The authors of this paper position pratice-led research (PLR) as an effective agent in the transformation of the seemingly inherent and natural acts found in casual practice into the formal arrangement of accepted truths and regulated practices of a discipline for user experience design (UXD) and information architecture (IA) communities of practice. The paper does not intend to exhaustively define discourse analysis, discipline practice or pratice-led research per se, but rather to introduce practitioners and the fields of UX and IA at large to the basic concepts of PLR so as to begin establishing discussion and awareness.

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(from Johnny Holland)

Before I get into that, let me explain what I mean by a component. A component is the most granular piece of an interface. For instance, a component might be something for a user to make a selection from a list, choose ranges, or to enter, edit, and view data. This would include drop-down lists, text entry boxes, sliders, editable text, and others. Sometimes components are called controls.

Selecting and using good components is a very important part of the design process. It would be easy to write a spec that says “drop-down list goes here,” “editable data field goes here,” but we need to do more than that. All drop-down lists are not created equal. Some are inherently usable, and others are terrible. Designers need to be mindful about how every component works—from how it displays on screen, what triggers it, what feedback it provides, and what happens when the user finishes an action. Designers shouldn’t leave component selection to developers, and developers shouldn’t assume their favorite component library is actually usable.” (Donna Spencer for UX Magazine) Full article

These shifts, however, have already had*and will continue to have*unprecedented effects on the essence of business, commerce, and trade. Each of the shifts, taken individually, tells a compelling tale of opportunity and cultural change; when considered together, the three shifts paint a picture of a world where the human condition is
empowered by the connections of design and business, and where the products, systems, and services that are bought and sold have a positive impact on society and culture.” (Matt Schoenholz and Jon Kolko) download PDF