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Photo credit: Emily Walker

Some wise person once said that for a relationship to thrive you really need to study the one you love. Get to know what makes him tick...or ticked off. What kinds of little things light up her face. And, of course, which type of chocolates to buy.

Customer relationships are not so different, really. The better we get to know you, the more ways we can find to make you happy.

Our User Experience (UX) team spends a lot of time doing this--observing and dialoging with the people who use our products. People like you!

If you'd like to receive invitations to our UX studies (often conducted online) please fill out this 10-minute survey.

By the way, there are usually monetary gifts (and/or chocolates!) if you're selected to participate. But perhaps just as great is knowing that you're helping improve the products you use and love.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of things we've learned from past UX activities with people just like you....

UX Lessons & Myths

(Can't see the embedded content? Click through to the blog post. Need it larger? View on Slideshare.)

Daniel Foster is the "social media guy" for TechSmith. He enjoys iceboating, ice cream socials, and isosceles triangles. Tweet him up @fosteronomo

This week I'm dog sitting my sister's 6 month old puppy, Harry. I had forgotten what it was like to have a puppy in the house! This one little 40 pound change in the household has shaken up everything! I've had to change my routine, puppy proof the house, relearn dog training 101 and hide the toilet paper (he shreds it!).

That got me thinking about change. Just by sitting back and observing Harry, I noticed lots of ways I can make small changes around the house (place toilet paper up high on counter, hide the Wii Remotes) and change my habits (leave no food on counters) to mitigate problems and make both of our lives happier. The power of observation and change!

The same holds true for usability of software, apps, and websites. You can make minor changes that make a big difference. That's one reason why Morae can be such a powerful tool in your toolbox. Record and observe people with Morae interacting with your website or app and see where they struggle. Then, make small changes to improve their experience!

And, speaking of Wii Remotes... did you know with Morae 3.1 you can use a Wii Remote to set markers and log tasks during recording? This is perfect if you're a facilitator with only one computer, or are working alone. You can mark important moments during the session easily and quickly using the remote to set markers and start or end tasks without disrupting the participant (no need to use the computer they're testing on since you're using the Wii Remote). And, this ultimately can give you faster analysis. You can read more about it here

I hope I survive this week with Harry! Good thing he's so cute! For now I'll continue to observe and make small changes...

Yes, I'm talking to you! :-) As you know, our software has been built on your feedback. It is better because of your input. Are you interested in participating in usability research projects to make TechSmith products work better for you? It is painless, I promise!

Our User Experience (UX) team is launching a major effort to collect a database of participants for their research projects. If you are interested in volunteering, there is a survey located here that will collect some of your background and demographic information. Make sure to include your email address - we will use it only to contact you about participation in TechSmith usability studies. Should you be selected for a study, you will be compensated for your time!

Oh, in case you're wondering, in the picture above is part of our UX team! Greg Smith from our Shipping Department took the pic.

At TechSmith, we're constantly looking for ways to improve your experience - whether you're interacting with our website, using our software, calling in for tech support or to sales... and, SnagIt 9 is no different. We observed, studied, tested prototypes, and interviewed many different users about their experiences with SnagIt 9 before we released it. Your experience matters to us and we want it to be a great one! And, on that note, I'll let Sylvania Dye of the User Experience group explain their role in the development of Snagit 9. Enjoy and comment away!

The User Experience group works hand-in-hand with the development team from minute one of each new SnagIt release. The most important part of SnagIt for all of us is our customers, and our goal for SnagIt 9 was to mold SnagIt to the customer's natural workflow, creating a flexible, worry-free environment where the customer can focus on being productive and creative. All of our decisions from very early on were born of this philosophy.

We started by conducting user studies even before version 8 was released. Using Morae, we watched people use SnagIt to learn not only what they did with our software, but what they didn't do and why. Throughout the design process for SnagIt 9, we continually presented our ideas to customers using techniques ranging from traditional usability testing to exploratory methods in which we watched people do things they would want to do in SnagIt - combine images, mark them up, find images, etc. - using paper, pens, and physical tools rather than software. This research, combined with all of the feedback we've received over the years from our customers and the largest beta testing program in SnagIt's history, informed our designs, which we repeatedly updated, retested, and updated again.

