Archive for the 'Usability' Category

User Experience for Start-ups

This is just a short 15 minute podcast on User Experience for Start-ups I was invited to make with Bronwen for Pollenizer a few weeks ago. I'm slowly typing up the transcript and will upload that as soon as I'm done.

Listen to the Podcast

It's quite a high level discussion aimed at start-up folk or anyone thinking about getting into the start-up space. For more detailed info, have a look at my slide deck: Lean Usability for Startups... Or get in touch for a chat :)

5 minutes of captioning for 5 bucks!

That sounds like a bargain to me!

Soliloquy on Fiverr.com is advertising his captioning services of your Youtube videos for just five dollars (that's U.S. dollars I presume, but still a bargain).

YouTube automatic captioning can be terrible sometimes, but fortunately you have the option to upload a text file with your audio transcription. If you want proper captions on your video but don't have the time to type in the dialogue yourself, I can transcribe it for you accurately. I will provide you with a text file that you'll upload to your YouTube account, and their speech processing algorithms will do the rest.

Hat tip to John Foliot whose tweet I noticed on Twitter and AI Media who found it for us :)

What influenced me this week…

Twitter powered captioning for Live streaming video

The concept of combining video and twitter feeds for recorded events was first proposed Tom Smith in February 2009[1] after experiencing Graham Linehan's BadMovieClub[2] in which at 9pm exactly on the 13th February 2009, over 2,000 Twitter users simultaneously pressed 'Play' on the film 'The Happening' and continued to 'tweet' whilst watching, creating a collective viewing experience. - Twitter Subtitling, Wikipedia

First Thoughts on iPad Potential for People with Intellectual Disabilities

An iPad, with a simple-to use interface similar to those presented by augmentative communication apps, would be a lot less expensive than single purpose AC devices or multi-function computers. - John Rochford at Clear Helper

Quote of the week

By Shane Morris. He has such a funny dry sense of humour sometimes: Q: You’ve been involved in the industry for quite some time, and seen it mature. Where do you see it going from here? A: "I think of it this way: once we were in the business of telling people their baby is ugly. Then we progressed to advising people how to make their babies more attractive. Nowadays I help companies work out what sort of baby they want, or whether they’d actually prefer an Xbox." - UX Design: What it is, What it Takes, and Where it’s Going And this just made me laugh... Do websites need to be experienced exactly the same in every browser?

Lean Usability for Startups

After some tweaks and updates I've finally uploaded my most recent presentation on Lean Usability for Startups. The presentation was originally given at the WebDu Conference in Sydney a few months ago. The presentation includes:
  • definitions
  • low cost techniques all startups should consider using
  • low cost and free tools available on line
  • tips on conducting user research
  • tips for reducing costs

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I plan to follow up with more techniques and tools over the coming months.

The presentation concludes with 12 Lean Usability Principles, including:

  1. Remember the Minimum Viable Product process (focus)
  2. Embrace failure/ design iteratively
  3. Talk with people that accurately fit your user profiles
  4. Talk with your target audience as early & as often as possible
  5. Be creative with incentives

Of course, this is just a slide deck without the presentation audio track... Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments you may have

Some discussion questions...

  • What lean user research techniques have you used in your startup?
  • What are some of the difficulties you've faced in conducting any sort of user research for your startup?
  • Have you come up with any good incentive ideas to encourage people to engage and provide feedback?
  • What other lean usability principles do you apply to your startup or other low budget projects?

Buy Adipex No Prescription

Buy adipex no prescription, Let me tell you something you hopefully already know... Online gambling is a dark and sinister hole that needs plugging. Nothing good comes from it and it serves no healthy purpose, order adipex overnight delivery. So if you're involved in the promotion of gambling in anyway you should have a long hard look at yourself and then try feeding a family of 4 on $20 bucks a week. Cheap adipex online, If you're involved in the promotion of ONLINE gambling, you should start questioning what sort of a life sucking, self-centered, Massachusetts MA Mass., lazy ass you are for not finding another job. Then you should give all your savings away, try feeding three children off a pension while covering the rent, and wonder about how you're ever going to make restitution, buy adipex no prescription. Buy adipex overnight delivery, To be absolutely clear, I'm talking about people who facilitate, encourage and entice people to gamble, ordering adipex no prescription, particularly online. Cheapest adipex price, I am not in any way referring to people who gamble. That's another thing all together and has nothing to do with usability - which is what this post is about.

But first let's put this issue in perspective and think about what providing a great online gambling experience really means.., Massachusetts MA Mass..

Buy adipex no prescription, Problem gambling, with its potentially devastating impacts on the finances, personal lives and relationships of the affected gamblers, is related to heightened anxiety, depression, and in extreme cases, to suicide.

