9 Top App-Builders

  • Appery.io: This is a cloud-based mobile app builder that you can use to create apps for Android, Windows Phone and IOS.
  • BiznessApps: Allows you to create apps for businesses, including many common features such as food ordering, shopping cart, etc.
  • TheAppBuilder: You can use its online toolkit and the training provided to build the apps you want.
  • AppMakr: This allows you to create your own IOS, Android and HTML5 Apps, with no coding knowledge required.
  • Mobile Roadie: This allows you to create manage IOS and android apps.
  • Good Barber: This not only allow you to build IOS and Android apps, you can also have a free web mobile version.
  • AppMachine: Platform for both IOS and Android apps, with drag-and-drop interface.
  • GameSalad: Allows you to create your own games for IOS, Android, HTML5 and OS X.
  • Apple Pie: This allows users without programming skills to create an app for Windows, Android and IOS.

Things to Know As a UX Researcher

Whether you are a beginner in UX research or you are well-familiar with it, below are tips from experts that can help you improve your UX research results. 

It's More Than Just Research 

  • Team diversity is important. Diversity in terms of ethnic, background, academics, and career. A more diverse team means that more problems can be spotted, more solutions reached. A diverse team is also effective in seeing things from new and different ways.
  • Don't neglect relationship-building. The more your users are comfortable talking to you, the more they can contribute to your research. Once they feel comfortable in your presence, they can also focus more on the topic at hand.
  • Ask more questions. Oftentimes people assume that others know what they are feeling. Asking more questions, even a simple “why?”, can help you discover something new that might be obvious to the users.
  • Consider using videos. It’s hard to notice what is happening, focus on the users, and take notes at the same time. Through taking videos, you can focus more on the users during the experiment and even have something you can consult again and again, rather than relying on our faulty memories.
  • Don’t come in with pre-supposed solutions. You are not looking for users’ agreement or approval or admiration—you are looking for their Keeping things open and unbiased can lead to more improvement for your project and lead you to some unexpected inspiration.

 

During The Test Itself

  • Check your wording. Check it again. Ask yourself, how might somebody misinterpret this? Misinterpretation of the question at hand can lead to results that you are not quite looking for.
  • Ask one question at the time. This way, you will get a more complete and thoughtful question.
  • Don’t ask leading questions. You want your users to lead you in new direction, not to follow a path you already walk.   
  • Clarify key concepts before starting the test. What is the task at hand? What signifies the finishing of the task? Defining these key ideas before the test will help you get a more consistent and reliable answer.
  • Use simple language. Don’t allow your users creativity or ambiguity in terms of interpreting the questions. Have multiple people read it over before you start the test.
  • This one is tied to the previous one. Have one user look it over before you mass-distribute the test/survey. This way you will catch some mistakes before you distribute it to a larger sample size.

 

http://www.user.com.sg/what-are-ux-research-methods/

Do You Know Them From UX?

 

Do you know these 10 people from the UX field?

 

People Who Are UX Researchers

  • Jared Cole: He is a Design Director at Adaptive Path, and have worked with many famous identities including Nike, Goldman Sachs, Motorola, Boston Ballet and Harvard Business School. His Twitter: @coffeekid
  • Jennifer Romano Bergstorm: She is a User Experience Researcher at Facebook. Specifically, she works in eye tracking, usability testing, UX for older adults and survey design. Previous to Facebook, she has worked with other prominent organizations including the US Census Bureau and the American Association for Public Opinion Research. Her Twitter: @romanocog
  • Chelsey Glasson: She is a user experience researcher at Google whose work has impacted companies like Google, Salesforce, Udacity and T-Mobile. She has also headed numerous domestic and international qualitative research studies for consumer and enterprise products. Her Twitter: @chelseyglasson
  • Jason Crane: He is currently Principal at tincrane, with 18 years of experience in UX research and design. He has a background in software development and is active in the technology communities. His Twitter: @snapperwolf
  • Carol Barnum: She is the Director of User Research and Founding Partner at UX Firm, LLC. Starting with establishing at lab at her university for an IBM Total Quality Management Grant, she has become involved with user experience. Since then she has worked with many different clients involving user experience in software, hardware, information and e-commerce sites, web applications, mobile devices, etc. Her Twitter: @CarolBarnum

 

