Design Critique: Products for People

DC46 3rd Anniversary Episode: Human Factors wordcast with Paul Green

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:39:00 GMT

On the 3rd anniversary of Design Critique, Dr. Paul Green joins Timothy Keirnan for a wordcast episode on Human Factors Engineering. What is it, how does it contribute to user experience research and design, and how do people get trained in it?
Dr. Green is incoming president of the Human Factors & Ergonomics Society. You can find them at
www.hfes.org

At the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), Dr. Green is a research professor in UMTRI's Human Factors Division. You can find UMTRI at
www.umtri.umich.edu/about.php

The websites for ACM SIGCHI and UPA are at
www.sigchi.org and www.upassoc.org

The Bad Designs On Campus awards can be found at
www.engin.umich.edu/soc/hfes/

The 50th Anniversary issue of the Human Factors Journal is at
http://hfes.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/hfes/hf

The Human Factors Short Course is at
www.umich.edu/~driving/shortcourse/index.html
and
http://cpd.engin.umich.edu/proed.htm?id=57&gclid=COuj_dGhnJQCFQFIGgodFmdx8Q

Finally, two books we mentioned were
Introduction to Human Factors Engineering (2nd Edition) by Wickens, Lee, Liu, and Gordon-Becker
and
Set Phases On Stun: And Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error by Casey

Thanks to all listeners for a great third year and for telling others about Design Critique. I hope I can make the fourth year as varied and interesting.

DC45 Interview: Dana Chisnell, Coauthor of Handbook of Usability Testing 2nd Ed

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:24:00 GMT

Dana Chisnell joins Tim Keirnan to discuss the 2nd edition of the classic Handbook of Usability Testing, which she coauthored with Jeff Rubin.

Join us for the launch party at UPA this year.
Where:
  Cinghiale Restaurant
  822 Lancaster Street,
  Baltimore, MD 21202

When:
  June 18, 5:30-7:30

The new Dumas and Loring book that Dana referred to is titled Moderating Usability Tests. The other book Dana mentioned was The Practical Guide To Usability Testing by Dumas and Redish.

Here's the link to Dana's book on publisher Wiley's website:
www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0470185481.html

Here's the supplemental files link Dana mentioned in the interview:
www.wiley.com/go/usabilitytesting

You can learn more about Dana at
www.usabilityworks.net

Finally, we have feedback from listeners Geoff and Brian. Don't forget the UPA conference if you can possibly join us.
www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/2008/index.htm

DC44 1996 Saturn SC2 Car Critique

Mon, 19 May 2008 00:21:00 GMT

Talk about a longitudinal review: 12 years and over 273K miles! Tim Keirnan offers a single-point perspective on owning his Saturn SC2 coupe, which Saturn iterated to a point of near-perfection for Tim's car needs back in 1996. Saturn "refreshed" the model from 1997 onwards and it was never the same. Mechanic Jake Huey and automotive human factors engineer Ken Mayer join Tim inside and outside the car for a thorough discussion of Saturn's innovative designs for the 1996 SC2.

* Lost Foam Casting of the motor for smaller size and more accurate tolerances

* Polymer plastic body panels for dent resistance, rust prevention, easy maintenance, and end-of-life recycling

* Superlative UI design on the dashboard gauges, heating and cooling system, radio, and even the engine compartment (so owners and mechanics can reach the most frequently-serviced parts quickly)

* "No haggle pricing" and no-pressure dealership experience

* Terrific fuel economy (40 mpg at 55 mph, 36 mpg at 70 mph) (manual transmission)

The customizations Tim and Jake did to the car used parts from the following sources that can help anyone's car perform better as stock parts wear out:

* Eibach springs at http://eibach.com/

* KYB struts at www.kyb.com/products/

* K&N intake filter at www.knfilters.com/fipk/fipk.htm

* Centerforce clutch at www.centerforce.com

The larger-diameter cat-back exhaust system for the SC2 is no longer made, but anyone can commission a good (mandrel-bending) local muffler shop to fabricate something suitable.

We will have an automotive user experience panel discussion later this summer to continue our look at car customer experiences.

Finally, the international Usability Professionals Association conference is coming up! See http://www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/2008/index.htm

DC43 Interview: Andy Budd of Clearleft

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:44:00 GMT

Timothy Keirnan interviews Andy Budd, author of CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions and creative director of Clearleft, a user experience design consultancy in Brighton, England.
Andy and Tim discuss the following items:

* Giving site builders wireframes and prototypes instead of text-intensive design specifications.
* How guerilla usability testing fits into the user experience design process and how it may offer more value than big-budget summative testing.
* Where Andy will be speaking across England, New Zealand, and Australia over the next several weeks.
* The value of attending small or large professional conferences and how Clearleft designs its annual d.Construct conference.

You can see Andy at the following conferences over the next few weeks:

www.futureofwebdesign.com

www.chinwag.com/events/2008/04/chinwag-live-real-world-usability

http://webstock.org.nz/upcoming/

http://ux08.webdirections.org/

One of Tim's favorite professional books is the oldie-but-goodie Interface Design: The Art of Developing Easy-to-Use Software by Peter Bickford. You can find used copies of this out-of-print gem easily enough online.

