Technology is shaking up healthcare – and not just with advances in medical devices and electronic medical records. Each of us is poised to become our own mobile lab simply by harnessing technology that’s already in our pockets. While the health-minded have been using mini devices to monitor daily movement (e.g. Fitbit) or track their [...]
Given my background in digital user experience research and psychology, it’s perhaps no surprise that I was immediately intrigued when I first heard of Lumosity. Many of us go to great lengths to make sure our body is and stays fit. But what do we do to make sure our brain stays fit? Science suggests: play games!
A new season of Mad Men begins on April 7, and with it may come continued exposure to the critical role of focus groups in market research. Focus groups have become objects of scorn by some, bogged down with a bad rap for pitfalls like “group think,” dominant or under-engaged respondents, and participants a bit [...]
These days, exceptional user experience isn’t a nice-to-have; it separates the winning businesses from the middling ones. Building a great user experience means understanding your customers through research. Conducting research doesn’t have to be a long, exhaustive, or expensive process. Like technology, research is evolving, too! When UX researchers use terms like “lean” and “agile” [...]
As we move forward on our mission to be the most trusted source for user experience research in the world, we are fully aware that our success depends almost exclusively on our ability to attract and retain a talented team. In looking back over the past few years, I’ve identified three initiatives that I think [...]
When was the last time you had an amazing experience at a US Post Office? Mine was just a couple of weeks ago, mailing packages for the holidays and loving the after-hours ease of posting packages via the automated kiosks! I was pleasantly surprised at how many principles of good design the USPS nailed with [...]
Need to kick start discovery of a new product or service, but not sure what to build? A diary study provides you a window into your customers’ and potential customers’ lives without leaving your office.
At AnswerLab, our mission is to improve the digital world. Central to that mission is delivering outstanding user experience research to our clients, but another way we work towards it is to actively seek out digital (and non-digital!) opportunities to have a positive impact on our community. Our Giving Back approach is multi-pronged, including team [...]
Too often copy gets saved for last. Placing emphasis on the layout, look, and feel of a site or application while failing to address its written content can be a critical mistake. Copy is an integral part of the user experience, and leaving it out of the test plan means developers can miss key opportunities to improve upon the value proposition, nomenclature, contextual help, and instructional and error messaging that guide and engage users.
On any given day, a consumer may experience a brand on a website, through social media, on blogs, or by reading e-mail–all while browsing on her smartphone, her tablet, or her computer at home or work. She may interact with a brand in a real brick-and-mortar store, through a letter or flyer she receives in [...]
