This letter was published in Business Week
“Whitman says: “Despite its controversial reputation, nuclear is efficient and reliable.” Yet since 1950 there have been 20 nuclear accidents. One was major (on Mar. 28, 1979, at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor) and one catastrophic (on Apr. 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant). How can we say a major nuclear accident will not happen again?
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Christine Whitman · Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · Human Error · Human Factors
The catch-22
The levels at which impacts of change are major are not understood while the levels at which impacts are minor are easily understood.
Why?
→ 3 CommentsCategories: Change Management · Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · Don Norman · HCI · Human Computer Interaction · Interaction Design · Jens Rasmussen · Usability · User Experience
You arrive at home after a long day and you rush to prepare food. You turn-on the burner but oups !, you realize that you activated the wrong burner. You feel frustrated and tell yourself “I should have paid more attention”. If it is a new stove, you might tell to yourself “I should have look at the instructions”. Some might even blame themselves for this error.
→ 1 CommentCategories: Alphonses Chapanis · Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · HCI · Human Computer Interaction · Human Errors · Human Factors · James Reason · Paul M. Fitts · User Experience
In September 2006, a bridge collapsed in Laval (a Montreal suburb), resulting in 5 deaths. An inquiry, the Johnson commission, is trying to understand this event and prior incidents.
As always, multiple factors are involved in this accident: bad design, shoddy construction, poor repairs and substandard construction materials. These factors are always boiled down to human errors: a design, planning, executions or maintenance errors.
→ 4 CommentsCategories: Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · Commission d'enquête sur le viaduc de la Concorde · Human Error · Jacques Marchand · James Reason · cognitive group
LeRoi Gourhan, a French Anthropologist, observed that during pre-historic times there was a close relationship between the evolution of the human brain and the hand. In science, the experimentation plays the role of the hand. There is a close relationship between new observations and new scientific ideas.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Gallileo · HCI · Human Computer Interaction · Innovation · Larry Tesler · Michelson-Morley · Newton · Wright Brothers · cognitive group
Gartner provides obscurantist research analysis and reports for IT professionals.
Over the years they have been consistently wrong:
- They recommended IT managers to choose OS2 over windows
- In September 2001 they recommended that companies using Microsoft IIS for web hosting should switch to alternative products in light of increasing Internet worm attacks
→ 1 CommentCategories: Apple · Gartner · InformationWeek · Innovation · Iphone · Steve Jobs
Apple is as hot topic in the business these days because of the Iphone. Apple’s innovation success is on the front page of The Economist July 9th edition.
The Economist retains 4 lessons from apple:
→ 2 CommentsCategories: Apple · AppleLisa · Bill Atkinson · Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · HCI · Human Computer Interaction · Interaction Design · Iphone · Ipod · Larry Tesler · Mac · Steve Jobs · User Experience
I just finished the book « Sketching User Experience » by Bill Buxton. This book in my view is an important book. It will have a profound impact on the designer community. They will say:
“WOW, I should have used this or that sketching technique and I would have saved huge amounts of time and money instead of building those expensive prototypes”.
It broadens the concept of sketching to the user interaction or in other words user experience.
In Wikipedia, a sketch is defined as a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not intended as a finished work.
The objective of a sketch is to verify an idea rapidly and cheaply. Bill extends the concept to user experience. He describes a multitude of sketching techniques such as Wizard of Oz, Video, and paper mockup as a way to test user experience rapidly and cheaply.
→ 1 CommentCategories: Bill Buxton · Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · HCI · Human Computer Interaction · Interaction Design · Usability · User Experience · cognitive group
I recently assisted at a speech given by Michel Leblanc at the Big Bang on may 17, 2007. This is certainly one of the best speeches I have ever attended. I can assure you I have seen some, I have just arrived from the CHI 2007 conference in San Jose.
→ 2 CommentsCategories: Client Acquisition · Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · Michel Leblanc · SEO · User Experience · cognitive group
You have to provide your friend with driving directions to come to your home. All of a sudden, your are struggling. Is it two or three stops before turning right? Providing a direction can be very difficult even if you take that route everyday.
Cognition is distributed. Because our memory is optimized, our knowledge is ingrained within our Keep reading →
→ 2 CommentsCategories: Cognitive Egonomics · Cognitive Engineering · Dan Diaper · HCI · Human Computer Interaction · Usability · User Experience · Web usability · cognitive ergonomics · cognitive group