Clearleft is at www.clearleft.com

Andy mentioned Silverback and you can learn about it at
www.andybudd.com/archives/2008/02/silverback/

Andy mentioned "bar camps":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp

And finally, you can learn more about the annual D.Construct conference at
www.dconstruct.org

DC42b Wordcast: Card Sort (Part 2 of 2)

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:28:00 GMT

They're back! In part 2 of our wordcast episode on card sorts, recorded mid-December of 2007, Tim Keirnan, Larry Rusinsky, and Chris Farnum discuss conducting the sort, what we might do with the data afterwards, and what the end result of the card sort can be. We also mention the following applications that can help you do card sorts:

Optimal Sort (www.optimalsort.com)
Card Zort (www.cardzort.com)
Web Sort (www.websort.net)

Here's another one:
uzCardSort (http://uzilla.mozdev.org/cardsort.html)

The websites Tim and Chris mention during one of the occasional side discussions are:
www.nike.com
www.miniusa.com
www.mini.ca

Note how the Mini Cooper website for the United States differs from the Canadian one. Interesting how a company assigns different content and structure to one audience versus another.

Don't forget Internet User Experience 2008 to be held next week:
www.internetuserexperience.biz

Email from listener Dan completes the episode.

DC42a Wordcast: Card Sort (Part 1 of 2)

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 02:39:00 GMT

Return of the wordcast! Timothy Keirnan was joined by Chris Farnum and Larry Rusinsky back in December 2007 for a discussion about card sorts. What are they, why do user experience professionals use them, and how are they sometimes done?

Mixed in with some theory is a lot of practitioner anecdotes--so much so that we divided this wordcast into two parts. Without getting into more exotic card sort methods, there was plenty of discussion to go around.

In part two, the cohosts will discuss tools for doing card sorts online, analyzing the data from card sorts, plus even more anecdotes.

DC41 Interview: Dave MR of Internet User Experience 2008

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 02:06:00 GMT

Dave Mitropoulos-Rundus joins Timothy Keirnan for a discussion on the value of attending professional conferences, using the upcoming Internet User Experience 2008 conference as an example.

Dave began IUE as a modest two-day combination of presentations and tutorials, but careful listening to customers has led to a much larger and diverse conference over the years. Tim and Dave discuss definitions and purposes of:

* Presentations
* Panels
* Tutorials
* Workshops

The website for Internet User Experience 2008 is
www.internetuserexperience.biz

Tim closes with advice for students: attend conferences while they are cheap for you due to student discounts. Learn, network, and have fun while you still have that student ID.

DC40 Interview with Kim Goodwin at User Interface 12

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:06:00 GMT

At User Interface 12, Timothy Keirnan interviews Kim Goodwin, Vice President and General Manager of Cooper, on November 7th, 2007. Kim's presentations at User Interface 12 were "Integrating Design In Your Organization" and "Essentials Of Interaction Design".

Points discussed include:

* Gardening as a metaphor for introducing improved design processes into an organization

* How the folks at Cooper define "design"

* Kim's advice to isolated practitioners who are attempting to improve the design processes at their workplace, and how to maintain focus when your efforts start succeeding!

* Abundance thinking versus scarcity thinking, and the need for taking risks when trying to innovate

The books written by Alan Cooper are About Face and The Inmates Are Running The Asylum.

You can find Cooper's website at
www.cooper.com

After the 15 minute interview, Tim concludes the episode with some feedback received from listeners.

Special thanks to User Interface Engineering (www.uie.com) for making this episode possible by sponsoring Design Critique at UI12.

DC39 Logitech mm50 iPod Speaker System Critique

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:02:00 GMT

While taking a short break from our UI12 conference interview series, Alan Sygrove joins Timothy Keirnan for a longitudinal review of Logitech's mm50 iPod portable speaker system. As well as making incisive comments about the mm50, Alan compares Design Critique to My Dinner With Andre.

We also have some terrific feedback email from Eric, Brian, and Jesse. Season's greetings to all you Design Critique listeners out there! If you want to get us a present here at Design Critique, we could use some more reviews about the show, either at the iTunes Music Store or anyplace else. Tell why you listen and what you want more of.

Here are some links to some other (older) reviews of the mm50 with more pictures (Logitech doesn't have a page for it on their site anymore since the Pure Fi Anywhere succeeded the mm50):
http://playlistmag.com/reviews/2005/08/logitechmm50/index.php
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/iPod/logitech-mm50-speakers.htm

And here's Logitech's page for the mm50's successor, the Pure Fi Anywhere:
http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/speakers_audio/ipod_mp3_speakers/
devices/3290&cl=us,en

DC38 Interview with Gerry McGovern at User Interface 12

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 02:29:00 GMT

Timothy Keirnan interviews Gerry McGovern at User Interface 12 on November 5th, 2007, immediately after Gerry's all-day seminar called How To Design A Task-Based Information Architecture: Essential Tips For Creating Customer-Centric Websites.

