Archives for the category "Information Design and Usability"
The Value of Personas
A post on the new Rockley blog got me thinking about personas. If I’ve learned anything over the past number of years as a consultant, it’s not to gloss over steps just because the digital thinkers consider it “the fluffy stuff.” The step of creating personas is one of those steps. Clients, particularly engineers and [...]
How to Develop a Great FAQ Page for an Online Course
When instructors and course designers create an online course, an accompanying FAQ page is often included as part of the package. While the creators of FAQ pages may feel virtuous about providing contextual information, the effectiveness can’t be confirmed until the other side of the equation has been calculated: Are learners using the FAQs? Get [...]
Why semantics matter
In language, semantics is the branch of linguistics which studies meaning in language. In programming, it is the implied meaning of data, and is used to define what entities mean with respect to roles within a system. In other words, words matter because they carry weight and meaning. When the matter touches us personally, the [...]
Understanding the connection between persona development and business impact
When companies want to skimp in a development process, whether that be for a web application, a desktop application, a content management implementation, a usability project, or a documentation set, the first thing they’ll cut (if they even thought of it at all) is doing persona development. They’ll say it’s not important, or that it [...]
Usability of content management systems is discussed on multiple continents
James Robertson of Step Two Designs just published an article on the 11 usability principles for CMS products. As usual, James has said what needs to be said about the topic, simply and eloquently. He has hit all the major points. But one of the pieces that I don’t think gets hammered home often enough [...]
Showing that users do RTFM
An interesting blog post about users who not only read the user manuals, but pay dearly to get their hands on them, and attribute their superior product successes to having read them. Why? The short answer is because the companies were willing to invest in the quality of the materials. Instead of the “let’s pick [...]
When site redesigns go wrong, badly wrong
Canada’s airline, aptly named Air Canada, has a loyalty program called Aeroplan. Here are the reasons that “loyalty” doesn’t equate in the user experience equation. Before the site redesign, the site was usable, more or less. With a little hunt and peck, you could find what most of what you wanted. It was a little [...]
Are you reaching your markets?
Jakob Neilsen’s Alertbox column for the day delivered some brow-raising statistics: 40% of the population las lower literacy skills, which creates a huge barrier for Web usability. Lower literacy is second largest accessibility problem. This digital divide isn’t created consciously or willfully – it’s not like merchants or government are trying to find ways to [...]
Dear Executive: This comes with your endorsement
How does executive endorsement drive organizational change for success? Guest author Emma Hamer of eHamer Associates explains. When the proposal to go forward with the preparation and implementation of a content management project is put to the executive team, and the business imperative is clear, executive endorsement of the project is required for the project [...]
Erik Hartman reveals why content management projects fail
Erik Hartman, president of the Content Management Professionals Association, and head of Hartman Communications in the Netherlands, reveals the common reasons that content management projects fail. From problems with the business premise to change management, from lack of conformance to open standards to lack of up-front planning, Erik has seen it all. Learn the most [...]
Recent Posts
- Technology won’t fix a bad strategy
- CMS Facts and Myths, and Why Process is So Important
- Skills to transition to content strategy
- Content strategy: The skills conundrum
- Abilities and aptitudes for a content strategist
- The extraordinary world of content strategists
- Dispelling More Content Myths
- Dispelling Myths about the Content Lifecycle
- Content Lifecycle
- Satisfying the cat: a user-centered design metaphor
Categories
Tags
accessibility ann rockley career development CMS content as asset content convergence content lifecycle content management content strategy convergence DITA Duo Consulting experience design Flash information architecture integration intelligent content interaction design management marketing mentors microformats open standards politics processes professional development ROI search section 508 services single-sourcing social media STC structured content syndication taxonomy TechCraft translation Twitter usability user-centered design user-generated content user experience value XMLPopular
- Using topic-based writing to meet aggressive deadlines
- Flash pages, skip intros, and other annoying content
- Content strategy and the new face of documentation
- Content strategy includes convergence, integration, and syndication
- Redefining content strategy
- A practical definition of content
- CMS selection practices need maturation
- The Content is Not in the Tool: Using Blogging, Microblogging, and Related Social Media Tools to Get Jobs and Influence People (or not)
- 5 Top Business Benefits of Content Re-Use
- Having community means growing community
Random Posts
- I'm going to a VanUE Meetup: http://meetup.com/u/mMR 1 hr ago
- Fri to-do list: finish content matrix, buy BMW, go to dinner at KS's, joan jett! 5 days ago
- RT @halvorson: BREAKING NEWS! Brain Traffic to host #contentstrategy conference, May 9-10 '11. And you're all invited! http://j.mp/b9LVXS 1 week ago
- Funn with Venn - How to be happy in business: http://bit.ly/5TUxqX 1 week ago
- More updates...



Latest Tweets
RSS feed
Twitter