It is always interesting to see examples on how our minds work and how easy it is to link this behavior to our development and evolution in a logic way.

I believe that there is much truth to the saying: “The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know”
By getting educated you realize both how much knowledge there is in the world and how complex the world is. You realize that if you get a new idea or a theory, it is extremely likely that somebody have got the same idea before you and already tested it. If you never heard of the idea or theory before, it is extremely likely that it was false. Therefore you get in some way also skeptical when other people have ideas. I think therefore that it is not a coincident that skepticism increases with level of education.

Consider the question, “Why, given the fact that human beings have so much potential, so much intelligence… our cultures are so amazingly diverse and creative and our technology so advanced… Why are we committing species suicide by destroying the habitability of our planet?

Shermer’s lucid and highly relevant talk, using the powerful tool of scientific method as a means of examining the characteristics of our own mind and brain, give us a verifiable and objective answer to this question.

That answer is that human awareness is flawed and has become dysfunctional in the modern era. Sherner clearly delineates the nature of those flaws. Once we are aware of this, we can take action to ameliorate the destructive impact of those flaws in our awareness. This is liberation and freedom from ancient bondages and a small chance for our species to pull out of our nosedive before we drill a big hole.

The program is designed to provide a much more natural way for humans to digest large palettes of information without losing their way — an idea that anyone who has analyzed giant spreadsheets may welcome. And while it has something in common with spreadsheets and many other technologies, Flake says Pivot is so new and different that it’s difficult to even picture what it does without seeing it in action.

UX Design Workshop – Presentation Transcript

1. User Experience Design Workshop
2. What is UX?
   Workshop
   Techniques
   Fun
   Dialog
   UI Design
   Discussions
   UI Process
3. Do you really believe
   what your eyes see?
4. Do you really believe
   what your eyes see?
5. Charlie Chaplin – Illusion
6. Now that we know,
   what next?
7. Some Background
8. Usability Definition
   [Usability refers to] the extent to which a product can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a specified context of use." – ISO 9241-11
9. Who would be using this application?
   Where this user would be achieving this goal?
   What this user would like to achieve?
10. Persona
    UserWho would be using this application?
    Tasks profiling
    Can’t be “ALL USERS”
    Create Scenarios
11. More features less usability
    Understand primary tasks
    Focus on important things
    Goal What this user would like to achieve?
12. Personal Interview
    Email
    Surveys
    Context Where this user would be achieving this goal?
    Contextual Inquiry
    Focus Group
    Support Line
13. Enough theories, How
    do I design a web app?
14. This is where it all begins.
    What user want?
    Application Feature?
    BRS
15. This step transforms strategy into requirements.
    SRS
    Functional & UI requirement
16. This gives shape to the scope.
    Navigation
    Sitemap
17. It makes the site concrete.
    Wireframes
    Storyboards
    Prototype
    IA
18. Surface brings everything together visually.
    Graphics
    Icons
    Colors
19. Go low level and talk
    about design elements
20. Create accessible links
    Web users scan text
    User short & simple words
    Inverted pyramid writing
    Online vs. print content
21. Font
    Times New Roman is a common serif font
    Font
    Verdana is a common sans serif font
    Font
    Times New Roman is a proportional spaced font
    Font
    Courier is a monospace font
    Some gyan about fonts
22. Aoccdrnig to rseerach at Cmabrigde
    Uinervtisy, it deosn'tmttaer in waht
    oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the
    olnyiprmoatnttihng is taht the frist
    and lsatltteer be at the rghitpclae.
    The rset can be a total mses and you
    can sitllraedit wouthitporbelm.
    Tihs is bcuseae the huamnmnid
    deos not raederveylteter by istlef,
    but the wrod as a wlohe.
    Amzanig huh?
    Avoid italics
    Capital = 14-20% less readable
    Sans serif are build for web
    10 points or larger is safe
    font gyan continues
23. C a yureat is?
    You a e not radigths.
    W at arourea in ?
24. Get user attention
25. Do not use pure red or blue
    Do not use more than 6 colors
    7% of population is color blind
    Blue is a safe color
    Use of colors
26. Try this color illusion
27. Familiarity reduces learning
    Meaning less icons
    Inconsistent icons
    Unlabeled icons
    Avoid Popular metaphors
    Use of icons
28. Button = Action
    Link = Navigation
    Consistency
    Affordance
    Usage of buttons
29. Number of items
    Usage pattern
    Space constrain
    Searching capability
    Auto complete
    Radio button, dropdown, or shuttle
30. Suggest solution
    Prevent error
    Keep it together
    Think about the message
    Never show system errors
    Error handling
31. User Experience Design
    User Experience Design
    User Interface Design
    Human Factors Engineering
    Information Architecture
    Usability
    Human Computer Interaction