Points discussed include:

* "Words drive behavior." Getting the right words is crucial to developing good Web content.

* Task-centric is customer-centric. Correct wording is essential to being customer-centric.

* The opposite of customer-centric is organization-centric. Organization-centric websites are not very helpful to customers.

* People often come to the Web to learn or to do something. So, design for impatience. Are your customers able to quickly and simply complete their tasks?

* Advertising often treats customers like Pavlov's dogs. Many Web users see through manipulative ads and instead want useful knowledge that conveys something authentic about the good or service they're after. Most ads are not perceived as authentically representing a good or service.

NOTE: When Tim says "marketing" in this interview, he should have said "advertising". It was a terrific but long day :-)

You can find Gerry's website at
www.gerrymcgovern.com

Gerry's most recent book is Killer Web Content at
www.gerrymcgovern.com/killer-web-content.htm

Special thanks to User Interface Engineering (www.uie.com) for making this episode possible by sponsoring Design Critique at UI12.

DC37 WUD2007, UI12, and More Packaging Design

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 03:39:00 GMT

Tim interviews Mike Beasley, President of the Usability Professionals Association Michigan chapter, about the upcoming World Usability Day 2007. Also, UIE's User Interface 12 conference is rapidly approaching and Tim will be there. Finally, the MSU School of Packaging answers listener Tom's question about episode 35.

World Usability Day's URL is
www.worldusabilityday.org

UIE's User Interface 12 Conference URL is
www.uie.com/events/uiconf/2007

House Band Peter Grey sings Nothing. (Which is exactly what we have left as far as songs from Peter for future episodes.)

DC36 Interview: ProfCast and Software Design at Humble Daisy, Inc.

Sat, 6 Oct 2007 02:38:00 GMT

Tim interviews David Chmura, Chief Instigator of Humble Daisy, Inc., about the design of both Humble Daisy (the company) and ProfCast (the application). This episode has three parts:
1. HumbleDaisy's vision, structure, and culture as a truly user-centered company.
2. ProfCast, the presentation recording application.
3. The design process Humble Daisy used to create ProfCast.

See ProfCast at www.ProfCast.com
See HumbleDaisy at www.HumbleDaisy.com

The book Getting Real that Tim refers to is at
http://gettingreal.37signals.com/

Listener Rachel mentioned Beau Brummel in her email to the show.

We close with a brief discussion of the band XTC, source of both Humble Daisy's name and a lot of good music. Tim's favorite XTC songs are Knuckle Down and Snowman, both from English Settlement. Dave loves the band too much to have a favorite song, but prefers their Skylarking album above most of the others. What is your favorite XTC song? Email the show from the designcritique.net home page and tell us. See XTC's website at
www.xtcidearecords.co.uk

Peter Grey, where are you? Our house band seems to have disappeared.

DC35 Interview: Designing the Customer Experience of Product Packaging

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 02:33:00 GMT

Virtually all products, from food to electronics, come in some type of packaging. Who designs the customer experience of packaging and how? Join Tim on his visit to the Michigan State University School of Packaging.

The school's website is www.packaging.msu.edu.

Addresses for Dr. Bix, Joe, and Javier are as follows (remove spaces and exchange AT for @ before sending):
Dr. Bix: bixlaura AT msu.edu
Javier: cjd AT msu.edu
Joe: fairjose AT msu.edu

Rousseau is a psychologist who does warning research. A citation
for one of his publications is:
Rousseau, G. K., N. Lamson, et al. (1998). "Designing Warnings to Compensate for Age-Related Changes in Perceptual and Cognitive Abilities." Psychology & Marketing 15(7): 643-662.

Kea told us about the MX East conference in Philadelphia this October:
http://adaptivepath.com/events/2007/oct

Serendipity strikes! Fast Company magazine's article on the new Barbie packaging is here:
http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/slideshows/content/mattels-123-barbie.html

DC34 Clothes Iron Critique

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 16:17:00 GMT

Tim and Tom are joined by returning guest Serena Rosenhan for a critique of Panasonic's NI-553R clothes iron. What did people in olden times use for ironing and how does the design of the modern-day NI-553R support the task? The gang discusses the merits of the design as well as problems found during its use, and reflects on the classic trade-off of convenience versus safety.

Also, email messages from Jorg and from house band Peter Grey, plus a startling revelation from Tom. We close with an absurd Bea Arthur song (Good Night, But Not Goodbye) from the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, wherein she sang it to the cantina patrons (Peter Grey, please send us some more music so we aren't tempted to do this again). Listeners will understand the relevance, such as it is.

Photos of the iron's user interface can be viewed at www.designcritique.net. The album art for the actual MP3 file of this episode has a different photo we hope you will enjoy. You may want to extract the photo file from the MP3 to see it clearly, print it, put it on your refrigerator, etc.

