Link Archive

Could accessibility guidelines and practices be improved by greater emphasis on user
research? Maurizio Boscarol thinks the answer is probably 'yes.'

Drawing on the field of ethnography, Ruth Stalker-Firth introduces a method for
studying user behavior and motivations outside the lab.

If you don't know what the website you're working on is supposed to _do_, it's going to
be really hard to succeed. Greg Storey offers a simple web strategy development process for
everyone.

Do you test your designs? If not, Nick Usborne wants you to take responsibility for
your design choices and the very quantifiable effect they can have on websites that are
built for business.

Are our web apps as smart as they should be? By failing to account for habituation (the
tendency, when presented with a string of repetitive tasks, to keep clicking OK), do our
designs cause people to lose their work? Raskin's simple, foolproof rule solves the problem.

Running with scissors isn't recommended for kids, but it might be ideal for your next
big development project. With interfaces becoming more complex and schedules growing
shorter, the best prototyping tools may be simpler than you think.

Nifty web maps powered by Google and Yahoo! APIs are all the rage. And rage is what a
visually impaired user may feel when trying to use them. Is there a way to make beautiful
web maps accessible? In a word, yes.

Space constraints can put the squeeze on accessibility and usability. Mike Brittain
shares his method for making itty-bitty forms more accessible and easier to use.

Relentlessly simple solutions to complex design problems can be the difference between
an average experience and a great one. D. Keith Robinson reminds web designers and
developers that ease of use is more important than technological sophistication.

Sometimes it's the little things that drive you nuts. As many of us have probably
noticed during this season of holiday shopping, usability problems in online forms can be
infuriating. Brian Crescimanno helps solve the problem with a checklist of form-usability
recommendations.

Without a problem, there is no project. Where there is a problem, however, there is a
stakeholder who is desperate for a solution and who has a delivery deadline — which is
normally sometime yesterday. Find out how a good process can tame even the most unruly
project.

In this excerpt from his new book, Ambient Findability, Peter Morville explains why
findability is a required element of good design and engineering--and what that means for
you.

Client input: positive process or creative noose? Many designers would probably say the
latter. But it needn't be that way. Adaptive Path's Sarah Nelson shows how to create
collaborative work sessions that take the clients' needs in hand while leaving creative
control in yours.

Redesigns can solve old usability problems while creating new ones that must be solved
in turn. From the lessons of the ALA 3.0 redesign comes this quick study in remapping
content without frustrating readers.

So you think you know all about whitespace. You may be surprised. Mark Boulton, type
expert to the stars, shows how micro and macro whitespace push brands upscale (or down) and
enhance legibility in print and online.

Help your audience fall in love with you by moving beyond human-to-computer interfaces
and embracing human-to-human design.

Every team and office includes people with potentially conflicting personalities and
working styles. By applying the right relationship management techniques, you can calm
tension, communicate more easily, and run your projects more efficiently. Keith LaFerriere
shows us how.

Constantly stressed out? Not enough hours in the day to get things done? Ryan Carson
has a theory: your problem is too much work time, not too little.

The acronym element is missing in XHTML 2.0. Internet Explorer 6 ignores the abbr
element. JAWS doesn't like dfn. AAA-level compliance requires you to find a solution. Make
it work.

Testability: friend or foe? Gian Sampson-Wild takes a close look at one of the features
of the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

You know all that copy that goes around your forms and in your confirmation e-mails?
Who's writing it? Derek Powazek explains why it's important for user-interface designers to
sharpen up their writing skills.

Who decides what's best for a website? Highly skilled professionals who work with the
site's users and serve as their advocates? Or schmucks with money? Most often, it's the
latter. That's why a web designer's first job is to educate the people who hold the purse
strings.

It's no coincidence that search engines love highly accessible websites; in fact, by
designing for accessibility, you're already using effective search-engine optimization
techniques. Andy Hagans explains yet another reason to pay attention to accessibility.