Posts Tagged ‘user experience’

I recently posted a script to export term sets in SharePoint (vetted in both 2010 & 2013).  I was prompted to write that script, because the client I was working on had a very particular (and large!) managed navigation structure that I wanted to replicate across all environments to make testing code much simpler. This […]

Want to see just how beautiful a SharePoint 2013 website can look? Want to see such a beautiful website that’s functional too? If you’re like me, your answers are “yes” and “yes”, so I’d strongly suggest you surf on over to http://www.marshfieldclinic.org on your PC, Mac, phone or tablet.  For a real kick, try it […]

Following a wonderful experience working with upcoming SxSW speakers during the Tweak Your Talk workshop, Russ Unger delivered his presentation on the life of Jim Henson and the lessons UX Designers can learn from him. I’ve personally been able to see the evolution of this talk of the years and it was great to see it presented […]

I have had a number of clients share with me that SharePoint Search does not work.  I find it interesting, since some clients implement SharePoint specifically for search.  When we dig a little deeper, we typically find the problem is not SharePoint.  The problem is actually the volume and relevancy of content returned in the […]

The SharePoint 2013 Social Newsfeed is now available in Apple’s App Store. That’s right– you can access the social side of your SharePoint intranet on an iPad in a slick, easy-to-use way.  (Please excuse my low-resolution screen shots– there’s much better examples on the official iTunes page.) From a UI perspective, there is a lot […]

If you’ve stumbled around display templates in SharePoint 2013 Search, you’ve probably run into these following JavaScript do-dads: ctx.RenderBody(ctx)  -> (standard search results Display Template) ctx.RenderBody(ctx)   -> (hover panel Display Template) ctx.RenderFooter(ctx)  -> (hover panel Display Template) ctx.RenderHeader(ctx) –> (hover panel Display Template) You can find these methods on items such as Item_Default.html, Item_PDF.html, Item_Word.html, […]

Change has become a constant in marketing, and many marketers are becoming increasingly reliant upon their company’s web presence to drive results. A usable, conversion-oriented website is key to driving leads and sales from online and even offline campaigns. And modern content management systems (CMS) make it easier for marketers to update content, improve search […]

I have a weird obsession with elevator buttons. Some are just really fun to press! I’ve started making a mental catalog of why I find such giddy delight in such a mundane task—the weight of the button, the texture, the material, the temperature, how it fits the curve of my finger, the distance it presses […]

I was going to take the leap today and cancel my landline (insert your “old-fashioned” joke here). But when I went to [insert communication provider’s] website, I was led down a rabbit hole of bad user interface decisions, one after another—it was the web equivalent to the annoying “press 1 for option A” recorded customer […]

A recent frustration I’ve been feeling can be summed up very nicely by a quote from UX designer Leisa Reichelt—“Don’t design for everyone. It’s impossible. All you end up doing is designing something that makes everyone unhappy.” It’s been a recurring request on the last few projects I’ve been involved with. Somewhere along the way […]

For years, Starbucks has served only dark roast coffee drinks, implying that the dark roast was a better roast and appealed to everybody. I’ve previously written about a very interesting TED talk where Malcolm Gladwell discusses the trend toward understanding customer preferences instead of relying on one absolute “best” product.  Gladwell actually mentions coffee at about the […]

A little while back I wrote this nugget of wisdom: Creating a great user experience extends beyond the research, beyond the wireframes, and even beyond the visual design. All that hard work is ultimately for nothing if your website or web application isn’t fast. Why? Because if your site doesn’t load quickly, your users will […]