Author: John Holt

Interactive Mockup Prototypes in One

My Interview Techniques to Produce Valid User Session Data

“Trying to learn from customer conversations is like excavating a delicate archaeological site. The truth is down there somewhere, but it’s fragile. While each blow with your shovel gets you closer to the truth, you’re liable to smash it into a million little pieces if use too blunt an instrument” – Rob Fitzpatrick, “The Mom …

Designing for Fast and Slow Thinking: Psychology of Decision Making

“We build mental models of how the world works and then we apply them to new situations.”  – Joe Leech – The psychology of decision making in UX | The Conference/Media Evolution In the Decision and Choice making session, User Experience Designer and author Joe Leech talks from a user experience perspective on how to …

Flat Design: Its Origins, Its Problems, and Why Flat 2.0 Is Better for Users

  If trends teach us anything, it is that user experience depends on how clearly data is presented to users. This is why flat design is seeing a comeback in recent years with Flat 2.0 leading the way. Flat 2.0 solves the limits of skeuomorphic design which relied on heavy graphics to make items resemble …

Secondary Elements to Include in a Service Blueprint

Return to part one: Key Elements of a Service Blueprint Blueprints can be adapted to context and business goals by introducing the additional elements as needed: Arrows  Arrows are a key element of service blueprinting. They indicate relationships, and more importantly, dependencies. A single arrow suggests a linear, one-way exchange, while a double arrow suggests the …

Key Elements of a Service Blueprint – Part 2

Service blueprints visualize organizational processes in order to optimize how a business delivers a user experience. What Is a Service Blueprint?  Definition: A service blueprint is a diagram that visualizes the relationships between different service components — people, props (physical or digital evidence), and processes — that are directly tied to touchpoints in a specific customer journey. Think …

The User Experience Begins in Search Engines – How to Format Content for the Best SEO

The Secret Sauce The drastic changes in Google’s ranking algorithm since 2010 largely share one theme: user-experience quality. In this series I will cover all aspects of SEO for content, often called the holistic approach. SEO in UX design: If the site initially fails to answer the user’s search engine query, it must at least …

Moderated Usability Testing

Despite the rise in unmoderated usability testing, the bulk of evaluations are still done with a facilitator.

8 Questions to Ask Your Client When Starting a UX Project

The ability to ask the right questions is an essential skill for any UX designer. Here are my top suggestions of what to ask in your first meeting with a client. As UX professionals, we spend a lot of time focusing on the end-product. When it comes to usability, aesthetics and general polish in our …

Pivot or Persevere? Find Out Using Lean Experiments

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] by Amanda Stockwell The Lean Startup approach is gaining popularity in organizations of all sizes, which means teams must adapt their processes. More and more, UX professionals are being asked to take on Lean experiments – which are fantastic – but differ slightly from traditional UX research. To recap, “Lean Startup” is a business approach …