This is a smaller event than usual but it will be a good one.

Jan Srutek: Information visualisation – more than just eye candy

Information Visualisation (InfoVis) is a domain that has gained a lot of attention recently. The mass media seem to have fallen in love with information design too – feeding us with an infographic a day. But despite the great potential for representing data visually, a lot of the potential is currently being wasted. Just because something is graphically depicted does not mean it is useful and usable. The challenge is to design InfoVis tools and infographics that will allow its users to actually gain valuable insights from the data. The talk will present some of the advantages of visual communication, along with the challenges for design and evaluation of InfoVis tools.

Jan Srutek works as User Experience Consultant at User-Centred Design agency Flow interactive in London.

From Jan’s bio on Flow’s website: Before joining Flow Jan worked as an Information Architect designing Web2.0 online community services and corporate websites. He also has experience as a Business Analyst for Online Marketing at SITA, a global IT company operating in the air transport industry. Since at Flow, Jan has completed research and design projects for a number of clients including Transport for London, Tesco, HAYS, GAVI Alliance, and Standard Life. Apart from his capabilities in user-centred design methods, Jan is interested in Information Visualisation, Web Analytics, and Search Engine Optimisation. Jan has a BSc in Information and Communication Management and an MSc in Human-Computer Interaction from University College London.

Twitter: @JanSru

Get your early bird ticket* now: http://2010.uxbrighton.org.uk

*£69 rather than £99

Many companies use analytics as a starting point for user research but get stumped when it comes to gaining genuine understanding about why users do what they do.

For July’s event we aim to show how applications like Google Analytics can be used to both formulate and answer questions. We’ll also show how these quantitative techniques can be combined with qualitative methods such as traditional user testing.

Talk 1: Alex Tarling: Combining analytics with user testing – a case study

What attendees will learn

• Why would you want to combine analytics and user testing?
• The benefits of triangulating between quantitative and qualitative sources.
• Some practical tips, how to get started and details of approaches.

Alex is a freelance user experience consultant, focussing on research into how customers use technology in their everyday lives. Particular domain expertise in mobile, e-commerce, public sector, education and healthcare.

Alex has worked on projects for Intel, BBC, Nokia, Orange and the Open University among many others.

Talk 2: Phil Guilfoyle: Get under the hood of Google Analytics

Phil will briefly explain some of the key principals behind how Google Analytics works. Then provide step-by-step walk throughs for top analytics tasks. Finishing with setting up and distributing reports to stake holders.

Phil specialises in Conversion Rate Optimisation, Usability Testing, AB Split Testing, Multivariate Testing, Behavioural Modelling, Information Architecture and Wire Framing. He is the founder of Online Logic.

In yet another change of format, this month Rob Phillips has agreed to run a workshop covering a number of hands-on design games. These techniques help make design more accessible and fun for clients, leading to greater creativity and a broader range of unexpected ideas.

There’ll be lots of sketching debate and cutting things up so it should be fun.

Although the focus of the session will be on providing practical techniques for client projects, Rob will be setting the scene by discussing product language and how semiotics influence how people perceive and interact with everyday objects.

About Robert

Robert is currently a design consultant at the Goldsmiths Research Interaction Studio, a lecturer at the University of Sussex and visiting lecturer at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design. He has won a string of design awards and undertaken design projects for international clients and institutions such as Nokia, the BBC, The British Council and Unilever and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Robert has exhibited and given talks internationally. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2006 with MA Design Products.

What?

Last year’s talks from Bunnyfoot (the eye tracking & behavioural research specialists) and Vertical Slice (the video game user experience specialists) were so succesful that we’ve invited them back, and asked them to bring their hardware for some hands-on, interactive demos!

The event will start at 6.30pm, but we’ll be running an eye tracking study for an hour beforehand (from 5.30pm onwards, to collect some data). If you’re keen to know what it’s like to be a participant, you can turn up early (we can’t test everyone, but you’ll at least be able to watch) .

After some drinks and nibbles (provided by Madgex, the event sponsors) we will kick off the event with a talk from Vertical Slice , followed by demo of their EEG and GSR hardware where we’ll pick one or two volunteers from the audience to try it out.

After the demo, the Bunnyfoot guys will give us a live demo of what it’s like to use Tobii Studio to analyze the data we just collected. This should give us some nice insights about some of the strengths and weaknesses of Eye Tracking as a UX research tool.

Please be gentle with us if we have technical problems. If the hardware fails, we’ll have to fall back to pre-recorded videos / slides.

Edit: (6-Apr-10) Vertical Slice wont be demoing their EEG hardware at this event, but they will be demoing GSR.

Sign Up!

Book your free place now! . You know you want to.

If you have any queries, please contact us on danny.hope@gmail.com.

This February’s UX Brighton event is going to be on Wayfinding. It’s free, as in beer; and there’s free beer too.

Tweaking the format

We’ve been listening to your feedback, and in the spirit of iterative design, this event will consist of a series of short “bite sized” talks with more time for Q&A.

