UX Toolkit. What?

Mon Feb 2 17:59:20 UTC 2009

Great discussion folks.  I think we have a path forward that seems to  
capture both the attention and the deeper explanation.

Let's go with Design Handbook and then have a short blurb, a kind of  
what would come after the colon subheading:
plus a fleshed out subnavigation on the wiki page (like we have).

Thoughts?

Best,
Jess

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jess Mitchell
Boston, MA, USA
Project Manager / Fluid Project
jess at jessmitchell.com
/ w / 617.326.7753  / c / 919.599.5378
jabber: jessmitchell at gmail.com
http://www.fluidproject.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On Feb 1, 2009, at 5:15 AM, John Norman wrote:

> This makes perfect sense to me Gary. And at risk of prolonging the  
> debate, I would point out that many non-fiction works have sub- 
> titles or straplines that give more detail for the person arriving  
> at it for the first time. I would suggest something that draws  
> attention to the contents and target audience such as Design  
> Handbook (guides and examples for people trying to create usable and  
> accessible web interfaces). It is similar to Gary's suggestion of a  
> prominent table of contents and maybe a useful complement in certain  
> situations.
>
> John
>
> PS I am thinking that this title conveys a lot: Mrs Beeton's Book of  
> Household Management - a guide to all aspects of running a household  
> in Victorian Britain.
>
> (OK so I cheated a bit and adapted a line from a website the real  
> title was just the first bit, but it makes my point)
>
> On 30 Jan 2009, at 17:45, Gary Thompson wrote:
>
>> This is a fascinating thread - I find it really interesting to hear  
>> how people define and understand words.
>>
>> But to the point, this issue is a classic information architecture  
>> challenge - how to organize and classify information so that people  
>> can find it.  I've also heard it referred to as "findability" or  
>> "scent of information".  Exactly what several of you have been  
>> hitting on.  How do we ensure that our community is able to connect  
>> with the content - recognize the classification and organization as  
>> a match to what they are looking for?  Or, discover its existence  
>> even if they didn't come looking for it.
>>
>> The fact that several people have wholly mistook the term UX  
>> Toolkit for something that it is not indicates we likely need a  
>> better solution.
>>
>> I find looking at term definitions a helpful starting place.  My  
>> favorite way to do this is to do a google define search like this:
>>
>> "define: handbook"
>>
>> Which returns this result:
>> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS291US304&q=define:+handbook&btnG=Search 
>>  <http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enUS291US304&q=define:+handbook&btnG=Search 
>> >
>>
>> Based on said search results, and my filtered selection from the  
>> returned definitions,
>>
>> "Handbook" is defined as:
>> * A concise reference book providing specific information about a  
>> subject or location
>> * A type of reference work, or other collection of instructions,  
>> that is intended to provide ready reference
>> * A compact reference book giving the essential information in a  
>> given field of study
>>
>> "Guideline" is defined as:
>> * A guideline is any document that aims to streamline particular  
>> processes according to a set routine
>> * Advice or instructions given in order to guide or direct an action
>> * A recommendation that leads or directs a course of action to  
>> achieve a certain goal
>>
>> "Resource" is defined as:
>> * A resource is any physical or virtual entity of limited  
>> availability
>> * In economic theory, factors of production (or productive inputs)  
>> are the resources employed to produce goods and services
>> * Something that is available that can be used to take care of a need
>>
>> "Toolkit" is defined as:
>> * An assembly of tools; set of basic building units for graphical  
>> user interfaces
>> * A collection of procedures that can be used to create user  
>> interface software
>> * A collection of technologies, products, and other supporting  
>> materials such as documentation, that help a customer to produce a  
>> solution
>>
>> "Toolbox" is defined as:
>> * A box or chest or cabinet for holding hand tools
>> * A storage case for tools; a set of pre-existing routines for use  
>> in writing new programs
>> * An area on a site that offers visitors a drop-down menu of useful  
>> functions
>>
>> Where it seems that:
>>
>> * "Tool" generally indicates code/software/application (in our  
>> context)
>> * "Resource" is too broad and vague - can mean many different things
>>
>> If we look at what is in the UX Tookit, it seems that we have:
>>
>> * Templates, personas, and examples, but not code-based "tools"
>> * Advice, instructions, and recommendations that could be defined  
>> as "guidelines"
>> * A reference work on UX design that is intended to provide ready  
>> reference, a.k.a. a "handbook"
>>
>> Thinking about it from a different perspective:  I am needing to  
>> fix something on my car.  I am inclined to try and do it myself,  
>> but I am not a trained mechanic.  I've changed the oil a few times  
>> and have a couple of basic tools, but need additional information,  
>> advice, how-to's, and examples.  I might need some additional  
>> tools.  What do I look for?  A repair manual on my car?  Advice  
>> from an experienced mechanic?  A how-to article on the task I need  
>> to do (hopefully with references to the tools I will need)?  What  
>> do you call the sum of all of those things?  A handbook?  A  
>> garage?  A community?
>>
>> If we are to sum these three things:
>> * Templates, personas, and examples, but not code-based "tools"
>> * Advice, instructions, and recommendations that could be defined  
>> as "guidelines"
>> * A reference work on UX design that is intended to provide ready  
>> reference, a.k.a. a "handbook"
>>
>> What is it? Handbook does seem close, but maybe isn't everything.
>>
>> To Jess' point, we may be able to use the plithy title but attach  
>> to it labels and descriptions, expose some of the underlying  
>> pieces, etc.
>>
>> At this point, my +1 would be for Design Handbook, where Design  
>> Handbook would be the main title and navigation item, but that  
>> there might be a highlight box on the home page that adds the  
>> subsections:
>>
>> * Accessibility Resources
>> * Comparative & Competitive Analysis
>> * Contextual Inquiry
>> * Design Patterns
>> * Persona
>> * User Experience Walkthroughs
>> * User Modeling
>> * User Testing
>> * UX Resources
>>
>> Or related labels and terms to aid the findability and scent of  
>> information if people do not immediately recognize "Design  
>> Handbook" as the thing they are looking for.
>>
>> Gary
>>
>> Anastasia Cheetham wrote:
>>>
>>> On 29-Jan-09, at 5:07 PM, Jacob Farber wrote:
>>>
>>>> a name that's likely to get the attention of a inquisitive  
>>>> visitor / designer / developer / whomever and from there they  
>>>> will get to see what its all about.
>>>
>>> That's a good point, Jacob.
>>>
>>> Considering
>>> - who the target audience for this thing is
>>> - what they will be looking for when they come to the site
>>>
>>> is the name likely to make them think  "Ah! Maybe that's what I'm  
>>> looking for..."
>>>
>>>
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