UI13 Learnings: Part 2

I’ve written up the last of my UI13 schpiel for your reading pleasure. Here are the remaining hot topics I plan to implement in my work:

1. Five Second Page Test
Particularly when I get wireframes or mockups from a designer, I vow to use the Five Second Page Test to evaluate how well users understand the purpose of my company’s websites. Usability testing and field studies will show how people perceive each site on a less timed scale, but the five second method is a great way to see if people can get your purpose quickly.

2. Emphasize Logical Order
I deal with grouping and list ordering quite a bit. When I point out user frustration in how we’ve ordering information, the feedback I frequently hear is that we can’t change things because that’s how the backend works. I will push back on this feedback until change happens. If the backend needs the data to be alphabetical – fine. Create a presentation layer so the user can have it in a logical order. In most cases, alphabetical order is just like random order. Think about it.

3. Learn more? No thanks.
Until last week, I hadn’t really thought about the lack of value in “Learn More” links. When you actually stop to think about it, though, it’s rather obvious. Of course I’ll learn more, whether it’s information about a product, the website, or learning that I clicked a link that didn’t give me what I wanted. I am going to look at new ways of guiding users to another page with better action words, or fewer action words. This may take some time, but I’ll find a nice, nifty solution and get rid of learning more.

4. Information Density
Something surprising caught my attention at Jared Spool’s UI13 talk. He said that density is related the user’s mission. Relevance of the material affects the user’s perception of clutter. As a former UI designer, I have instincts that trigger a red flag when I see a website or GUI that appears cluttered. From what Jared explained, in some cases what may seem cluttered to me still works for the user. Only the user can demonstrate what works so the best thing to do is test your site or application. Never assume.

5. Pretty Doesn’t Equal Better
I don’t think I have this problem but I know it runs rampant in other business groups. “Show me pretty and I’ll assume it works for our customers.” I can’t stand that attitude and usually push really hard to force the business team to look beyond the colors and font treatment. Whenever possible, I request wireframes from the designer to for initial usability testing and to present to stakeholders. This lets the interaction shine through, not the pretty picture. Sometimes with tight deadlines, those pretty pictures come first. I never know if there are no wireframes on the other end, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. If I want wireframes, I will be sure to get wireframes. End of story.

Related posts:
UI13 Learnings: Part 1
UI13: Days 1 & 2
UI13