting to Consistency: Lessons Learned from Big Cats.” The panels will be decided by an online vote. Head over to the 2007 SXSW Interactive Panel Proposal Picker and vote for me. :) Here’s the description: Making software predictable and consistent makes it much easier to use. This …
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So the idiots at Sprint send Joel Splosky an LG Fusic phone to review, thinking he will promote their service. Phone companies, as Joel points out, have a history of bad decisions: And it’s 2006, and I almost can’t believe I’m writing this, because way back in 2000 I wrote almost exactly the same thing …
According to Fox Interactive’s new math 1 + 2 – 2 = 2:
When you use the Kelley Blue Book to price your used car, you go through a series of steps: Year, Make, Model, Value Type (Trade-In, Private Party, Retail), Trim and Condition. It’s pretty straightfoward, but there’s one usability blunder that bugged me: This screen is a waste. If there’s only one possible trim, well, just …
Apparently MySpace is using the the same algorithm as the Diebold voting machines:
Sean Bonner rips into MySpace, calling out its poor usability (far, far too many clicks to do anything). Sean was inspired by Evan Williams’ analysis of how MySpace gets so many page views. Evan was in turn building on Mike Davidson’s analysis. Mike’s characterization of MySpace as an “Unnecessary Click Factory” is spot-on. Oh, and …
Sally Carson, a designer I met at SXSW, put together a thoughtful examination of what happens when people are intimidated by technology: I think that instilling confidence into our audience — whether on the web or on an electronic device — is an important component of good interface design. Something about Phil’s phone intimidates him, …
You learn things when you talk to actual users: Jensen asked his product team for a list of Top 10 features wanted from users. It turned out that 4 of them were already in the product. People couldn’t find functionality: the UI was keeping them from exploring the power of the product.