Talk: Malcolm Barclay – iPhone Travel Apps UX Challenges

@MalcolmBarclay

Malcolm will talk about the user experience challenges faced in building Tube Deluxe, Tube Status and London Bus iPhone applications. The good, the bad and lessons learnt.

Talk: Pete Gale – Usability themes for map interfaces)

@petegale – Head of User Experience, Cogapp

Description: Over the past year, Cogapp have tested a number of map based prototypes for Transport for London.
Pete Gale discusses some of the common themes emerging from that work.

Talk: Ben Sauer – How usability testing wins contracts

@redbeard – Independent user experience consultant and web strategist

Recently, Ben has started working with Brighton and Hove Bus and Coach Company: he’ll talk us through how this happened and how UX might be sold to an organisation.

Talk: Peter Stoner – Opening-up the UK’s public transport data

@buspass65 – UK Coordinator at Traveline (@traveline)

Make sure you don’t miss updates:

1. Follow @uxbri on Twitter
2. Subscribe to this blog
3. Sign up to the UX Brighton Google Group:

• Paul Thurston of Thinkpublic
• Nick Marsh of Conchango

When?

12th January ‘10 6.45pm-8.30pm.

Where?

iCrossing, Black Lion Street, Brighton. (Map).

Tickets are free

We are already running low on tickets but sometimes people cancel and tickets become available nearer the time. Follow uxbri on twitter and we’ll keep you posted!

Sign Up Now!

Join us for a discussion about Selling Usability: User Experience Infiltration Tactics by John S. Rhodes at the Dcember UX Book Club meet up.

The author has kindly provided a discount code to UXBrighton members and he will answer any questions that arise during the discussion via email.

URL: https://www.createspace.com

Discount Code: UT7AJR7V

A pdf version of the book is also available at http://uxreports.com/sell/

Please jot down and bring along: things in the book that really struck a chord; and things they either hated, disagreed with; or don’t understand.

We look forward to see you @ The Skiff!

Join us for a discussion about Sketching User Experiences by Bill Buxton at the November UX Book Club meet up.

Please jot down and bring along: things in the book that really struck a chord; and things they either hated, disagreed with; or don’t understand.

We look forward to see you @ The Skiff!

Remote usability applied – A case study by Louise Klinker

Louise will discuss how she used a remote research tool on a recent design of a job website. She will demonstrate how the research findings were used to guide concept development and the final design.

Louise is a User Experience Consultant at Flow Interactive. She has worked for some of the leading companies in design and research, including Mollerup Designlab (DK), live|work, and of course Flow. Bill Buxton said in ‘Sketching User Experiences’ that “Louise can hold her own with the best of them”. She has worked with clients including The BBC, Sony, The Guardian, The Foreign Office, BUPA, Tesco, Nokia, Sky and Shell.

The Birth of an Idea – Remote Ethnography by David Tait and Ofer Deshe

Ofer and David will take us through a journey from initial concepts through the design of a new remote ethnography web service. The service is a new framework that enables easier access to contextual research and includes data capturing technologies such as smart phone apps,  an online web diary, email and social media integration. Additionally, the framework includes a number of built-in qualitative analysis tools. Analysis is conducted in real-time allowing ongoing monitoring of behaviours in remote locations and contexts.

Ofer works as a Principal Consultant at Flow and has led numerous user experience research, design and strategy projects. David is an innovative computer scientist with expertise in designing knowledge, customer insight systems, and search algorithms. Prior to working on this service, David designed a search interface for a financial trading solution and a Mandarin phonetic search algorithm.

Testing the Prototype – Synchronous Remote Testing by Volker Gersabeck of pidoco°

Volker, who is coming all the way from Berlin, will show off the next version of pidoco°. Pidoco° is a web-based software suite for prototyping and testing. It allows for live-collaborative designing a prototype, which is instantanously available on many devices (desktop, mobile, etc). Built around the prototype are different ways for collecting feedback from all the different stakeholders. With the new version comes a module which allows for moderated remote usability tests with zero set up cost.

Volker co-founded pidoco°, and has been leading its development since the first line of code was written three years ago. He also co-organised the UXcamp 2009 in Berlin, and is already planning a European one for next year.

Testing the Product – Asynchronous Remote Testing by Sabrina Mach

Sabrina will present Webnographer, a tool for un-moderated remote usability testing, which enables fast and cost effective testing of any website with participants across the world. She will show how Webnographer can be used to inform the design of your website, how it benchmarks performance, and how to gain insight into user behaviour through the different reports that the tool offers.

Sabrina is co-founder of FeraLabs, a usability consultancy specialising in remote user research. Using Webnographer, Sabrina helps clients understand their user’s behaviour, providing them with formative insight for design teams, as well as summative results for benchmarking website performance.

Sponsors

We’d like to thank our sponsors who have generously offered to cover the, not insignificant costs of venue hire, chair hire/delivery and refreshments.

• Ethnolabs
• Flow Interactive
• Feralabs
• Pidocoº