Lightning Talks: UX/UI Joseph O’Connor, Dave Martin

Notes from two talks at San Francisco WordCamp 2014:
Accessible UX and Remote Testing by Joseph O’Connor

• Official description: Disabled users help uncover interesting behaviors when Accessible User Experience (UX) research methods are applied to WordPress. Results are very instructive and apply to many use cases.
• Eric Wright: testing “make new post”
• Amanda Rush: Cisco academy for the vision impaired, WordPress accessibility team for JetPack
• Glenda Watson Hyatt: accessibility consultant, inspirational speaker, the left thumb blogger
• Do research with disabled people.
• QA:
  • knowbility.org is a good resource.
  • So is webaim.org
  • codex.wordpress.org/Accessibility
  • Help seniors with good contrast, large size

Prototyping for better product design by Dave Martin

• Official description: Various lo-fidelity options for rapid prototyping. No prior experience required.
• Good design
• The work we do changes people’s lives.
• Creative director at Automatic
• Ego and pride hinders good design
• To be a great designer you have to eliminate them
• Designer’s ego and pride: reluctance to receive feedback
• Process and feedback gives you something that is priceless as a designer.
• You can say goodbye to clarity
• Do that process and feedback
• Process:
  • gather insights <- get feedback
  • list out scenarios
  • lost of lo-fi ideas: one idea per square, come up with as many ideas as possible)
  • lo-fi mockup <- get feedback
  • interactive prototype: watch people use it
  • hi-fi version coded up
• We all have the capability of changing the word with good design