DC33 2nd Anniversary Episode: Interview with Jared Spool of UIE

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 03:59:00 GMT

For Design Critique's 2nd anniversary episode, Tim and Tom are joined by Jared Spool from User Interface Engineering. Jared shares some of UIE's recent research such as:
+ How UIE thinks user researchers should hold back on giving recommendations, but instead share the observations with the team and let them generate their own recommendations.
+ How UIE thinks user research is an important skill, but usability professionals are not necessary.
+ How UIE thinks usability labs are a senseless waste of glass and wood, instead preferring any ole' conference room.

Tim and Tom share insights from their own experience regarding Jared's points, and numerous similes and metaphors abound. A certain amount of whackiness ensues.

Rolf Molich, whom Jared mentions, can be found at www.dialogdesign.dk/cue.html.

Lisa Battle, whom Tim mentions, can be found at www.designforcontext.com.

User Interface Engineering is at www.uie.com.

It's been a great two years! Tim and Tom would like to thank all the listeners for downloading the episodes, telling others about Design Critique, and sending us such fascinating feedback.

DC32b Interview: Cafe Design with Tom Diab

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:07:00 GMT

In a special episode recorded on location, Tom Diab, proprietor of the Gourmet Chocolate Cafe in Chelsea, Michigan, shares his ideas on customer experience design for cafes. Through a bonanza of entertaining storytelling, Tom, a former schoolteacher and drug rep for Pfizer, tells Tim and guest cohost Chris how he and his wife decided to open a cafe, how they found a location, the design choices they made for the physical spaces and menus and goods offered, and why small businesses can innovate better than corporate competitors.

Some of Tom's ideas include: Design for your customers, not yourself; test your designs with customers before implementing; creatively balance the needs of child-free patrons with parent patrons to provide an ambience for all; co-advertise with competitors; organic design iteration is good; invest in your customers' community and you will be rewarded in the long term. You'll hear conceptual references to field research, usability testing, and participatory design throughout Tom's narrative.

The website for the Gourmet Chocolate Cafe may be found at www.gourmetchocolatecafe.com, but this episode is not about websites--it's about the brick and mortar experience of cafes. Tim is a "power user" of the Gourmet Chocolate Cafe and Chris provided the "newbie" perspective. Make sure you watch the video tour in Design Critique episode 32a to see the design features we discuss in this interview.

This episode's content has been certified 100 percent iPhone-free by the Design Critique Anti-Hype League of America.

DC32a Video Tour of Gourmet Chocolate Cafe

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 05:52:00 GMT

Before you listen to episode 32b, which is an interview with the Gourmet Chocolate Cafe's designer and proprietor, please watch this ten-minute video tour of the cafe. Tim points out key features of the cafe that are discussed during the following interview about the customer experience design of the cafe.

The following free software can play this MPEG-4 video file.

VLC Media Player for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

QuickTime Player for Macintosh and Windows:
http://www.quicktime.com

DC News Flash: New Email Address

Sun, 27 May 2007 21:14:00 GMT

Folks, here is the new email address you can use to send us feedback. Besides typing the address into your email client, you can also click the "Send email to Tim & Tom!" link in the upper left corner of the www.designcritique.net blog page. As of this posting, the old email address for Design Critique is defunct. Outta here. Gone with the wind. You get the picture.

DC31 Mailbag Show 2

Fri, 25 May 2007 01:20:00 GMT

Tim and Tom catch up on email sent by listeners over the past ten months. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with kind words or questions or observations, whether we read them on air or not.

Jason's link to the atomic time watch:
www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/8765

John's response to our Information Architecture wordcast:
www.smorgasbord-design.blogspot.com/2007/01/
information-architecting-coffee-shop.html

Ben's designs for rice cookers in response to our rice cooker critique:
www.benarent.co.uk/bog/bens-blub/solution-for-tim-tom-rice-cookers

Colin's designs for airport seating:
www.finkle.ca/major_01.htm

Andy's mention of the 2007 dConstruct conference happening in September:
www.2007.dconstruct.org

Tim's mention of the soon-to-be-happening international UPA conference:
www.usabilityprofessionals.org/conference/2007

And Mark sent a link to his free text-to-speech converter website that Tim checked
out and liked:
www.spokentext.net
Tim also liked Mark's interview on WebAxe this past March:
www.checkengineusa.com/web_axe_podcast/audio/web_axe_episode_42.mp3

DC30 Podcasting About Usability With Tim & Tom Pt2 (Video)

Sat, 28 Apr 2007 03:11:00 GMT

Watch Tim and Tom at World Usability Day 2006 on the campus of Michigan State University. In part 2 of 2, Tom concludes his discussion on the usability and accessibility of podcasts. Then the guys answer questions from the audience.

The following free software can play this MPEG-4 video file.

VLC Media Player for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

QuickTime Player for Macintosh and Windows:
http://www.quicktime.com

DC30 Podcasting About Usability With Tim & Tom Pt1 (Video)

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:05:00 GMT

Watch Tim and Tom at World Usability Day 2006 on the campus of Michigan State University. In part 1 of 2, Tim relates Design Critique's origin and purpose, and issues a call for more user experience-related podcasts. Tom begins his discussion on the usability and accessibility of podcasts themselves. Part 2 should be up in another day or so.

