A list of resources, articles and do-it-yourself materials for those interested in usability and the user experience.
General
Affinity diagramming:
A simple but powerful technique for grouping and understanding information.
Writing Usability Reports:
Clear communication when reporting is crucial.
Facilitation techniques:
Tips for running successful workshops.
Handling logged data:
How to log and manage large data sets.
Pre-publication checklist:
A simple quality control checklist.
Website Redesign:
A case study illustrates suggested steps to take during a redesign.
Reading list:
A selection of books on usability and related topics.
Designing for Children:
A brief set of guidelines on designing for children,
Analysis
Cultural Probes:
A self-reporting technique for user needs analysis.
Contextual enquiry:
A technique for examining and understanding users and their tasks.
Site visit materials:
Schedule, script, interviewer guidelines, and logging sheets.
Design
Scenarios:
A powerful and simple technique for describing user interactions.
Card sorting:
Exploring how users group items, to help develop a usable structure.
Paper prototyping graphics:
A simple low-tech collection of user interface elements for paper prototyping.
Participatory design:
Conducting design sessions with all stakeholders is higly efficient.
Documenting a user interface:
How to communicate your design.
Evaluation
Conducting Walkthroughs:
A simple paper-based multi-participant variation of usability testing.
Usability Testing:
The gold standard in usability evaluation, usability testing is a relatively simple technique.
Usability Testing Materials:
Schedule, guidelines and script – materials you can use when conducting tests.
Usability Testing Mistakes:
Usability testing can be simple, but beware of some common pitfalls.
Conducting Usability Reviews:
How to conduct a usability review (or heuristic evaluation).
Usability Review Materials:
A simple format and severity matrix for use when conducting a review.
Web Evaluation Materials:
Checklists for evaluating websites and online stores, and a sample report.
Voice Interaction Evaluation Checklist:
A checklist for evaluation voice user interfaces.
Structure evaluation:
A simple process for evaluating website or other information structures.
Articles
The Myth of the Stupid User: If users are “stupid”, then we need to design accordingly.
Humans – A Designer’s Guide:
The quirks and characteristics that present such a fascinating challenge to the designer.
Usability for Technical Communicators: Technical communicators are well placed to engage in a usability role.
Apprehending the obvious: Why do organizations fail to take action based on what they already know?. Gerry Gaffney’s article discusses this.