Userfocus Usability Newsletter, May 2015

Welcome to the May edition of the Userfocus usability and user experience newsletter!

Message from the Editor
Why I changed my mind about UX Certification
From our archives: What user researchers can learn from Sherlock Holmes
What we're reading
Online training in user experience
User experience quotation of the month

Message from the Editor

This month's article is on the thorny topic of UX Certification. It's a subject that polarises opinion — and, as you'll see, I should know as I've been both for and against it.

— David Travis

Why I changed my mind about UX Certification

I'll admit it: when I used to hear people advocate professional certification in user experience, I was dismissive. Since we can't even agree on what 'UX' is, how can we certify it? I wondered. I saw certification as a way of creating a closed shop to exclude dissenting voices. This is the story of how I changed my mind. Read the article in full: Why I changed my mind about UX Certification.

From our archives: What user researchers can learn from Sherlock Holmes

The parallels between good research and good detective work are striking. In this article we take a close look at what user experience researchers can learn from the investigative methods used by detectives. And, in the spirit of all the best detective stories, we draw an important conclusion: if you want to become a better researcher you should learn to think like a detective. Read the article in full: What user researchers can learn from Sherlock Holmes.

What we’re reading

Some interesting usability-related articles that got our attention over the last month:

How to record and analyze user research observations.
The difference between Apple and Samsung industrial design - lack of basic alignment.
Excellent! A test to see if you're a UX phoney.
How to build experimentation into the way you do product design.
The Principles of UX Choreography.
This "man shoots computer" story opens a whole new methodology for measuring user satisfaction.
"The user researcher's role used to be running studies. Now it's about growing the team's understanding of users."
User research case study on Slack: Part 1 and Part 2.
Should you do an Expert Review before User Testing? Yes and No.

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Online training in user experience

We have three online training courses in user experience. Save money when you purchase them as a bundle.

User Experience quotation of the month

“I think if you're starting out early in the process by talking about your ideas for solutions, you're already not listening. I think you need to enter into any design project with that zen learner's mind of 'I don't know what I don't know'.” — Kim Goodwin