Talking Usability: Legacy Systems and Their Impact on Users

Users generally do not care if a system is based on an old method, technology, or computer system. Users want reliable, dependable, and secure systems. Every year, IT managers meet to discuss how to replace legacy systems. As long as these systems adequately serve the organization and the budget does not allow for modernization, they are likely to remain unchanged. IT managers need to weigh the cost and risk of keeping legacy systems, such as end user support, training, documentation, and security.

Talking Usability: Don’t Trade Security for Usability on Your Smartphone

The convenience of mobility and an infinite number of mobile applications has changed the way we use a smartphone. Consequently, we store a lot of personal information on a smartphone such as email addresses, passwords, travel information, driver’s licenses, personal identification numbers, boarding passes, credit card numbers, bank account numbers, telephone numbers, and photographs. Would you want someone to break into your smartphone and retrieve the data for nefarious use? Obviously not, but nevertheless, few of us take the same precautions to protect our smartphone that we do for our laptop or desktop because we do not want to complicate its use

Talking Usability: The Path to Become a Usability Experience Professional

The Nielsen Norman Group has published a report called “User Experience Careers: How to Become a UX Pro, and How to Hire One.” The report is free, but it is copyrighted so please do not distribute the file or host it elsewhere. You can download the report here. User Experience Careers is based on a survey of usability experience professionals conducted in 2013. It is compilation of professional advice based on experience gained over the years from Usability practitioners. I bring this report to your attention because the Usability SIG has never provided career-oriented information, and I believe it is helpful for you to make a career decision.

Talking Usability: The 80:20 Rule and Product Design

What percentage of features and functions do you think you use on your smartphone or any application on your PC? If you are like most people, you probably use only 20%. Jim Bird published an article called “Applying the 80:20 Rule in Software Development” in which he applied the Pareto principle to software and concluded that 80% of the users use 20% of the features. His theory made me think about my own observations of people and products.

Talking Usability: When Technology Engages Users, They Are Motivated to Use It

When we are determined to do something (such as learn to swing dance, play the guitar, or earn a degree), we will overcome obstacles and challenges to achieve our goal. Persistent setbacks might discourage us, maybe slow us down, but we won’t give up because we are determined to succeed. We rely on instructors and mentors to teach us these skills, and our motivation helps us to press on. We know that the reward for our efforts is the ability to swing dance, play the guitar, or earn a degree, and we are proud of our accomplishment.