First, Do No Harm
By Pabini Gabriel-Petit Published: November 16, 2009 In my column, On Good Behavior, I’ll explore the essentials of good interaction design. This first column provides a brief introduction to interaction design—defining the scope this column will cover—then explores some key design principles. What is interaction design? Here’s the definition I wrote for the UXmatters Glossary: “Good interaction design facilitates people’s tasks and ensures that digital products are both learnable and usable by reducing complexity as much as possible….” “Interaction design defines workflows that support users’ goals and tasks, the affordances through which digital products and services

Your Participation in the 2009 UXmatters Reader Survey
By Pabini Gabriel-Petit, Publisher & Editor in Chief Published: November 16, 2009 To take the survey, please click this link now: 2009 UXmatters Reader Survey To all UXmatters readers who have already participated in our fourth annual UXmatters Reader Survey, thank you! We really appreciate your sharing your thoughts with us. So far, 79 people have participated in the survey. We’d really like to hear from more of you, so our editorial staff can better understand and serve your needs. Please take this opportunity to participate in the 2009 UXmatters Reader Survey while you still have the chance. Let us know what kinds of content interest you, help shape the future direction of UX

I Have an Idea! Forums for Design Conversations and Negotiations
By Traci Lepore Published: November 16, 2009 “Working together in a group to produce a creative outcome is difficult—don’t let anyone tell you it’s not.” Working together in a group to produce a creative outcome is difficult—don’t let anyone tell you it’s not. Let me share a memory with you—from my Performance Theatre and Community class. There I was with one other person, trying to get our group improvisational piece started—a performance that would serve as our final for the class. It was not going well. We were standing there, looking at each other a little dumbstricken—despite the fact we had previously, as a class, talked about what we intended to do with this fi

Visual Methods of Communicating Structure, Relationship, and Flow
By Mike Hughes Published: November 16, 2009 “Many of us are more comfortable communicating in words than in pictures.” Many of us are more comfortable communicating in words than in pictures. For example, user assistance writers are by nature and training writers, so they understand words and are adept at using word processing and publishing tools. Writers use lexicentric tools not only for creating and delivering content, but also as cognitive tools—that is, tools that help them think more clearly and efficiently. Thus, a user assistance writer might create a user-task matrix or take advantage of a word processor’s outline view when creating or evaluating a document’s structure.

Usability Testing on a Budget
By Janet M. Six Published: November 16, 2009 Send your questions to Ask UXmatters and get answers from some of the top professionals in UX. In this Ask UXmatters column—which is the second in a three-part series of columns focusing on usability—our experts discuss how to conduct usability testing with limited funding. To read Part I of this series, see “Usability Testing Versus Expert Reviews.” Next month’s column will cover what usability techniques you should use when time is tight and how to best conduct remote usability testing. For answers to your questions about user experience matters, Ask UXmatters! To see our experts’ responses to your question in an upcoming edition of