Simple and usable - snippets from the book

I've recently finished and really enjoyed a book by Giles Colborne - Simple and Usable. So much so, I'd probably recommend this as a good read for anyone, right up there with Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think. A few snippets I jotted down when reading to help me keep in mind...

People - the biggest challenge in content management

I had a flick through a slide deck by content strategist and author Sara Wachter-Boettcher the other day. A couple of quotes really stood out for me and set me reflecting on the major CMS project we're working on right now.

Putting service design ahead of the politics

The "fiasco" around the US public health service website HealthCare.gov and President Obama's announcement about it has prompted quite a lot of articles and opinions. In among the doom and gloom and politics, there were some good nuggets for those of us involved in public sector web development.

Complexity impedes website performance

Too many organisations lose sight of the fact that their website should be a self service enabler (or maybe they never got it in the first place). Adding more services and more content just provides more opportunities for the visitor to take a wrong turn.

Red Routes - David Travis explains what's really important on your website

David Travis of Userfocus.co.uk talks about what really matters on your website. He likens these customer journeys to the major arteries of London - the red routes.

Customer service is about reverse marketing, says Gerry McGovern

An interesting take on the power of customer service from Gerry McGovern. He talks about reverse marketing - where the customer's activity searching or using social media provides insight into what they care about. 

Excellent prototyping intro

I've just come across an excellent article on prototyping at Smashing Magazine. Combining principles with solid examples and an overview of tools available, it's probably the best overview piece I've read.

Nielsen on dangers of challenging navigation

A recent article on Jakob Nielsen's site talks about the dangers of challenging navigation. The conclusions drawn from user research observations are interesting, but I feel they're only covering half the issue.

Content modelling resources

We're in the process of planning a new corporate content management system and I'm determined to give our website content the attention it deserves. This has driven me to read up on content modelling, push out to a group of colleagues and begin the journey. These articles & presentations have proved really helpful in getting things going...

Content planning for responsive websites

A presentation by meetcontent.com's Georgy Cohen looking at the challenges to content being presented by the trend towards responsive website designs. Includes lots of examples of responsive designs around US universities.

Balsamiq mock up inspiration from "champions"

Balsamiq is a great mockup tool - it's quick and simple to use. The Balsamiq champions blog is a series of articles by people who have put it to good use. Worth a look if you prototype (or are wondering why you should) - even if you use a tool other than Balsamiq.

The case for Plain English on higher ed websites

Plain English and reading scores are sometimes considered irrelevant for higher education websites. Georgy Cohen explains why intellectual snobbery and sloppy copy can't be allowed to persist on university websites.

Conversion copy case studies

If you write web content, this article is worth a look - even if you're not in the business of creating conversion copy. The list of examples just shows the value of reviewing your copy - ideally testing with end users. The impact of a few apparently subtle changes can be enormous.

Good copy is essential for a great user experience

While copy may seem like small details of a design, great copy is the backbone of successful product experiences. David Simon has written a great article illustrating his point with lots of great examples from websites and applications.

Prototyping and UX challenges with agile development

An excellent series of articles by Ritch Macefield in which he discusses challenges faced by agile teams looking to efficiently build user centred design processes into their work and makes the case for more sophisticated prototyping software.

UX Scotland 2013 - slides, resources & write up

The UX Scotland conference took place 20 & 21 June here in Edinburgh and I was lucky enough to go along. Lots of great resources from the sessions are now online, and I've summarised a few notes I jotted as I listened.

Big content strategy challenges from Rahel Bailie

At last week's UXPA Scotland session, we were lucky enough to have author and content strategist Rahel Anne Bailie. Her talk prompted a bit of food-for-thought for me, and highlighted a few resources and bits of follow up reading.

Steve Krug talks agile UX

Steve Krug gives a presentation to a group of developers for Outsystems. Video and slides are available, along with Outsystems' short eBook on usability rules for developers.

Usability test facilitator help from Steve Krug

Steve Krug has long had a load of resources related to his excellent book 'Rocket Surgery Made Easy' freely available online. He's just added a nice extra resource to help you with user testing facilitation.

User experience comics workshop

UX comics - no, not comedians, but a sequential series of pictures communicating a story or experience. I attended a workshop on the topic today at the UX Scotland conference.