Design Secrets from the Android Team @ SXSW

Helena Roeber (@helenaroeber) and Rachel Garb (@rachelgarb), who have both contributed to the design principles of google’s android, share the thought process behind their design success.

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1. 

   lydia’story@lydiastory

   “Enchant me. Simplify my life. Make me amazing.” Love the girl power/female speakers at Android Design Principles #androidux #sxsw

   Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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2. Make me amazing – isn’t that exactly what we want from our devices?  They extend ourselves beyond what we can do without them, and what a huge win if they can make us amazing too.

3. 

   Indy Saha@IndySaha

   For every interaction that might trigger a negative emotion, always offer 3 that offer a positive one. #androidux #swsx

   Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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4. 

   .@helenaroeber Android UX team: We wanted to speak more to people’s hearts [with our designs]. #androidux http://pic.twitter.com/vqLw98PZkc

   Sarah Schmalbach

   ·

   Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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5. 

   Charo HenriquezScaia@charohenriquez

   Bring a ray of sunshine into the life of users. Simplify their lives and focus attn in what matters to make exp amazing #androidux #sxsw

   Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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6. Use beautiful images to create positive experiences for the user.

7. 

   Vivienne Dobbs@VivDobbs

   The most luxurious principle of this presentation! RT @charohenriquez: Delight me in surprising ways! #androidux #SXSW

   Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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8. 

   Chris Kocek@ChrisKocek

   Paradox: technology has the power to bring us closer except that the interface & hardware keep getting in the way. #androidux #SXSW

   Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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9. 

   Chris Kocek@ChrisKocek

   Customer complaints are really just #innovation opportunities in disguise. #androidux #SXSW2013

   Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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10. 

    brad dalrymple@braddal

    I love the idea renaming a list of things to fix into something approachable and positive. #androidux #sxsw

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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11. 

    Jake Frick@JakeFrick

    RT Excellent explanation of design principles behind android UX. “decide for me but let me have final say” is my favourite. #sxsw #androidux

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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12. Create defaults for users so they have fewer choices, but let them override those defaults if they choose.

13. 

    Zubi Advertising@ZubiAdvertising

    Users are overwhelmed by options and limitless flexibility. #androidux #SXSW

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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14. Only show users what they need, when they need it.
15. 

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    Android

    ·

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:29:01

16. 

    J-François Lavigne@jflavigne

    The Android UX team refuses to use the phrase “are you sure?” in their UIs #androidux #sxsw

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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17. 

    Kathi Kaiser@kathikaiser

    Keep it brief. Use fewer words. The world needs this advice! #androidux

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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18. 

    Jennifer Brogee@JenniferBrogee

    #androidux words are powerful. Encouragement is powerful. I first learned that in Sunday school #SXSW

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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19. 

    Kathi Kaiser@kathikaiser

    Little annoyances have the power to erase all the magic in your world #androidux #whyIdoUX

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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20. 

    Zubi Advertising@ZubiAdvertising

    Check out Andriods Design Principles: developer.android.com/desig… #androidux #SXSW

    Sun, Mar 10 2013 19:44:37

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21. Design Principles | Android Developers

    These design principles were developed by and for the Android User Experience Team to keep users’ best interests in mind. Consider them a…

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    Android

media blackout: after 30 days

A week after my media blackout and I was still having trouble sleeping and waking up with vivid dreams. The stimuli my brain was lacking was forcing it to create its own noise.

After a week, I allowed myself to read a fiction book. That allowed me to sleep.

After 2 weeks I allowed myself to watch crime dramas on Netflix.

I did make it to 30 days without news media. It was a welcome break, especially in the midst of the election. However, I did realize that I couldn’t avoid news altogether. My friends,co-workers and strangers were more than willing to expose me to random pieces of news. Fact or fiction, I had no way of knowing since I wouldn’t allow myself to verify sources. The inaccuracies through word of mouth were just as bad as the most biased news media. I realized I had lept out of the frying pan into the fire. 30 days after the blackout I was eager and ready to read an online paper again.

The experience caused me to appreciate the media in my life. In measured doses, it adds depth, a stimuli and entertainment. I may choose to fast again, but more as I would a planned food fast than an escape. I’ve accepted media as the enrichment to life that it is.

