UI/UX Articles and Interesting Tidbits of the Week
January//18//2019
Here are some interesting finds on UI/UX of the week!
1.https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/01/web-standards-guide/
Web Standards. Immensely useful article hailing from Smashing Magazine, focused on the clarification of Web Standards. The article details thoroughly the evolution of these standards, the organizations which sustain it, and the best way for anyone to learn and get clarification on what they mean. Highlight of the article includes:
“Web standards have created a foundation which allows for new websites, that comply with standards, to work with older browser versions. This idea of backward compatibility is super important for keeping the web accessible. It doesn’t guarantee older browsers will show your content exactly as you expect, but it will ensure that the structure of the web document is understood and displayed accordingly.”
2.https://www.userzoom.com/blog/why-big-data-and-ux-need-each-other/
Big Data and UX. Interesting article focused on how insights into Data and the UX practice produce better results when working in tandem. It’s an article that reinforces a lot of what powers the research aspect of UX, namely metrics and data (coming from multiple sources, namely reviews, customer support, market research, all across different KPIs). Highlight of the article includes:
“First, we need to get data science and UX teams working more closely together. Much like the idea that we need to get close to our users has proven to be true, the same goes for partnering with internal teams. We need to be close together to create a community of praxis where we can participate in crafting the questions we ask, analyzing the data, and sharing in the generation of insights. Next, we need to understand how the two world-views are not opposed, but reinforcing. Taking a lead from scholarly research on mixed methods research, we should look to find the synergies between quantitative and qualitative data, and leverage the work that has come before us. Two excellent models can be found in the exploratory sequential design and the explanatory sequential design.”
3.https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2019/01/3-tips-for-creating-a-effective-user-flow/
Tips for Effective User Flows. Summarization of what many other articles have showcased about determining effective user flows and product experiences. While this article doesn’t showcase anything new, it’s a nice compendium for items that should always be considered when conceiving products, namely defining effective customer journeys, highlighting relevant content and testing before deployment. Highlight:
“Collect as much information about your users as possible. Make sure your user persona focuses on the present. You must know how the users are interacting with your product right now, and not speculate on how they will do so in the future. You should also tie every characteristic of your buyer persona to real data. You can create more than one persona. In such a case, however, you will need to prioritize them as the primary (most relevant) and secondary personas. You will also need to design different user flows for each persona.”
