O’Reilly: Inside RIA

Is eye tracking out of reach for web and RIA developers? I think for the most part today cost and lack of knowledge are the two biggest barriers for your average web developer when considering usability testing via eye tracking.

When is good is a minimalist web app designed to help you schedule meetings. In this entry we walk through their simple interface and discuss its strengths and weaknesses.

Searchme is a new search engine that allows users to graphically browse the web using a cover-flow like interface. In this post I discuss the benefits and weaknesses of using new visual interfaces in search engines.

Dan Schafer, author of Designing for Interaction, is examining interaction design best practices and standards again with his new book Designing Gestural Interfaces. He's just posted the first chapter for free download, go download and take a look. I was just reflecting on Tony's post on form factor the other night when I saw Dan post this chapter IxDA list. It looks like the book is going dissect and analyze the new gestural interfaces such as the iPhone's multi-touch interface and the Wii's wand controllers.

This platform released today provides an effective solution for slaying one dragon, but a much scarier dragon lurks atop the mountain I call form factor. The danger is in thinking that we have a platform for developing universal experiences, when the truth is, that we have a platform that provides us with a universal runtime to build experiences upon. Just because your code is cross-platform, doesn't mean that your experience is.

The "Bad Usability Calendar" reminded me that it's just as important to look at mistakes as it is best practices. Here's a couple resources you and your team can use immediately to avoid common user interface pitfalls.

Given that I believe RIA technologies should only be used to improve usability and user experience in web software, I'm ecstatic that the role of the usability specialist is getting wide spread attention. It gained a spot in the U.S News list of Best Careers for 2008.

I just saw the new Google Data Visualization Gadgets over on Infostehtics, apparently they have a whole bunch of other charts too. Sounds like they're pretty easy to use. I think this is definitely just the beginning of trend in easy to use, but rather specific, RIA mashup UIs.

As we go hurling down the road of RIA innovation it's nice to have some guidelines and tools to help us create better user experiences. I think user interface design patterns should in everyone's toolbox. They help us come up with new ideas for our UIs, it helps us communicate inside and outside of our team and finally it helps us to avoid common pitfalls.

So if we are talking about supply and demand we have to define the two sides of the equation. The demand side is outside-in, it is the emergence of an "Experience Oriented Market" within a vertical. The supply side is inside-out, and it is called Design Maturity.