Media: UIE analyses the Process of Recommending

"The Road to Recommendation" by Jared Spool looks at the jump from observation in usability findings to recommendation. He starts his latest article with an example: 'I didn't feel we had enough information to go from "the user didn't see a link because they didn't scroll" to "our users don't like to scroll." That's a huge jump and I wasn't ready to make it.

'When working with teams, we see this same problem all the time. They are so anxious to fix things - fix anything - they rush the process of analyzing what they saw.'

He outlines the four steps of analysis: Observation, Inference, Opinion, and Recommendation.

'The first question we should always ask, when drawing inferences from our observations, is, "What are all the different causes for these behaviors?" We should state all the alternative inferences we can for each set of significant observations we come across.

'Once we've compiled our list of alternative inferences, we now need to deduce which one is most likely. This is not just about having a statistically significant data sample. This is about collecting enough data to prove or disprove a given inference.'

Associated Link: UIE: The Road to Recommendation

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.