The following free software can play this MPEG-4 video file.

VLC Media Player for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux:
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

QuickTime Player for Macintosh and Windows:
http://www.quicktime.com

Tech stuff: We got a miniDV copy from the original DVCAM master and have tried to balance resolution (which was a bit grainy from our miniDV copy) with file size constraints. And Tim's eight hours per one hour of Design Critique ratio includes all aspects of production, including photography and music file preparation as well as editing down the raw recording, plus test listens.

Introduction to Episode 30

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 02:13:00 GMT

Incoming! This is our introduction to Episode 30, which is going to be a video episode that we publish in two parts to try and keep file sizes down. Expect it over the next couple days. If your podcatcher is set to automatically download new Design Critique episodes, and if you don't want two 80MB files coming down whatever Internet connection you use, now is your chance to reset your download preferences for this show. Thanks for listening (and, in this case, watching).

Tim and Tom

DC29 Interview: Teaching Software Engineers at Michigan Tech

Tue, 20 Mar 2007 03:57:00 GMT

Tim and Tom discuss the Speaking of Software project at Michigan Tech and interview professors Chuck Wallace, Bob Johnson, and Ann Brady about improving the training of software engineers at the undergraduate level. If you're an educator or industry professional curious about innovations in teaching software engineering, this episode is for you.

Before you listen to the interview, we encourage you to read the article as published in Technical Communication, Volume 53, Number 3, August 2006, pp. 317-325. Unfortunately, the Society for Technical Communication does not sell this article online. If you do not subscribe to the journal, check a local college library or read the draft at
http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~wallace/research/papers/TCRevision_3-27.pdf

Ann, Bob, and Chuck would like to hear from you. Replace [AT] with the @ sign (and eliminate spaces on either side) to send them email at the addresses below.
Ann: mabrady [AT] mtu.edu
Bob: rrjohnso [AT] mtu.edu
Chuck: wallace [AT] mtu.edu

The project's website (and this summer's Chautauqua invitation) is at
http://www.speaksoft.mtu.edu/

Read some history of the Chautauqua Movement at
http://members.aol.com/alphachautauquan/what.html

Read Tim's original interview with Bob at the start of the Speaking of Software project two years ago: http://www.miupa.org/bjohnson_interview.html

House band Peter Grey sings "This One" to round things out.

DC28 Rice Cooker Critiques

Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:40:00 GMT

Tim and Tom critique rice cooker designs. Cookers from Oster, Aroma, and Panasonic are discussed. As always, you can find pictures of the user interfaces critiqued at www.designcritique.net (as well as in the artwork for this MP3 file).

Jen's "InTheNo" podcast can be found at 1000TimesNo.net. Everybody head over there pronto to hear one of the best new podcasts ever. In her own words, "...we speak with people whose experiences give them an interesting perspective on what happens, and what to do, when life confronts you with 'No.' As many of our guests will tell you, 'No' is often just the beginning of the story."

Cashew the Clown can be found at www.cashewtheclown.com.

House band Peter Grey sings "Without My Girl".

DC27 iRiver IFP Series MP3 Recorder Critique

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 20:32:00 GMT

What happens when a secondary function of a product is so good that it becomes the primary reason for purchase among a customer demographic? Tim is joined by special guests Mike and Keith for a discussion of iRiver's IFP-800 (top of photo) and IFP-700 series (bottom) of digital audio players/recorders. iRiver designed the MP3 recording for these units so well that many people use them purely as portable MP3 recorders, not players.

iRiver also created two form factors for one product with the IFP series, so we discuss each industrial designs' relative merits. As always, you can find pictures of the designs discussed at
www.designcritique.net (Note: the wide angle lens made the 700 look wider than the 800. It isn't.)

Colorado Video Impressions is at www.coloradovid.com.
Mystic River is at www.misticriver.net.
Hydrogen Audio is at www.hydrogenaudio.org.

DC26 WordCast: Information Architecture

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 00:26:00 GMT

Tim and Tom are joined by guest Chris Farnum for a wordcast episode about Information Architecture. What is it, where did it come from, and how does IA contribute to a great customer experience?
While presenting at Michigan's World Usability Day event, Tim and Tom met Dennis and Ross from the podcast WebAxe, which deals with web accessibility. Take a listen by going to
www.webaxe.blogspot.com.

Lastly, house band Peter Grey sings Sweet Unknown. And in addition to Edward Tufte's books, here are the books and authors mentioned in this episode:

* Information Architecture for the World Wide Web: Designing Large-Scale Web Sites by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld

*Usability for the Web: Designing Web Sites that Work by Tom Brinck, Darren Gergle, and Scott D. Wood

*How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built by Stewart Brand

* The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander

DC25 Interview: User Interface Design with Menlo Innovations

Sat, 4 Nov 2006 22:31:00 GMT

Tim and Tom interview Carissa and Carol from Menlo Innovations. Menlo recently completed a user interface design project for the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department in Michigan, and observing users in the context of their work environnment was crucial to the design process.
Tim reminds listeners about World Usability Day coming up on Tuesday, November 14th, and Peter Grey sings Frozen Girl.

