Advancing the Value of Ethnography

Tag: usability

How Ethnographic Methods Make APIs More Usable

How Ethnographic Methods Make APIs More Usable

Application Programming Interfaces, commonly known as APIs, connect the front-end interfaces we see when we navigate the internet (like websites and apps) to the back-end systems, or databases, that store information. APIs enable people to carry out transactions online, like purchasing goods,...

Re-evaluating Usability: Delivering Value via Research Practice

Re-evaluating Usability: Delivering Value via Research Practice

The thought of conducting a usability study may not excite most ethnographically minded researchers. While usability started out as the practical analysis of interactions with user interfaces, there has been an evolution toward devaluing such studies as more mechanical work. With the industry’s...

Recalibrating UX Labs in the Covid-19 Era

Recalibrating UX Labs in the Covid-19 Era

Early in 2020 as a result of Covid-19, Convo—along with companies around the world—moved all research in India to remote solutions. This was quite a change and presented new challenges to the research team. While our preference is almost always to go in-home, particularly for foundational and...

Complexity and Mental Models in Enterprise User Experience Design

Complexity and Mental Models in Enterprise User Experience Design

How can designers reverse the complex mental models people develop from interacting with convoluted enterprise software? How can we respect the gratification people get out of executing complex tasks at work? When does simplicity actually compromise user experience? These are some of the questions...