Graphing the User Experience
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
User experience professionals do a lot of research to ensure the team is on the right path, and to show executives the importance of good UX. We all know there is a lot of data that is obtained to digest the information in a way that can be easily understood by everyone.
Getting Psyched about Psychometrics
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
User researchers take pride in their work and knowing that they are taking the right steps to ensure the team has the most currently available information to provide a great user experience. How can they ensure that the questionnaires and other tests are providing them with accurate results? One method is learning to use psychometrics, mainly validity and reliability to their advantage.
Don’t Forget the Qualitative Data in Usability Testing
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
Many times in user research, particularly usability testing researchers are asked “show me the results” from project managers and executives. These individuals may not fully understand the wide range of options that usability testing affords them and simple want “just the numbers”. In this article, the differences, importance, and implementation of qualitative data will be discussed.
How to Get the Most Mileage out of Usability Testing Sessions
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
Substantiating return on investment (ROI) for usability testing not to mention UX can become difficult as some team members may not get in on the action during testing sessions. It can also cause a rift between team members from other departments as they may not have much training or understanding of what occurs during usability testing. This article discusses how you can get the most mileage out of your usability testing sessions.
Skeptics as a UX Tool
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
Working in UX has its ups and downs. Being a user research you are probably meet with frequent and relentless skepticism and questioning. This article discusses some methods to assist you in dealing with skeptics and turning them into a valuable UX tool all with minimal changes to your work flow.
How to Choose Tests for Your Usability Study
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
This article discusses concepts that should be considered when choosing tests for a usability study. For seasoned researchers many of these concepts may sound familiar. However, there are some nuances that make usability studies different from regular research, and this article will attempt to address them.
Review: Smaller is Better-Axure App Provides UXers and Users an Authentic Experience
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
Until recently, providing a real world appearance has been difficult as some software programs display the prototype’s menu which takes away from this appearance. Axure, the industry standard for prototyping released the Axure app in late 2015. This article looks at who the app functions and how the differences between it and the PC version provide researchers a fresh and more accurate view of how users both perceive and interact with their prototypes.
Review: Want Great Images without the Expense? Try the Magic-Picture app
Read Time: 10 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach and Cramer Brown
Image quality has a great impact on the user experience as users can gain a better understanding of what the image is and how it functions (as is the case with icons) or in gaining pleasure (such as family images). This article is a review of a free image enhancement and compression app which has been developed to enhance images without expensive software or spending extended amounts of time editing.
Review: Good UI Helps Users Capture More Than Just Pokémon
Read Time: 15 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
This summer was the summer of Pokémon Go. It was one of the fastest, most downloaded, and largest revenue generating game of the summer. The large fan base, reported hype, and user interface may have led to the game’s success. This article examines how the user interface across different aspects of this Active Video Game (AVG) may have positively impacted and assisted its performance and success.
Review: Comparing Image Compressors-Less is More
Read Time: 5 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
Images are a necessary part of the user experience as they assist in identifying actionable buttons, clarifying concepts, shaping behavior, and providing a pleasant experience. They can also negatively impact the user experience when they are too large. This article is a review of two free image compression websites which combat this very issue.
Submitted to Wichita State University's Software Usability Research Lab’s Usability News
Review: Sketching Experiences with Pencil
Read Time: 5 minutes
By: Curtis Lauterbach
Current design programs allow UX professionals to generate mockups. While specific features within these programs are useful in the creation of a simple or interactive prototype, some major features are not without usability issues. This article is a review of a prototyping program that allows users to drag and drop GUI elements to create low and high fidelity designs.
Submitted to Wichita State University's Software Usability Research Lab’s Usability News