Agile's defining characteristic is speed. Unlike other software development methodologies (like Waterfall) that work in timeframes of months, Agile timelines are measured in weeks (2-4 typically) with actual code developed for each 'sprint'.
Is Agile's rapid and fixed development deadlines and deliverables conducive of usability activities? In short do you have time to do usability?
The recent release of Google's social circles (part of the new 'Google +' social network) is particularly exciting since I think it constitutes a social interface that accounts for real-world considerations.
Experience Dynamics celebrates its tenth birthday this year. It was Spring of 2001 that Frank Spillers founded Experience Dynamics together with Alison Gavine.
There's a common belief that the problem with errors users make with Web sites or Web apps has to do with differing intelligence levels.Some users even blame themselves for being dumb.
"Sorry about this", I was told by an IT manager at a major financial institution, "It's just that our users are lazy and stupid".
Sometimes some of the best usability advice comes from users directly. In some recent usability testing, a user said something which I found very perceptive.
He said: "The designs this company produces seem to be evolutionary, not revolutionary". He explained, "They tend to do small updates that don't really make a substantial difference or change the core problems with the interface...if I am going to spend my money on upgrading, I want something more revolutionary than evolutionary".
If you read nothing else on Demystifying Usability last year, read these top 3 blog posts from 2010...
UX blog post #1:These User Experience concepts I teach to my clients in in-house proprietary usability trainings: