User Experience Blog - August 2008

• Do you use a screen reader with Salesforce? We would like to talk to you!

  Maggie Law Aug 20, 2008

  Do you know someone who accesses Salesforce using JAWS,  Window-Eyes, or other screen reader software? Are you such a person? The User Experience team seeks to connect with individuals who use screen reader software to interact with Salesforce. We are interested in gathering more first-hand knowledge about what makes the experience of using Salesforce with assistive technology (AT) as productive and enjoyable as it can be.

  We would like to schedule in-person observations and interviews with qualified participants to see and hear about what's working well and what we can improve. Each participant will receive a gift certificate in appreciation of their time.

  If you or someone you know would like to be contacted, send a note to tester@salesforce.com.

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• Agile2008 Conference Recap - Postcard Patterns

  Ian Swinson, Lead User Interface Designer Aug 19, 2008

  Last week, while Craig was in Aspen, Jason Winters, myself, and over a dozen Salesforce.com colleagues were in Toronto, Canada at the Agile2008 Conference. Jason and I were there to present some of our process innovations around the agile, and rapid, production of an interaction design Pattern Library. Don't know what we mean by "Pattern Library"?  To quote wikipedia:

  "In interaction design/HCI, an interaction design (ID) pattern is a general repeatable solution to a commonly-occurring usability or accessibility problem in interface design or interaction design."

  Essentially, a library is a collection of documents designed to help you create usable and consistent software.

  Our session was titled "Postcard Patterns: An Agile Pattern Creation Process". Traditionally, creating and maintaining a pattern library has been a daunting task requiring extensive resources and, sometimes, dedicated full-time employees.
  
  In keeping with our development team’s agile transformation we revisited the process and invented Postcard Patterns – simple, visual documents that allow us to effectively drive consensus across teams with a lean communication tool. In contrast to our previous pace of 2 patterns in six months, we recently produced 43 patterns in less than three months.

  Here's an example of one of our patterns.
  
  

  For the session, we had a fantastic group of 25 attendees who made the session entertaining, enlightening and educational. The main thing we learned? Most User Experience teams, when taking on the challenge of documenting their interaction design patterns, encounter the same problems we did.

  If you'd like to see our presentation, or those from my Salesforce.com colleagues and the rest of the Agile conference, check out slideshare.

  Do you have any experience creating an interface design pattern library? Have any tips you'd like to share? Let us know!

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• Enterprise UI Summit Recap

  Craig Villamor Aug 12, 2008

  

  Last week I had the good fortune of participating in a series of thought-provoking discussions at the Enterprise UI Summit in Aspen, Colorado.

  The event was hosted by Jive Software and attendees included user experience experts from companies like SAP, Google, Adobe and RIM. The group shared design challenges, best practices, and visions for the future of enterprise software with an emphasis on the influence of the consumer Web and social software. Agenda items included:

  - Show and Tell: Design Challenges, Process and Inspiration
  - Microsharing in the Enterprise
  - User Profiles: Best Practices from the Consumer Web
  - Panel: Making Enterprise User Experience Better

  Twitter was a surprisingly hot topic at the summit. Many attendees discussed how they have used Twitter to improve communication in personal and enterprise settings and the group debated the potential benefits and pitfalls of introducing these kinds of communication tools within a corporate environment. Personal (employee) profiles was another hot topic. In particular, the group discussed the questions of data portability, ownership of content, and integration with consumer sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

  Many thanks to the friendly folks at Jive Software for hosting such a terrific event!

  p.s. Get my take on enterprise software UI in this Enterprise UI Summit attendee profile.

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