I’ve been asked for the slides from my OZ-IA presentation. Not sure how much sense these will make without the audio, but I think the podcast of the presentation will soon be at the OZ-IA site.
Is length still an issue? PDF (2.3Mb)
I’ve been asked for the slides from my OZ-IA presentation. Not sure how much sense these will make without the audio, but I think the podcast of the presentation will soon be at the OZ-IA site.
Is length still an issue? PDF (2.3Mb)
Posted in Presentation
I spoke at the OZ-IA conference yesterday and added my thoughts to the Long Pages Rule! and associated discussions (such as Millisa Tarquini’s article Blasting the Myth of the Fold at Boxes and Arrows).
It is information scent not long pages that rule. If you set off with the objective of designing a page so that it is long, you’re heading in the wrong direction. In my presentation I cited the example of Norway’s tabloid newspaper Vg. The homepage of Vg clocks in at a staggering 10,500 pixels. If you set off with the objective of creating a long page (because long pages rule) then Vg is what you could end up with.
Instead of focussing on length per se, I prefer to focus on the information needs of users. What is required on this page so that users can confidently step closer to the information they require?
Increased page length is often a by-product of creating stronger information scents, but it should never be an objective in itself.
The quantitative and qualitative research, and anecdotal evidence provided by Milissa Tarquini, Jared Spool, ClickTale, EyeTrack III and others all point to the fact that scrolling is becoming less of an issue for users. Lets take this as an opportunity to design better navigation pages with stronger information scents rather than longer pages simply with more ungrouped content and imagery.
My previous article about information scent can be found at http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_informationscent/index.html.
Posted in IA, Techniques, Usability
I’m currently spending a lot of time in borrowed cars as I make my way around New South Wales conducting research at a whole host of schools. Sitting in the passenger seat as NSW’s many kilometers click by can be a tad dull – and I’ve found myself fiddling with the car stereo quite a bit.
I was very taken by the Loud button on this stereo inside the Ford we were driving.
The label reminds me of Nigel Tufnell explaining why his guitar amp goes up to 11 in This is Spinal Tap (“it’s one louder”).
I did a straw poll in the car as to what they felt the button might do. The suggestions were:
I am not so keen on the second answer. I pressed the button to find out what it would do and hey presto nothing. We tried turning the bass down really low and then pressing it, but still nothing.
I investigated the manual. This is the only reference to the Loud button in the manual.
Ah – so Loud means loud. The richness of insight offered is truly overwhelming.
The only conclusion we could draw is that the button wasn’t working!
Posted in Interface design
I busily pulling together my talk for the OZ IA conference on the 22nd and 23rd September in Sydney. Full details of the conference can be found at the OZ-IA website.
I’ll be talking on what I thought was going to be the fairly prosaic subject of page length. But following some research and discussions with ex-colleagues, I think I could have a lively (ish) talk on my hands.
If you’re in the neighbourhood come and say hello.
Posted in Conferences
I was registering my new phone yesterday on the Nokia Owners site when I encountered this little gem.
Not that serious in this context, but still a truly ridiculous Yes or No question. I would have thought better of Nokia.
Posted in Usability
In an attempt to calm myself from my experiences with Virgin Mobile, I am was pleased to read Phil Barrett’s posting about his experience of the iPhone, iPhone: A whole new chapter in customer experience.
I had the chance to play around with a colleagues iPhone a couple of weeks ago and can only echo Phil’s sentiment – it offers a truly different user experience.
So many interactive devices are merely “me-to” copies of competitor products, or a thin veneer on highly complex, un-user focussed functionality. The iPhone actually made me smile. The way new screens bounce into place, the way it moves between landscape and portrait views, I could go on.
Having just bought a new phone, you could ask why didn’t I buy an iPhone – sadly they aren’t available in Australia yet! But I will be seriously envious when they are.
Posted in customer experience
I have just had one of those customer experiences. You know the one that goes on for days, sends your blood-pressure sky-high and makes you feel others should know (and learn from) your experience.
I bought a Nokia N73 at the weekend. The phone is great – I have no problems with the phone, but Virgin Mobile!!!! That is a different matter.
Saturday
Up until this point I can’t fault the customer experience – yes the phone should have started working in the first hour as they promised, but I’m a forgiving guy (honestly!).
Sunday
Monday
Lessons learned
Obviously I suffered what I assume is a pretty rare experience, but one that serves to show the glaring holes in the cross-channel customer support service offered by Virgin Mobile. I am sure that they are no better, nor no worse than other networks.
Virgin Mobile: customer experience consultant for hire
If anyone from Virgin Mobile wants someone to help analyse the cross-channel customer experience they offer for a range of customer tasks, just leave a comment and I’ll get back to you very quickly!
Posted in customer experience