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| Each month Dr. Eric Schaffer answers selected questions on usable interface design. | Recent Questions |
| Archived questions and answers about ... |
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October 30, 2008 – submitted by Dani of Spain |
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Question: I am Dani from Spain. I watched your webcast and I am interested to know what books you recommend to explore persuasion, emotion, and trust. |
Eric's response: Well for starters...
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September 9, 2008 – submitted by Arvind P of Coimbatore, India |
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Question: I am a Creative/Copy writer from India, I am quite interested in taking up usability as a profession and will take HFI's 10-day course which is going to be conducted in Bangalore. I wish to know what are the skill sets I should acquire, any particular software knowledge or other skills I should be proficient in for becoming a good usability designer. |
Eric's response: You will get a darn good start in the 10-day course! While it is good to have a pretty good idea how systems work, learning a lot of software tools is NOT useful. Learn a lot of psychology instead. |
September 9, 2008 – submitted by Muckoda Baron of Gurgaon, India |
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Question: I have more that 7 years of experience in web / UI design but and now I want to switch into the information architecture domain. So what would be the next steps for me or how can I proceed? By reading books and articles on the internet I have more than an intermediate level of knowledge, but without any work experience how can I prove myself? |
Eric's response: Information architecture is a field which applies a library science background to the question of classification. There are some interesting authors in this area. But the field is not really successful because usability people do that (arguably just as well), and also do a lot more.
So I would think it odd to switch into this field. Rather I would suggest really entering the usability, or user-experience, field. I have interviewed many hundreds of job applicants for posts in HFI India. They usually say they have many years of UI design experience. But their actual knowledge of the field is frankly negligible. I recently interviewed the HEAD of user experience at a large system integrator in India, and found him barely equivalent in skill to the entry position at HFI India. I found that scary and depressing. To gain real knowledge in the field consider advanced education. A Masters degree is a reasonable practitioner's level of education. I can't say anything too encouraging about the Indian educational system in this area. You can get some training from NID or IIT. You would do well to consider an American program, like VPI, or Clemson. If a Masters is not reachable, at least take the HFI courses and get your Certified Usability Analyst™ certificate. Then get a job working in a place where you have good mentoring! |
September 9, 2008 – submitted by Tobias Mülling of Munich, Germany |
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Question: Please, what is the difference between Experience Design, Interaction Design and Usability? |
Eric's response: Let me try to help. There is a field that concentrates on optimizing the ability of people to use systems, websites, and equipment. Historically it has had many names that are ALL THE SAME.... The term "Interaction Design" CAN mean "Usability" or it can mean people with mostly technology training creating user interfaces without a user-centric process. This is sad. Experience Design (aka "user experience design" or "customer experience design") is the next wave of the field. It contains everything that was in the field. But now it tends to be more strategic (for example designing new product ideas or even new business models). It also has a very strong emphasis on Pet Design™ – Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust. |
May 12, 2008 – submitted by Yolandi Otto of St. Helena |
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Question: In a question posted on January 8, 2008 by Roopa Salagundi of Cary, NC, Roopa is interested in learning about Usability where you replied: "I would tend to suggest getting a Masters degree to start." Masters degree in Usability? I'm in South Africa and the concept of Usability Engineering is still a foreign concept here and finding a course related to the subject is non-existent. I am seriously trying to find out where I can obtain such a degree. The only alternative is to attend HFI's CUA certification program when they are in the country. Any suggestions about the degree type and any correspondence options? |
Eric's response: We have the answer from David Bell, one of our intrepid master consultants who has worked extended periods in South Africa. I haven't seen an HCI Masters programme like we might see in Europe or US, but there are HCI modules that can be taken as part of a postgrad course and I understand there are many opportunities to obtain a Masters degree in HCI by research. The CHI-SA site has some pointers to universities with HCI interests in SA: Darelle van Greunen or Gary Marsden would be a good start point for Yolandi. At the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (in Port Elizabeth) where Darelle is based, postgrad students can take a module in HCI and there appears to be ongoing HCI research in the department: The university of Cape Town offers Masters by research in Computer Science, and the student can make a heavy focus in HCI. According to their website, Gary Marsden is offering some exciting research in HCI. We teach the HFI CUA courses at the Meraka Institute in Pretoria. Meraka have a large department dedicated to language, and they have a group of researchers focused on human factors aspects. |
April 22, 2008 – submitted by Rich VanHanswyk of USA |
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Question: Can I make a living in usability as a contractor? I'm an expert-level BA in the biz for 20 years. I used to code interactive green and mini screens and enjoy the HCI aspect of it. I notice that more and more companies are forming internal usability groups or are training their Web programmers in it. Are these groups generally effective vs a specialist? Is there still a specialty niche out there if I go the whole nine yards and learn usability from the ground up in all of its facets? What is a typical hourly rate for an independent contractor (southeast US)? Can you recommend one book that I can read that will help me to decide if this is for me? |
Eric's response: Indeed, there are many companies that are training software specialists in usability issues. But this approach is not the best practice. Usability is a specialty that requires people who are full time professionals. In fact, we are beginning to seriously face SUB-specialization within the usability field. There was a time when a usability generalist could meet most demands. You would then perhaps need a graphic artist to support the usability person. But today we see the need for specialists in areas like cross cultural design, ethnography, and persuasive strategies. Beyond this we are specializing in specific domains (banking, media websites, etc). We are also specializing in technologies (Web 2.0, mobile). The field is lucrative, certainly. And there is a market for freelancers. But frankly I think that this is a diminishing area. Companies need industrial strength user experience design. They need process-driven usability operations with methodologies, tool sets, standardized training, and certification. Not just an individual. In any case, if you are curious about the field, a great book for a light and inspirational introduction is Don Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things". |
March 12, 2008 – submitted by Vivek Deshmukh of U.A.E. |
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Question: One of the most interesting graphics I have seen for explaining usability as a concept is that of the hungry rodent (Columbia experiment). This experiment is referenced quite a bit in HFI's materials, however I haven't quite got hold of the original experiment anywhere online. Any idea where I can find it online/offline? |
Eric's response: You could try looking at "Approach-Avoidance". You will find this in most introductory psychology texts and also on the Web. |
January 3, 2008 – submitted by Roopa Salagundi of Cary, NC |
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Question: I'm a java developer and have an experience about 3 years in this field. Lately I started hearing about "User Experience" and have an interest in learning it. I'm completely new to this so can you please guide me what I should begin with, what tools I should know about and what books I should refer to. Thanks. |
Eric's response: First I want to say that Usability is a full profession. You statement is a bit like saying "I have been flying planes for three years and have noticed that the maps are very interesting, what do I do to enter the cartography field?" The answer is you are talking about starting from scratch in a big field that requires lots of education and training. I would tend to suggest getting a Masters degree to start. If you are INTERESTED in the field, and want to be entertained a bit or sensitized, I like to start people with Don Norman's wonderful book, The Design of Everyday Things. |
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