The world of smart shoes, appliances, and phones is already here, but the practice of user experience (UX) design for ubiquitous computing is still relatively new. Design companies like IDEO and frogdesign are regularly asked to design products that unify software interaction, device design and service design -- which are all the key components of ubiquitous computing UX -- and practicing designers need a way to tackle practical challenges of design. Theory is not enough for them -- luckily the industry is now mature enough to have tried and tested best practices and case studies from the field.
Smart Things presents a problem-solving approach to addressing designers' needs and concentrates on process, rather than technological detail, to keep from being quickly outdated. It pays close attention to the capabilities and limitations of the medium in question and discusses the tradeoffs and challenges of design in a commercial environment. Divided into two sections, frameworks and techniques, the book discusses broad design methods and case studies that reflect key aspects of these approaches. The book then presents a set of techniques highly valuable to a practicing designer. It is intentionally not a comprehensive tutorial of user-centered design'as that is covered in many other books'but it is a handful of techniques useful when designing ubiquitous computing user experiences.
In short, Smart Things gives its readers both the "why" of this kind of design and the "how," in well-defined chunks.
* Tackles design of products in the post-Web world where computers no longer have to be monolithic, expensive general-purpose devices
* Features broad frameworks and processes, practical advice to help approach specifics, and techniques for the unique design challenges
* Presents case studies that describe, in detail, how others have solved problems, managed trade-offs, and met successes
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The gap between who designers and developers imagine their users are, and who those users really are can be the biggest problem with product development. "Observing the User Experience" will help you bridge that gap to understand what your users want and need from your product, and whether they'll be able to use what you've created.
Filled with real-world experience and a wealth of practical information, this book presents a complete toolbox of techniques to help designers and developers see through the eyes of their users. It provides in-depth coverage of 13 user experience research techniques that will provide a basis for developing better products, whether they're Web, software or mobile based. In addition, it's written with an understanding of how software is developed in the real world, taking tight budgets, short schedules, and existing processes into account.
.Explains how to create usable products that are still original, creative, and unique
.A valuable resource for designers, developers, project managers-anyone in a position where their work comes in direct contact with the end user.
.Provides a real-world perspective on research and provides advice about how user research can be done cheaply, quickly and how results can be presented persuasively
.Gives readers the tools and confidence to perform user research on their own designs and tune their software user experience to the unique needs of their product and its users"