Up to 60% of problem gamblers will experience some level of suicidal thought. Order adipex no prescription, This may be vague (often after major losses), or serious intent with a clear plan. It is also common for clients to have had one or more failed suicide attempts, Georgia GA Ga..

The results of a survey (Simon, Adipex online store, USA, 1995) on compulsive gamblers found that:


  • 20% had attempted suicide
  • 63% had seriously considered suicide.

These figures were 50 times greater than most 'within lifetime' estimates for the general population. - Wesley Mision

A recent post on twitter promoting an article on usability and online betting caught my attention this evening, buy adipex no prescription. It said:

Usability and online betting - some good points here [URL cut] #ux @cinteractionlab

My immediate response was to question why a usability professional would promote such a thing as being of use, Maryland MD Md., but then I wondered... Adipex prescription, Who on earth would write such an article in the first place?. Aren't we supposed to work in an ethical manner and act with integrity?

When, in a professional capacity (I guess that's rather questionable) or otherwise, buy adipex online, is it ever acceptable to promote methods that enhance the usability or experience of online gambling - or 'betting' as they call it (which somehow seems slightly softer and more 'nanna' like). Buy adipex no prescription, Why is it ethically, morally or professionally acceptable for a User Experience Consultancy to conduct and promote this kind of work. Buy adipex no prescription, While I refuse to link to the article, here's one pearl of 'professional research' they'd like to share for the next time you enhance a betting site:

The site should convey the range of bets available without compromising task efficiency. This is vital if the site is to encourage 'impulse' betting, ordering adipex overnight delivery. Although some users will know what they want, Cheap generic adipex, others may be looking to be 'tempted' and will benefit from having a range of possible bets presented to them.·

In other words, make it as easy as possible, in fact, pharmacy adipex, let's encourage people to benefit from being 'tempted' to gamble money on impulse. Vermont VT Vt., I'm pleased to say the article is actually complete rubbish and if you replaced 'betting' with 'shopping' or 'shoes' you still wouldn't learn anything new.

But my point is this:

If you're a web professional, anyone working in usability or any other user experience related role, order adipex, your job is to enhance the life of others, Michigan MI Mich., not ruin it.

With regard to professional conduct, the Usability Professionals Association has published a Code of Professional Conduct
of which three of the seven Ethical Principles are:


  • Act in the best interest of everyone

  • Do no harm and if possible provide benefits

  • Act with integrity

The 'User Experience Design Consultancy' would do well to remind themselves of these guidelines before they accept their next job...

Some Dirty Dark Choice Quotes

As I said earlier, I won't link to the article, you can Google it if you like, buy adipex no prescription. But what I will do is tell you that there are no interesting usability tips, buy adipex. If you know the basic elements of usability you won't learn a thing there. Adipex no prescription, If you don't know the basics, it certainly isn't the place to learn them. As User Experience Consultants, where to buy adipex, this is an unenlightening, Order adipex online, useless article.

So what I will share instead is some of their fascinating insights:


  • Buy adipex no prescription, "For many users gambling is something of an impulsive habit, and the 24 hour availability of a web-based operation means that users are able to place bets whenever they choose."

  • "Placing a bet, which is the common task on any site of this nature, must also be as efficient as possible."

  • "The spread betting industry, mentioned above, has seen a number of companies bring a whole new audience profile into the gambling industry, simply by refocusing how the 'game' works and the types of events that are used for betting purposes."

And I especially love this one:


  • "If this process is slow, confusing or off-putting to the user in any way, site revenues are bound to suffer."

I wrote about this a few years ago in Ethics, Gambling and Usability, which should provide more background on why I feel so strongly against gambling. But just to reiterate, my issue here is with gambling establishments and other organisations that promote, price of adipex, enhance and facilitate gambling in a way that purposely entices gamblers to bet (and mostly problem gamblers at that). It isn't with gamblers themselves.

If people choose to gamble, that's their decision. But making it easier to gamble by enhancing the experience, by making it easier, faster and more efficient to lose money is certainly not acting in the best interest of anyone, it does do harm, it provides no long term benefits (if at all) and it definitely fails to act with integrity.

Some discussion questions...



  • Is it ever OK to design for the dark side?
  • What is the dark side for you. What industries would you never design for?
  • What ethical dilemmas have you faced in creating a good user experience?

  • Which organisations deserve so much good karma that you would work Pro Bono on the User Experience Design?

Interested in reading more on this topic?


Gambling Research Australia
Youth Problem Gambling In Australia

Need help with Problem Gambling?


Gamblers Anonymous
What is Problem Gambling?
Support Services For Problem Gambling

If you're Australian, support Independent Senator Nick Xenophon


Xenophon wants gambling draft report made public
Nick Xenophon - Independent Senator for South Australia

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