Presentation Transcript

Elearning has not changed

• elearning or “electronic learning” is very broadly classified as a learning imparted using some electronic media .
• Basic delivery methodology has not changed.

1. Content has moved from WBT (CDs) to Web
2. More LMS functionalities developed
3. Some development in reporting and assessment has been made

3. Why eLearning is not so effective

• Human being learn when we want to learn for whatever motivation there is for learning. eLearning will fail when it is pushed
• Difficult to assess and report
• Emotionless
• Not action oriented
• Generally a lot of theory and boring

4. New eLearning

• Immersive learning: using technology that would use visual, tactile, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory stimuli
• On demand learning: learn when I want to learn and what I want to learn (bio- technology)
• Augmented reality learning: creating imparting content using augmented reality and game technology (more fun)

5. How to Measure

• Compare: teach the same content with both, old fashion e-learning and the new elearning techniques and assess the trained person
• Effectiveness can be compared by knowing how the person is performing in the field after imparting the content

User interface designers usually differentiate between which interface, search or browse, is better suited for a particular task with the terms “recall” and “recognition,” referring to what is going on in the user’s mind. If the user is relying on recall, they are able to proactively retrieve what it is they want out of their memory. For instance, the traditional command line, is a recall, or search (with tab completion), based interface. In contrast, if the user is relying on recognition, they need to be able to see particular terms or objects on the screen before they are able to make a decision on what to do next. For instance, the standard GUI is fundamentally a recognition, or browse-based interface.

Often people focus more on the examples given than the fundamentally different aspects of the two types of interfaces, and assume that one type of UI is better than the other:

I used to use the command line, but then the GUI became popular, I hate remembering stuff, browse is better! Recognition beats recall!

I used to use the Yahoo Directory to find stuff on the Web, but then Google came out, I can quickly get to stuff, search is superior! Fast beats slow!

Or, in the case of the Firefox UI: I used to use the bookmarks sidebar to access things, but now I just use the awesome bar, it’s so much faster, search is the future!

But battling the different interface examples against each other somewhat misses the point.  It isn’t about which interface, search or browse, is better than the other, it’s about which is a better match for the user’s particular task, and which is a better match for the user’s mind.  So it is critical to provide the user with both, and to make sure that both are extremely well designed. The Web browser UI has a lot of useful core controls for browsing information, a home control to take you back to the beginning, back and forward to explore a timeline of recent navigation, and a location bar lets you jump directly to an entirely new destination.  These controls could be really useful for browsing history and bookmarks, in addition to browsing Web pages.  So I believe we should fully integrate bookmarks and history into the Web browser interface.

This is a concept for a language learning game. Idea is to use voice and video for an immersible experience. Goal for the gamer is to teach meet and greet skills that are very basic for conversation in some other culture.

In my business I have studied a lot of that stuff, however I still love to see the illusions  created by context, and how fun it is to experience first hand with simple exercises.

I was under the impression, prior to this talk, that our cones got over-excited when we stared at the dot between the two colors, and that it was the slow recess of that excitement that caused the color illusion  to persist. But his explanation is much more consistent with the other experiments, showing that it is a result, not of weak hardware, but of extremely powerful software, as the brain steps in to tweak the info according to what it has inferred from the past. Scary stuff.

This talk is about optical illusions , but really, it is about how the brain works. Remember how the speaker explains that “context” is everything? Read the book “Management Rewired ” by Charles S. Jacobs, the book explains how to achieve and create “illlusions” in the corporate environment in order to get people to “see” what you want them to “see” by using stories to rewire the brain’s context. The more you repeat the story and reinforce it, the more it conditions the mind, just like what happened with the white dot between the green/red boxes.

This talk left me wanting much more about implications, consequences et al; this desire is both a good and a bad thing!

