Review: Alertbox scores 1.7 on the Joy Index

Jakob Nielsen's recent activity is now starting to make sense to me. First we had the 'Flash not so bad' announcement. Then on 24 June we were informed that 90% usability guideline compliance should be reached in 2017. This means there is no need for any new usability guidelines from Jakob, as we just need to wait for designers to implement the ones he has already published.

What will Jakob do next?

With the latest Alertbox article (User Empowerment and the Fun Factor - 7 July 2002), we can see the blueprint for the next five year plan.

'...we must modify the methodology to encompass more awareness of fulfilling, engaging, and fun design elements.'

There we have it. Jakob has decided to embrace the touch feely side of usability, and is starting to redefine himself as the Joy Giver. In this Alertbox article, 'joy' was mentioned 9 times, whilst it has only been mentioned 8 times in all previous Alertbox articles. This 'statistic' illustrates the new direction Jakob is taking. It is a shame that Jakob has not published any reader comments on useit.com since October 2000, as I would love to hear what his readers make of this lurch towards the 'feelgood factor'. Is this an example of the new kind of metric we will get from Jakob?

Associated Link: Alertbox: User Empowerment and the Fun Factor

Email: is it time to get some Training?
Source: UN, 9 May 2008
 
How hard can it be? Apparently lack of email training is costing employers dearly.

Book Review: Mental Models by Indi Young
Source: UN, 8 May 2008
 
A practical, readable and relevant account of key processes in the vital task of researching, building and applying mental models to product design.

CHI '08: What makes a really Great Designer?
Source: System Concepts, 7 May 2008
 
What qualities do elite designers share, and what do they know that other members of the HCI community could benefit from?

Raising the standard of websites worldwide: BSI and Magus launch a new specification
Source: UN, 5 May 2008
 
BSI and Magus have released Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 124 to help organisations manage website standards efficiently and harness their full potential.

Emporia Life Plus phone for the over 50s now available in the UK
Source: UN, 3 May 2008
 
Accessible Handset Distribution (AHD) has announced the availability of the much anticipated Emporia Life Plus mobile phone.

New Ergonomics Society President promotes an ergonomic approach to Usability
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 2 May 2008
 
Tom Stewart,recently appointed President of the Ergonomics Society explains his approach to ergonomics and usability.

Microsoft developing 'senior PC'
Source: BBC, 1 May 2008
 
Microsoft UK is developing a "senior PC", which will have a simple interface and be aimed at older users.

CHI ’08: Tomorrow’s Technology - Throbbing Phones and Squeaky Cheese
Source: UN, 30 April 2008
 
A treasure trove of CHI ’08 was the exhibition of interactivity, where tomorrow’s interfaces are displayed and demonstrated.

So you want to be a UX Manager — Seriously?
Source: UX Matters, 29 April 2008
 
We as an industry should give equal weight to great individual contributors and great managers alike, because a great company needs both.

CHI'08: Urban Mixed Realities – where is Reality going Next?
Source: IPCity, 28 April 2008
 
Virtual reality seems almost old hat by comparison.