Martin Metz's Article in Software

380 Enterprise Social Networking
Enterprise social networking facilitates the relationships between people with similar business interests and/or activities through the use of online social networks, much like the collaborative approach of the wireframing software Pidoco. This is typically done by employing enterprise social software: software that is used in business/commercial contexts.
Posted on Jun-17-2011

413 Wireframing into the future
Now, wireframes are usually sketches of the website, with the functional elements blended into the image. These days, most web designers use coded HTML wireframes to produce visual prototypes of their websites. Either way, this evolution of wireframes from solely functional to visual with a side of functional has been a success because it has made usability testing easier, supplying designers with valuable user experience feedback and creating a development process characterized by expedience.
Posted on May-27-2011

355 Mental Models in Human Computer Interaction
In the words of Kenneth Craik mental models are representations in the mind of real or imaginary situations.
Posted on May-05-2011

423 Finding the happy medium: Combining Agile Development and UX Design
Thus, it is important to try and find a happy medium between the two. In this article I will define the two approaches and then try to show how to create a happy development medium between the two.
Posted on Apr-25-2011

386 Multimodal HCI in User Interface Design
Multimodal HCI aims to discern the ways in which humans interact with each other in order to translate these processes to the human and computer interaction.
Posted on Apr-14-2011

493 Niehaus Wireframing Method and Its Importance in User Interface Design
A Niehaus wireframe is a visually enriched wireframe that codes certain information about the properties of interface elements
Posted on Apr-09-2011

2295 HCI Concepts: The Information Processing Model
The Information Processing Model derives from the Information Processing Theory, an approach to the study of cognitive development in relation to HCI.
Posted on Apr-02-2011

340 Wireframing Workshops - Conducting a successful wireframing workshop
However, wireframing’s ubiquity and esteem do not leave it invulnerable to the snares of the methodological stagnation that often results in poor implementation: bad wireframes.
Posted on Mar-25-2011

374 User Interface Design Evaluation Techniques and Methods
The goal here is to test the interface design on five fronts. These are, namely: the ease of learning, efficiency of use, memorability, error frequency and severity, and subjective satisfaction of the user operating the system.
Posted on Mar-18-2011

345 In the Realm of Marketing, Wireframes cannot do it all Alone.
The point to remember is that the wireframe is, above all, a design tool.
Posted on Mar-11-2011

426 Usability Methods Explained: Card Sorting
Card sorting is a simple usability test that directs a group of users to classify website content and information for interface design purposes. Users are given a group of index cards labeled with a function or category of content which they must then organize into groups that make sense to them in terms of website navigability, substance, and structure.
Posted on Mar-05-2011

427 Usability Methods Explained: Scenarios of Use
Focus groups allow you to gather feedback from users regarding their subjective experience of the usability of your software application or website in order to improve the user experience of your product. Opinions, ideas, sentiments, spontaneous reactions and comments are the target when undertaking a focus group.
Posted on Mar-04-2011

588 Usability Methods Explained: Focus Groups
Focus groups allow you to gather feedback from users regarding their subjective experience of the usability of your software application or website in order to improve the user experience of your product. Opinions, ideas, sentiments, spontaneous reactions and comments are the target when undertaking a focus group.
Posted on Mar-04-2011

459 Usability Methods Explained: Design Patterns
They are patterns of problems that keep occurring during the interface design process. Thus, they are written down and named with solutions to assist future designers. Design patterns function as a template for how to solve a problem and can be used in various situations and contexts. Design patterns are not finished designs.
Posted on Mar-04-2011

415 Usability Methods in Interface Design Affinity Diagramming
The structured approach of affinity diagramming should always be conducted when there is more than one ‘right’ and teamwork is required to find the best (most comprehensible) solution for the users. Thus helping to understand the underlying system and to process the data that others (users) can find their way around.
Posted on Mar-04-2011

582 Usability methods explained: Task analysis
Task analysis is a complete deconstruction of the tasks users need to perform using your proposed or existing user interface design.
Posted on Feb-25-2011

563 Usability Methods Explained: User Observation
Indirect User Observation, which utilizes technology, such as audio or video recording equipment and digital prototypes or wireframes. Both direct and indirect User Observation have their advantages. Direct User Observation allows the observer to view users' behavior up close and to pay more attention to key areas of interest.
Posted on Feb-25-2011

593 Usability Methods in Interface Design: Expert Review
The usability method ‘expert review’ is quite similar to the method ‘heuristic evaluations’. A few usability experts gather around an interface or website and review all pages, controls and design patterns.
Posted on Feb-25-2011

343 Usability Methods in Interface Design: Expert Review
The usability method ‘expert review’ is quite similar to the method ‘heuristic evaluations’. A few usability experts gather around an interface or website and review all pages, controls and design patterns.
Posted on Feb-25-2011

390 Usability Methods in Interface Design: Heuristic Evaluation
In a heuristic evaluation, usually around 3 usability experts, which are in the best case specialists from the field of human computer interaction (HCI), but in the more common case fellow designer with an avocation in usability and user centered design, judge all elements on a website.
Posted on Feb-25-2011

319 Usability Methods in Interface Design: Interviews
Have you ever tried to get feedback on your interface design concept? It is designed to reveal particular feelings and opinions that potential end users of your user interface design may have. The interview is a one-on-one technique that focuses on a small sample of potential end user, which allows you to go into more detail on the requirements for your interface design.
Posted on Feb-25-2011

349 Usability Methods in Interface Design: Wizard of Oz and Digital Prototyping
Wizard of Oz prototyping should be applied when you need to find out specific user behavior to develop the device you are testing itself. Sounds contradictory? Okay, here’s an example: When you want to develop a voice control module for an application, you need the syntax people use to interact with the device.
Posted on Feb-24-2011

367 Usability Methods in Interface Design: User Surveys
With a user survey you try to find out how your software, application or web site is most likely to be used by your target audience or a special segment of users. The usability method of posting user surveys on your website is a powerful tool to find out what other analytics tools cannot deliver.
Posted on Feb-24-2011

433 Usability Methods: Paper Prototyping
Paper prototypes thus can be used to gather substantive feedback early on in the development process before coding begins, thus eliminating the need to expensively fix usability errors later on.
Posted on Feb-24-2011

333 Usability Terms Explained: Context of Use -You Ought to Consider it for Better Part II
Context of use analysis assists interface designers in posing crucial usability “probe” questions as they develop their website or application. These probe questions, often the result of collaborator brainstorms, try to elicit project information that has not yet been thought of as early as possible during the development process.
Posted on Feb-24-2011