Menlo's website is at http://www.menloinnovations.com/

World Usability Day news is at www.worldusabilityday.org

DC24 World Usability Day is November 14th!

Mon, 16 Oct 2006 01:14:00 GMT

Guest Dave Mitropoulos-Rundus joins Tim to promote World Usability Day 2006 while Tom takes care of business in an undisclosed location. Just like MacArthur, Tom shall return.
Dave describes what Michigan did on the first World Usability Day in 2005, then tells us what's coming up on November 14th, 2006. Tim and Dave encourage listeners to check out the World Usability Day website at

www.worldusabilityday.org

to learn which WUD events will occur in their areas all around the world. For those of you who may not live near an event, webcasts will be available from many of them.

Finally, house band Peter Grey performs Lagrimas--it's dark, brooding, and hauntingly appropriate for the Halloween season.

P.S. Check out Gerry's UXpod episode about World Usability Day at www.uxpod.com.

DC23 Alarm Clock Critiques

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 20:22:00 GMT

Tim and Tom are joined by guest Larry for a critique of alarm clock designs. As always, how a product meets each user's habits, needs, and wants determines whether a design is successful. Tim, Tom, and Larry haven't had much luck with bedside alarm clocks, including models from Panasonic, GE, and Sony that they have owned for years and years. But they do have some fun discussions on what makes a good alarm clock design.

CONGRATULATIONS to Larry and his bride, Marci, who were married a month after this episode was recorded. Tim and Tom wish them many healthy years of marital bliss surrounded by well-designed wedding gifts.

NOTE: The GE model is the subject of this episode's artwork. Also, Tim accidentally threw out the articles discussed in this episode during a frenzy of autumn cleaning and thus cannot provide article links in these show notes.

DC22 Wristwatch Critiques

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 21:08:00 GMT

Tim and Tom discuss the origin, design, and use of wristwatches. Due to their function as fashion accessories as well as timepieces, wristwatch designs are extraordinarily diverse. The guys discuss very different examples from their personal collections, and Tim fondly reminisces about the most usable feature he ever had in a watch: tritium backlighting, which required no power and no button-pressing to use.
NEWS FLASH: apparently tritium watches are still made, although Tim still wonders why they aren't common. See Fred's excellent Luminox review at GeekHideout --he's a tritium fan as passionate as Tim, which we didn't think possible.

Citizen's website explains Eco-Drive (if you can get their site to work).

And here's a tangentially related article about the percentage of left-handed people in various cultures. Interesting how it varies so widely...email us if you have a theory or a comment on designing for this segment of a population.

Finally, house band Peter Grey sings Fade.

DC21 WordCast: Plain Language

Wed, 23 Aug 2006 22:58:00 GMT

Whitney Quesenbery of Whitney Interactive Design joins Tim and Tom for a wordcast episode on the plain language movement. Language is a crucial part of most user interface designs, from hardware, to software, to websites, to that oldest of interfaces, the printed page. What is plain language and how can it help us design more usable communication for products and services? Professions, companies, and governments should embrace plain language to communicate effectively with their customers, employees, and citizens. Websites we mention include:
www.www.plainlanguage.gov
www.centerforplainlanguage.org
www.usability.gov

After our half-hour discussion, Tim promotes Gerry Gaffney's excellent User Experience Podcast. Congratulations, Gerry! Everyone go listen!
Next, Tim reads listener feedback from John at the Smorgasbord Design blog regarding Sennheiser's admirable commitment to superior customer experience. Sennheiser, Design Critique salutes you!
Last but never least, house band Peter Grey sings Without My Girl.

DC20 Welcome, Bigfoot! The MacBook's Industrial Design Analyzed

Sun, 6 Aug 2006 14:05:00 GMT

Join us for a solo perspective on Tom's new MacBook, a.k.a. "Bigfoot"! Losing tiny rubber feet at the bottom corners may be a thing of the past, thanks to wider, flush-mounted feet. But wait, there's more...
We don't talk about the MacBook's new Intel processor, perceived speed, or included software in this episode--just its industrial design, which is so impressive that it deserves its own episode. Lest you think we're Apple apologists, let it be known this episode was delayed several weeks due to the MacBook's hard drive failing two days after Tom received it, and a very sluggish repair period on Apple's part.
FYI, solo perspective episodes occur when one of us cannot lend a product to the other for "mission critical" reasons. This is Tom's new primary computer, and he reflects on the continuous improvement of Apple's laptop designs. (Tim still prefers his 12" PowerBook G4 for portability.)
Finally, Peter Grey, our house band, sings Sweet Unknown.

