Podcast Appearance - User Defenders with Jason Ogle

I had the opportunity to appear as a guest on the User Defenders podcast. I had a great conversation with host Jason Ogle, as we discussed everything from how I found myself in UX research, alcohol abuse, and my take on the future of design and academia. I hope you enjoy listening. http://userdefenders.com/podcast/017-the-value-of-the-theory-is-in-the-application-with-victor-yocco/

Think Fast! Using Heuristics to Increase Use of Your Product - Smashing Magazine

People have many tough decisions to make; whether they should use your application or website to accomplish a task shouldn’t be one of them. Your design team can take advantage of our knowledge of the human mind and human behavior by accounting for a number of heuristics, or mental shortcuts, that researchers have identified.

Ensuring the Usability of your Design: The Case for User Research - Wireless Design and Development

Wireless product design is complex and constantly evolving. The usefulness of any wireless product only extends as far as its usability. User research allows wireless design and development teams to ensure products are usable, and to identify trouble areas that might require redesign or more focused user training. No wireless strategy is complete without accounting for user research on current and future wireless products.

Incorporating Six Principles of Andragogy into Design - UX Booth

Most digital experiences require users to learn something new, which makes it our responsibility to teach them. This week, author Victor Yocco teaches how to use andragogy, the study of how people learn, to improve the UX of our designs.

Social Influence: Incorporating Social Identity Theory Into Design - Smashing Magazine

No person is immune from the influence of the people and groups they encounter. As much as we would like to think that every thought we have is original, that every opinion we express is informed by facts alone, the truth is that we use others around us as a reference point for much of our attitudes and behavior. This isn’t a bad thing; it’s human nature.

In this article, we’ll focus on how concepts related to social identity theory — a theory within the psychological field of social influence - can help ux professionals to more effectively incorporate social influence in their work.