Professionalism
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We Tried To Warn You, Part 2
by Peter Jones | [8 comments]
Some failure allows organizations to learn and grow; others times it can be catastrophic. In Part 2 of his series, Peter Jones explores timing dynamics of large projects and alternatives to the framing of UX roles and organizations today. more...
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The Confidence Game
by Brian R. Krause | [11 comments]
How does a user interface designer know that a given design will work? How does anybody develop enough confidence in a design to move it toward the real world? The methods designers use to evaluate user interfaces require training and experience. But the people who need to hire designers are unlikely to have those skills. How do the people who are paying the bills know they are getting good answers? more...
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Being Shallow
by Grant Campbell | [11 comments]
Information Architects are often put on the defensive by spears flung by brethren in related disciplines.
In taking the accusations seriously and accepting truthswithin them,
Grant Campbell reveals greatest
strengths in shallowness, insularity, and being "relegated" to history. more... -
Enterprise Information Architecture: A Semantic and Organizational Foundation
by Tom Reamy | [12 comments]
People disagree on what happens when IAs grow up, but Tom Reamy knows. He offers a foundation for information architecture as it advances, grappling with problems across the enterprise. more...
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We Tried To Warn You, Part 1
by Peter Jones | [15 comments]
Some failure allows complex organizations to learn and grow; others can be catastrophic. Peter Jones explores
how, as designers, we have a
responsibility to detect and assess
the potential for large-scale failure.
How can we help stop the train? more... -
Deep Context
by Jorge Arango | [9 comments]
Most IA tools and methods focus on the users and the content being developed for websites. Jorge Arango uses the ideas from anthropologist Edward Hall as a starting point to dig deep into the idea of context, its variations, and the impacts on how people interpret information. more...
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Lost in Translation: IA Challenges in Distributing Digital Audio
by Dan Brown | [4 comments]
Network audio devices provide a convenient way to play digital audio through your home stereo. How do they provide remote access to your music library, given the UI limitations of the first generation of devices? This looks like a job for an information architect. more...
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Examining the Role of De Facto Standards on the Web
by Heidi Adkisson | [30 comments]
Just what are the design practices on the web that have the highest frequency? And are there design practices that all (or nearly all) sites employ? more...
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CEOs Are From Mars...
by Alma Derricks | [12 comments]
With a creative background and an M.B.A., I’ve been a professional half-breed over the past 20 years. What I’ve learned is that the antagonism, hostility and resentment often felt on both sides of the equation is the outgrowth of a basic failure to understand what makes the other side tick. more...
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So You Think You Want to be a Manager
by Erin Malone | [14 comments]
Every designer faces a choice at some point in their career — to manage or not to manage. Erin Malone helps you walk through the questions you need to make that choice. more...
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The Trouble With Web 2.0
by Alexander Wilms | [22 comments]
Will Web 2.0 technology and design patterns ever work inside large enterprises? They are jumping on the hype, announcing their own implementation projects. Alexander Wilms looks in-depth at some issues and challenges corporations might face. more...
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Understanding Organizational Stakeholders for Design Success
by Jonathan Boutelle | [6 comments]
User-centered design professionals pay special emphasis to one type of stakeholder—the users of the system—arguing that user experience needs to be carefully crafted to satisfy user needs. While understanding user needs and goals is certainly necessary, it is often not sufficient for producing a successful design. more...
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Pioneering a User Experience (UX) Process
by B&A Staff and Amy Hillman | [23 comments]
Though a possibly rewarding journey, starting a UX process can be a nightmare if approached from the wrong angle. Initiating a culture-shift, overhauling existing processes, evangelizing, strategizing, and educating is an enormous undertaking. Amy Hillman offers her perspective on how to build a UX process, from the ground up. more...
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Building the UX Dreamteam - Part 2
by Anthony Colfelt | [14 comments]
In this second part of a two-part series, UX manager Anthony Colfelt follows up with some solid considerations when looking for your next superstar. Building a dreamteam goes beyond looking for tight technical skills: personal chemistry is needed to find that perfect match. more...
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Career Choices for Designers
by Christina Wodtke | [11 comments]
What do you want to be when you grow up? Some people think there is only one choice, but Christina Wodtke shows us that there are as many choices as there are people making them... more...
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Doing Today's Job with Yesterday's Tools
by Patrick Dubroy | [18 comments]
Where is the software that can help us cope with the massive amounts of information that we deal with on a daily basis? Patrick Dubroy points out the problems with current personal information management , and makes suggestions about how to improve the situation. more...
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Designing for Nonprofits
by Olga Sanchez-Howard | [9 comments]
During a two-year adventure designing websites for nonprofits, Olga Sanchez-Howard navigated waters both familiar and not. Now she shares her thoughts on what is shared and unique between the nonprofit and for-profit worlds. more...
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Why Is That Thing Beeping? A Sound Design Primer
by Max Lord | [4 comments]
We spend a lot of time talking about the visual identity of a project, but who thinks about its audible identity? Do we need to consider it at all? By learning to consider audio as an important design parameter, we just might learn something... more...
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Focus on the Student: How to Use Learning Objectives to Improve Learning
by Wendy Cown | [3 comments]
As information architects we all know how important it is to keep the user in mind. The same is true in teaching IA: we must keep the learner in mind. Learning objectives are one tool to help keep your classes focused on the student. They will also help you develop the syllabus, lesson plans, and assessment methods. more...
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Printing the Web
by James Kalbach | [4 comments]
Despite predictions to the contrary, it doesn't seem that the advent of networked information sharing has reduced human consumption of paper. In fact, given the amount of printouts modern offices and homes produce, one is inclined to say that even MORE paper is generated today than ever before. more...