Presentation: Wirify – Lessons from a micro internet phenomenon

This presentation on Wirify discusses the original concept, the launch in December 2010, and what followed. It also includes lessons we learned, to help fellow online entrepreneurs plan and build their web-based products. Read the full post for more.

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Presentation: Usability testing – Just Do It. Five methods for improving usability in-house

We recently gave a lecture on usability testing including five methods that you can use to improve usability in your own projects. Read the full post for a complete set of slides and supporting materials.

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Design detail – Plans and signup on the same page

We recently redesigned the signup process for Naview and changed from a Plans page and a separate sign-up form to having Plans and Signup on the same page. Read the full post for details on the thinking behind the redesign.

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How to name your product, service, or startup

When creating something new it is essential to name it. Whether it’s a product, service, or startup that you’re working on it has to have a name so you can identify it, identify with it and start telling others about it. Read the full post for practical tips on how to get started with naming.

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Tip: Print out your usability testing tasks

Moderated, task-based testing is the mainstay of usability testing and most practitioners are familiar with it. At Volkside we normally give participants their tasks verbally, however more recently we have experimented with also giving them a printed copy of each task. Read the full post for more.

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Keep your memos to one page or less

Ricardo Semler urges us to keep our memos short: “If you really want someone to evaluate a project’s chances, only give them a single page to do it — and make them write a headline that gets to the point, as in a newspaper.” Semler is the CEO of the industrial conglomerate Semco and the author of Maverick: The Success Story Behind the World’s Most Unusual Workplace (1993). Read the full post for more.

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