• Face
• Fingerprint
• Palm scan
• Iris scan
• DNA

Behavioural

• Keystroke
• Signature
• Voice

Other identification methods include vain patterns or their signatures, recognizing heart beats, 3d face recognition.

Iris patterns a unique to each individual as our facial details. Currently we are in the phase where the database is been created. At present, it is used mostly in airports and hospitals however I think it will be a gradual rollout of the biometrics system.

In few years time, I think people would start using biometrics systems just beyond criminal justice system.

Handprints are also different for each individual along side of the figure prints. The machine records the vain and arteries in your hand that is another means of confirming you are who you say you are. The latest recognition tool that is in research is to identify individual by recognizing their walk pattern

It is true that those of us who care seek out and value authentic companies that provide authentic experiences. However, the reason why many goods and services have become commodities is because consumers regard everything as a commodity that should be provided to them at the lowest price.

People state frequently that they want authentic experiences, responsive customer service and quality products. The majority also say that they value the natural environment and want it preserved. However, when the time comes for purchase, consumers based their decisions primarily on price. Price continues to trump authenticity and value – except in the rarified consumer arenas of the socially conscious wealthy.

In addition, marketers have trained consumers to be ready to accept the flimsiest of claims of authenticity – so that the pesky thing called conscience will not interfere with purchases.

This is not to say that companies should foresake the pursuit of authentic authenticity. It does add value in the workplace. It can lead to enhancements in productivity, commitment and output of quality products and services.
One cannot look at authenticity within the isolation of the commercial marketplace. For the concept to have meaning and impact, it must relate to the pervading culture. Within narrow segments of our society, authenticity is becoming a significant goal. For the majority of our society, the ability to continue to our current levels of consumption is the driving force. You can see it even in the discussions on sustainability. Let’s buy our way to sustainability – where are the green products. We shouldn’t need to change our lifestyles – just change our product lines.
Authenticity – once you can fake that, you’ve got it made. That may sound cynical, but until consumers stop behaving like consumers, it will dominate marketing philosophy.

In partial response, recognize that authenticity is personally determined (as Joseph Waisman asserts). You get to decide what is authentic to you, and so if Paolo thinks Starbucks is fake, it’s fake to him. Most of the millions of people who regularly go there, however, think it’s very authentic. What’s clear, though — as L. Smith alludes to — is that its continued success has nothing to do with its availability, cost, or quality; it depends on its perceived authenticity.
Therefore, as Dan Wood points out, it is a matter of perception. We do in fact live our lives “almost entirely in manufactured space”. (The Grand Canyon, to Gardner Clute’s point, may be a natural space, but virtually everyone’s experience of it is mediated through manufactured economic offerings. The Grand Canyon may be authentic, but the Skywalk most certainly is not!)

That’s why the key task for companies now that authenticity has become the new consumer sensibility is one of rendering authenticity — managing everything so that people perceive our offerings and, by extension, the places in which they are offered, and our companies themselves as authentic. In response to Sjors Provoost, authenticity is the value that people seek in today’s Experience Economy.

In summary, if my “logic skips and tumbles” it is due to my inability to convey everything about the subject in 15 minutes. If you find the topic intriguing — even if still wrong! — please do wrestle with the ideas in full in the book I wrote with Jim Gilmore, Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, which you can learn about at www.AuthenticityBook.com.

There are good reasons to believe that usability and Agile development methods can work together and improve user experience quality:

Agile offers many opportunities for overcoming problems with traditional development methods that have long impeded usability.

Approaching Agile narrowly, as a programming methodology rather than a system development methodology, threatens to destroy the last decade’s progress in integrating usability and development. But, as outlined above, there are ways around each of these threats. So long as teams recognize the threats as explicit issues, they need not harm product quality.

Finally, we know from our research that many companies have made things work swimmingly — once they adapted the Agile methodology to suit quality-focused system development.
For user experience practitioners who support Agile teams, the main change is in mindset. Having good, general user experience knowledge will help you understand how to change traditional design and evaluation methods to meet your Agile team’s different focus. Ultimately, however, you must both believe in yourself and embrace Agile development concepts if you want to succeed.

If you’re prepared to change your practices and take on the responsibility, there are great opportunities to improve your effectiveness and your impact on the teams you support.