DC19 1st Anniversary Episode

Sun, 23 Jul 2006 21:39:00 GMT

Design Critique celebrates its first anniversary! Yep, pretty much. Last summer we were recording the first episodes of the show, talking about user-centered design and relating it to our critiques of product designs. In this episode, Tim and Tom provide a retrospective on the show's first year, and present updates on several of the first 18 episodes. You were wondering how those products we critiqued have been serving us many months later, right? We put the "long" in longitudinal reviews! Thanks to all of you for listening and sending us feedback. And, for your musical edification, house band Peter Grey sings "Watercolors".

DC18 Interviews from the 2006 UPA Conference

Sun, 9 Jul 2006 16:37:00 GMT

Fresh from the terrific 2006 UPA conference, Tim shares two interviews we know you'll enjoy. First, Tim talks with Giles Colborne, President of the UK UPA chapter. What does the UK UPA chapter do and how does it operate?
Next, Tim engages Daniel Szuc from Apogee Usability Asia Ltd. in a freewheeling discussion about usability and Hong Kong.
Between interviews, Tim and Tom solicit invitations to the UK, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand, all the while wondering about lines of longitude and the International Date Line. Finally, house band Peter Grey sings Bright Black (Whiskey Song) for us.
To find a Usability Professionals Association chapter near you, head on over to www.upassoc.org/chapters/.

DC17 iTunes 6 Critique (Part 2 of 2)

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 22:45:00 GMT

Tim, Tom, and guest Jack complete their critique of iTunes 6.0.4. In part 2, Jack shares more great insights, Tim damns iTunes with faint praise, and Tom shares his iTunes fantasies--almost had us concerned there for a moment, but not to worry. After the chatter, house band Peter Grey sings the mesmerizing My Strange Friend.

DC16 iTunes 6 Critique (Part 1 of 2)

Fri, 2 Jun 2006 01:19:00 GMT

Tim and Tom are joined by guest colleague Jack for a critique of iTunes 6, the current version of Apple's popular music jukebox software. What does iTunes do well and how could it be improved in its next version? Jack provides a refreshing Windows perspective on music software apps that aren't available for OSX, listener Jennifer recommends book recommender system Library Thing at www.librarything.com, Tom tells all about the recent ACM SIGCHI conference, and an impressively loud helicopter has the nerve to interrupt Tim's promotion of the upcoming UPA conference (makes Design Critique sound like a Pink Floyd album for a minute).
All this plus a break for our regular house band so that the guys from www.OK-Cancel.com can sing their HCI rap song We Got It. Check out their website, too!

DC15 Interview: Stephanie Rosenbaum of Tec-Ed, Inc.

Wed, 17 May 2006 02:05:00 GMT

Tim and Tom interview Stephanie Rosenbaum, founder and president of Tec-Ed, Inc., in her Michigan office. Since the late 1960s, Stephanie and her company have helped clients make products easier for customers to use.
The interview topic is categories of return on investment for user-centered design. Be sure to read the full chapter on it that Stephanie co-wrote with Chauncey Wilson in the second edition of Cost-Justifying Usability, ISBN 0-12-095811-2.
Also, the international conference for the Usability Professionals Association is coming up in June. You can learn more about it at www.upassoc.org.
Finally, our house band, Peter Grey, sings To Edgar.

DC14 Recommender Systems Critique (Part 2 of 2)

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 23:26:00 GMT

Tim and Tom, along with guest colleague Dan, continue their critique of recommender systems that began in Design Critique episode 13. Tom starts things rolling by asking Tim why he prefers not to use recommender systems, then Dan and Tom discuss their use of Last.FM and its recommender system. A summary of our customer experience with recommender systems ties things off, mockery of Lionel Richie music ensues, and house band Peter Grey sings PsychoActive.

DC13 Recommender Systems Critique (Part 1 of 2)

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 23:36:00 GMT

Tim and Tom are joined by guest colleague Dan for a critique of recommender systems on Amazon.com, Netflix, and Last.FM. How well do these "if you like x, you'll also like Y" systems work after short and long-term usage? How can they be improved?
Plus, Tom talks about attending the upcoming ACM SIGCHI conference and house band Peter Grey sings Frozen Girl.

DC12 WordCast: User-Centered Design

Sat, 1 Apr 2006 00:31:00 GMT

Tim and Tom are joined by guest colleague Serena for a wordcast episode on User-Centered Design (UCD). What is UCD, where did it originate, and how can it help you improve customer experience with a product? We discuss some theory, numerous UCD methods, Robert Johnson's book User-Centered Technology, and Wired magazine's recent story on participatory design at Lego. House band Peter Grey sings Girl From Outer Space.

DC11 Mailbag Show 1

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:42:00 GMT

Tim & Tom respond to the first batch of listener feedback. How much technical detail do listeners want in addition to the user experience and general product design principle discussed? House band Peter Grey sings Santa Fe.

DC10 Interview: Keith Instone of UXnet

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 01:20:00 GMT

Live from Internet User Experience 2006, Tim & Tom interview friend and fellow usability professional Keith Instone about his work with User Experience Network . What is UXnet, and what do they want from us? How about this: "UXnet was formed to help make connections between the people and organizations that represent User Experience disciplines, and to encourage interchange and cooperation." Sounds good to us. In a field so widely interdisciplinary, we could use a big tent like UXnet to convene under. Attend the tale of UXnet! Plus, house band Peter Grey sings Perfect Match.