How to Create a Positive Applicant Experience

13 ways to create a positive applicant experience:  View Slides

 Career Site Tools for Self-Analysis

Visit http://usability.mystaffingpro.com for the following tools:

• Usability Quiz
• Usable Not Confusable White Paper
• Webinar Recording

Day 4 of My Media Blackout

I’m on day 4 of my media & Hollywood blackout. So far, the hardest habits to break have been navigating to a news web site during the day (I’ve stopped myself mid-type quite a few times), and sitting down to read a book with a cup of tea. Instead, I wander around the house looking for something to do.

Good things as a result are that I’m ahead of myself on laundry (never happens), and I’ve cleaned out the closet in the office. Worst thing is that I have to over hear re-runs of Full House because the kids have free reign of the TV during prime time.

My husband promised to tell me about some really important world or local event. Otherwise, I’m enjoying not knowing what’s happening.

The cobwebs of public opinion still haven’t cleared so I’ll keep you posted on that.

If only I could tune out some of the software/tech analyst blogs who have little grip on reality. But alas, those are required reading for work.

Media Blackout for 30 Days

For 30 days, I am going to cut off my access to media.  No TV or Netflix.  No trips to the library or novel reading.  No jumping on a variety of news sites throughout the day to catch up on the latest.  No movies or DVDs.  No blog reading except what is necessary for work.  I want to see what life feels like without a constant barrage of external agendas.

I’m going to try this for 30 days and just see what happens.  I told my husband and kids this morning and they laughed at me.  My husband told me he thinks it will last for 5 days at the most.  I’m not even sure why I’m doing this, except that I woke up at 5 am this morning thinking of my to-do list for the day, and the thought came to me.  Those early morning epiphanies can be killers, but I think I’ll give it a try.

I’ll post a blog every Tuesday and Friday with a short update of how it’s going and how it makes me feel. 

Get Real & Rate Your Candidate Experience

If you want to get real about your candidate experience, ask yourself these questions about your hiring process:

1. Do my job postings contain complete information about the duties of the job, the requirements, and the conditions of the job in easy to read language?
2. Do I communicate the length of time and the information required to fill out an application?
3. Am I only asking only relevant information from the applicant via the online application?
4. Do I give information to the applicant about the next steps in the hiring process?
5. Do I provide timely status updates to my applicants?  And ideally, a way for the applicant to check their status online?
6. Am I offering ways for my applicants to connect with my organization via social media or other communication methods?
7. Do I disposition the candidates during the hiring process, and especially once the requisition is filled?

Then, apply to one of your own jobs and validate that everything works the way you think it should.

After you’ve done that, enter the Candidate Experience Awards and get even more insight on how to create a positive experience for your candidates.  You might even win some nice recognition.

To Customers, Content, Service & Marketing Is Technology (Not Just the Code)

The big aha moment didn’t come for me until I strolled through the halls of SXSW this year. Having been at the front-end of a tech startup company, my focus has always been on what software can accomplish – on what the little 1s and 0s can automate for the customer. But at the national gathering of geeks, artists and marketers, it was obvious that the lines are completely blurred for the customer, just as the lines between programmers, artists and marketers are becoming more and more blurred. The customer sees technology as an entire package, a package that includes the image of the company (and how that image reflects on them), how they are treated by the people of the company, and what kind of information the company shares with them. A tech company could have the biggest, most intricate, innovative software product in the world, but if the content, service or marketing isn’t there, the software isn’t going to be adopted.

During a session on HTML5 for Film, the film makers on the panel talked about how the technology used to deliver their film affects how the audience experiences the product (film). In the audience’s mind, the code behind the delivery of the movie is an integral part of the quality of the movie. And vice versa – the information provided about and within your software, including the information the user is supposed to help provide, affects the customer’s experience of the product.

A recent comment on an article about the limited adoption of google plus mentioned that the mistake google made was not to import the user’s existing content from facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc, into google plus. Google, being the tech company that they are, focused on how the technology works. The customer’s experience using the software, however, was greatly hampered by the lack of content.

Letting the user share about their software experience has also become embedded into the technology identity.  Although normally a tech company would see sharing, tweeting and facebook-ing about their product as marketing, many customers consider the ability to share about their use of technology an integral part of it.

Technology companies that focus just on the functionality of the software will see less and less user adoption as the software marketplace becomes more mature.