As we scramble to understand what generative AI tools mean for us, language to describe this new world is emerging. Common coinage is being created and I am nervous that it will be left to engineers again. I hope for greater elegance of phrasing. During the early days of the web, clunky metaphors arrived. “Surfing”… Continue reading Telling AI what to do – what should we call it?
Category: User Experience
Tired of Twitter
Twitter has become less useful and interesting. So what next for personal users?
Behaviour science, L&D and habitual tools
How can we learn from developments in behavioural science in designing for learning? A summary of a recent discussion.
Do we just want to be loved – engagement and relevance.
Is learner engagement the right design objective to make an impact? Relevance and usefulness are more likely to solve our design problems.
“Don’t impose joy, deliver service”
Not my words, but those of Jacob Nielsen. One of the interesting features of Nielsen’s work is that he has consistently irritated designers over the last twenty years or so, and been entirely right to do so. I first came across him when working on the early days of BBC Online, around the turn of… Continue reading “Don’t impose joy, deliver service”
Changing what already works (is a good idea)
Doing familiar things differently is deeply challenging. When those activities are highly successful, or seem to be, even the idea of taking on that challenge seems foolish. Yet, this is what successful teams and organisations do. They challenge themselves through a curiosity as to what will work better. Apple is a good example (I type… Continue reading Changing what already works (is a good idea)
They are not us.
“You are not the user” has been a rallying cry of the user experience design profession for some time. That cry is still needed in so many areas, as decisions are taken from false consensus about what people want and what they think. There is a strong tendency for us to believe that people are… Continue reading They are not us.
Get the basics right first
This article about the US free COVID test website not falling over stirred memories of my time as a product owner of an LMS. It tells of a simple need shared by a large proportion of potential users. It tells of very low expectations amongst that population. History has told them it is highly likely… Continue reading Get the basics right first
Sharing the best experiences
Back in 1998, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore wrote an influential article in the Harvard Business Review: “Welcome To The Experience Economy“. Amongst many useful observations from their research, they stated that “We expect that experience design will become as much a businessart as product design and process design are today.” Twenty three years later,… Continue reading Sharing the best experiences
Design needs to work and sometimes boring is OK
That is not an entirely representative title of a post to summarise our conversation this week. Although some attendees may claim that we took this advice too seriously and caused a quieter conversation. (If you were there, do tell). We were gathered to discuss “Learning, design and Products”, the call for boring was a thread… Continue reading Design needs to work and sometimes boring is OK
MR Digital & Learning 