People Who Are UI Designers

  • Luke Wroblewski: He was formerly VP designer at Yahoo and now has his own startup, “Input Factory”, that focuses on creating value from micro mobile interactions. His Twitter: @lukew
  • Whitney Hess: As an independent UX strategist and coach, her Twitter feed is prolific in ideas and insights. Her Twitter: @whitneyhess
  • Mike Kus: Based in UK, he specializes in graphic design, web/ui design, photography and illustration. He has worked for Microsoft, Twitter, Mailchimp, etc., and is active in the design/tech community. He is also a writer and contributor to Bloomberg Businessweek. His Twitter: @mikekus
  • David Armano: He is the director of Global Strategy, having worked in digital branding and marketing for companies like Ebay, HP and Adidas. His Twitter: @armano
  • Aarron Walter: He is the VP of Design Education, with published books like Designing for Emotion. His Twitter: @aarron

 

Sources:

- http://www.user.com.sg/ux-design-vs-ui-design-understanding-difference-responsibilities/

 

- https://www.mockplus.com/blog/post/top-15-uxui-designers-you-should-follow-to-flow-out-inspiration

 

- http://blog.usabilitytools.com/28-best-ux-researchers-you-should-follow/

Would You Try Them?

You have to admire their courage---our ancestors for the sake of survival or curiosity tried foods that we cannot imagine or would not try first ourselves. Below are 10 strange foods that we still eat today. 

  1. Escamoles from Mexico – these are larvaes of a venomous ant species
  2. Shirako from Japan – sperm sacs of either cod, angler fish or puffer fish
  3. Balut from Philippines – fertilized duck egg, usually boiled and sprinkled with salt and vinegar
  4. Crispy tarantulas from Cambodia
  5. White ant eggs soup from Laos
  6. Jellied moose nose from Canada
  7. Boshintang from Korea – dog meat soup (apparently it's very nutritious)
  8. Airag from Mongolia – beer made by fermented horse milk
  9. Casu marzu from Italy – Pecorino cheese with larvae of cheese flies hatched inside
  10. Century egg from China – eggs buried in clay, ash and salt for months

What is Usability Testing?

Usability is a crucial part of user experience. Website usability is important because it can determine whether someone would use your site or not. Like how UX research is important to any part of the user experience design process, research is also crucial for website usability.

 

Main Categories of Usability Testing

  • Explorative: Understand users’ thought processes and understanding, and create the basic design/prototype. Usually used at the beginning of the project.
  • Assessment: Test the effectiveness of a prototype, determine the overall satisfaction and usability of a product. Is used repetitively to determine what needs improvement.
  • Comparative: Compares the prototype to a similar product and determine the pros and cons of each.

Testing Methods

  • Hallway testing: Use random people to test the website
  • Remote usability testing: Use people from different countries and time zones to test the website.
  • Expert review: Have an expert evaluate the usability
  • Questionnaires and interviews
  • Controlled experiments: usually used for comparison of two products
  • Automated usability evaluation

 

Source: http://usabilitygeek.com/an-introduction-to-website-usability-testing/

What Influences Usability

In a time when people value efficiency above all else, usability is a huge factor that decides whether people want to use a certain product or not. Usability is also an important part of user experience. Below are 5 components that influence usability.

 

Learnability

This is how easily a user is able to accomplish certain tasks the first time they use the product. Is the product easy to learn? 

 

Efficiency

Once a user understands the basic design, how quickly and easily can he or she perform a certain task or tasks?

 

Memorability

If the user stop using the product for a time, and pick it up again, how easy is it for them to become familiar with it again?

 

Intuitiveness

How obvious and easy is it to use the product? How many mistakes do users make? How serious are the errors? Are the errors fixable or how easily can it be fixed?

 

Satisfaction

Overall, are the users satisfied with their experience?

 

Sources:

http://www.visionary.com/web-design-news/5-factors-that-affect-usability.html

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/usability-101-introduction-to-usability/

We are On the Offensive Side

Recently, I saw a man wearing a T-shirt with a danger sign that read “Educated Black Man”, and down below “Armed with Knowledge.” I was struck by the words somehow. This, I thought, is the true purpose of education: empowerment.   

Growing up with a father whose family values boys over girls, I have always known that education is my way out. The words “Armed with Knowledge”, however, made me realize that education is more than just an escape. Thinking that way puts me on the defensive; it makes me think that I need to prove myself to my dad to be just as smart, talented, and ambitious as guys. But I do not need to prove anything. With my knowledge, I can confront the issue of sexism head on by fighting for human rights, or creating the next great business, or writing a world-changing novel. Proving myself to my father’s family is only a side-product of the primary mission, whatever that is.

I am on the offensive side and I didn't even realize it.  

College education will be my weapon. College has and will open doors for me. A college education has and will continue to expand my horizon, to help me know more, understand more, think more, and leave me wanting to learn more. A college education empowers me to make bigger advances than I have previously dreamt of and it allows me to dream bigger. So is my college education worth it?

Yes, it definitely is.