DC09 Mourning Minolta: When Innovation and Good Design Aren't Enough

Tue, 14 Feb 2006 23:15:00 GMT

Sometimes even a company known for innovative products and good designs runs into trouble. After the guys reflect on their respective photography experiences (Tim likes SLRs, Tom's a point & shoot man), Tom facilitates Tim's grieving process over the closing of Minolta's camera division. In the midst of the death of a beloved brand, at least we can celebrate what Minolta did right. The John Dvorak column about Minolta that Tim mentions is at www.pcmag.com/article2/0%2C1895%2C1914810%2C00.asp

DC08 Bread, man: An Edible Critique of the Breadman TR555LC

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 23:33:00 GMT

It's fun critiquing good product designs--and this one tastes good, too. Tim & Tom are impressed with the design of the Breadman TR555LC bread machine, but that doesn't stop them from encouraging innovation in the bread machine market space. Tim's sister lends a 3rd perspective on bread machines (she prefers baking bread by hand), Tom gives recipes away, Tim promotes Internet User Experience 2006 coming this February to the great American midwest, and house band Peter Grey sings "Color You".

DC07 WordCast: Progressive Disclosure

Sun, 8 Jan 2006 21:12:00 GMT

Join Tim and Tom for a discussion on progressive disclosure, an interface design technique seen in hardware, software, and web pages. What is it, how is it best used, and how should it NOT be used? Plus: Tom says Queen Elizabeth II has never used a computer...Tim wants his own situation room...and closing song "Face In The Mirror" by Peter Grey.

DC06 CCMusic.com Critique

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:07:00 GMT

Special holiday episode! Good online shopping requires a usable website and prompt customer service. Tim and Tom discuss their experiences with CCMusic.com, website for legendary merchant Collector's Choice Music. A terrific print catalog does not automatically translate into a terrific website--what do they do well and what needs help? PLUS the show's email address is revealed, an interview with a special guest from the North Pole gets out of hand, and house band Peter Grey sings of peace and love. Season's greetings and lots of luck to you and yours in the new year.

First Mailbag Show Canceled! World Gasps. Sky Falls. UN Intervention Sought.

designcritique@earthlink.net — Thu, 1 Dec 2005 23:58:00 GMT

Time to respond to feedback from our audience. What the--?! There isn't any! Feedback, that is. There still isn't an email address for the podcast. We promise there will be soon. Hey, it's a work in progress.

DC05 Non-Dorky Headphones: Sennheiser PX-100 Reviewed

Thu, 3 Nov 2005 23:50:00 GMT

You don't have to look like you're waving in planes at the airport to enjoy good headphone sound. This is another single point perspective, where only one person has experience with the product. In this case, Tim couldn't bear to live even a week without his PX-100 headphones, but he allows Tom to at least try them on during the show. What makes a great headphone design? It isn't only about audio quality and price. New word: cosmesis... Funny stories about cords... Another song from the house band... Email address coming soon!

DC04 Two Wheels Good: Cyclometers Reviewed

Sun, 2 Oct 2005 22:47:00 GMT

Occasionally, Design Critique features a single-point perspective on a product because the other guy isn't able to borrow it long enough to be thorough. Such is the case with Tom's cyclometers, exercise computers for bicycles. Tom can't lend his bike to Tim for a month or more, but he can explain what cyclometers do, how they do it, and why he prefers one to the other. Learn along with Tim about these handy gadgets. What makes a good cyclometer design? Also, more music from our "house band".

DC03 WordCast: Luddite

Tue, 6 Sep 2005 22:29:00 GMT

In our first "word of the day"-type show, Tom brings us the infamous term Luddite. Is there such a thing as a neo-Luddite? Tim hazily yet fondly recalls Neil Postman's classic book Technopoly and its warnings against technological determinism. Is your life enhanced or hindered by technology? We all have choices. Finally, the Design Critique "house band" makes its debut.

DC02 Mind The Gap: iPod Shuffle Reviewed

Wed, 3 Aug 2005 22:37:00 GMT

Tim and Tom review the Apple iPod Shuffle. Tim explains Design Critique's "longitudinal review" approach. After we praise the Shuffle's strong design points, Tim rages against MP3 players' tendency to insert gaps of silence between tracks that are seamless on compact disc. The righteous indignation continues as we discuss customer experience with regard to digital rights management. Is the music industry at war with its own customers? Hold onto your hats, folks...

DC01 Interactive Amnesia: Sony Shower CD Radio Reviewed

Thu, 7 Jul 2005 07:59:00 GMT

Tim and Tom debate the merits of the Sony Shower CD Radio, model ICF-CD73V. Topics include the difficulty of designing for a complex audience, and the need for buffers in electronics so they remember things like: point last played on a CD, their settings when batteries are changed, and a few seconds of music to compensate for bump-induced skips during playback.