Several of our new features, including multi-image editing and the integration of the Catalog Browser functionality into the new Editor, had the potential to make SnagIt more complicated and harder to use. It was crucial to all of us that using SnagIt was easier and more flexible than ever before, and that presented some unique design challenges. Through team brainstorming, techniques such as root cause analysis and cognitive walkthroughs, and many types of customer research, the design for SnagIt 9 gradually evolved through paper-and-pencil mockups through rough interactive prototypes to the final design, with many sanity- and reality-checks along the way.

After exploring several ways of arranging tools in Editor, Microsoft's new ribbon system stood out for several reasons: it's highly visual, it's compact and flexible, and, in our own usability tests, we were amazed at how easy it was for people to learn and use. And, of course, since many of our customers use SnagIt in tandem with Microsoft Office, our ribbon makes it easier to switch between them.

Do you know why SnagIt 9 is black? I'll let you in on a little secret - it's not because black is cool and trendy, but because the black interface makes content stand out. Since the point of SnagIt is to make and share great creative content, we felt that the interface shouldn't be competing for attention, but should fade away and allow people to focus on their content. A dark interface and subdued colours in the Editor UI do just that, and your content "pops."

The process of designing SnagIt 9 was very involved and challenging, but loads of fun. Our developers are the most talented and creative I've ever met, and the loyalty and enthusiasm of our customers is both inspiring and humbling. I'm truly proud of what we've done with SnagIt 9 and I hope you love it, too!

Favourite New Feature:

It's gotta be the open captures tray... being able to just capture-capture-capture and not worry about saving. It's fabulous.

Sylvania Dye is User Experience Designer for SnagIt. She has been designing graphics and software since the mid 1990s, and has been with TechSmith for 4½ years.

I don't know about you, but whenever I travel somewhere and I'm not a native speaker, I always end up thinking about usability. When you're not able to read or understand what people are saying to you, you better hope they've put some thought into usability with whatever you're interacting with.

Take for instance the task of purchasing train tickets or even using an elevator. Even these routine tasks can be difficult tasks unless someone takes into consideration that a user may not be able to read or hear the instructions. Hopefully they have observed someone interacting with the machine. It can be pretty frustrating sometimes, but I'm always amazed at the kindness of strangers (and grateful too)!

And, on that note, I am in Paris this week for a conference and to meet-up with anyone who uses Camtasia Studio, SnagIt, Jing, Morae, and UserVue. And, yes, I had to buy a ticket to the Paris Metro off a machine like the one pictured to the above. And, no, I did not see an English option, but I managed to get my ticket nonetheless. :-)

So, with that in mind, this week's Screencast of the Week is about usability. It's done by Todd Follansbee of Web Marketing Resources. He made the video with Camtasia Studio but the testing was shot using Morae. Click the pic to the left to see Todd's video about website usablity. It's a quick one that runs less than 3 minutes.

If you're in Paris and would like to meet-up, please feel free to e-mail, call or text me (+1.517.410.0030). I'd love to meet-up!

Nothing like traveling somewhere you don't know much of the native language to get one thinking about user experience and usability.

I had a great time at LeWeb3 last week in Paris, but even doing small tasks like purchasing train tickets online or at a machine without an English option was a challenge...my middle school level French would only get me so far. OK, nowhere at all...

It is times like purchasing my tickets when I'm reminded just how important usability or user experience is...no matter the language.

Neo Insight (one of our Canadian distributors), wrote an article about their experiences with remote usability testing and UserVue this summer here. I wish some of the hotels and transportation systems had run some remote usability testing. I think I would have had an easier time booking my travel. And, I volunteer to help test if anyone is listening!

I am so thankful for the work, testing and thought that user experience, design and usability experts put into these types of projects...And, I'm extremely thankful for kindness of strangers all over the world. Without them, I'd still probably be stuck in Europe (which I'd enjoy for awhile).

And, don't even ask me about trying to order a meal abroad. :-)

Ever wonder what your website visitors think and do when they visit your website?

I heard from Stewart Milton (that's him to the left) of BlueOrange that he's conducting a Morae Boot Camp in London on October 16th! In this Boot Camp, Stewart will help answer exactly that question about your website visitors behavior. This event is perfect to attend if you've got questions about Morae and would like to see it in action. It is not a training event. But, you will walk away with some cool, free stuff and learn a lot about Morae along with how to understand and analyze your website visitors behavior.

Learn more about the event and RSVP here!

Remember way back in September when we launched a new Web-based service for remote user research called UserVue? We had an update to UserVue this week.

So, what's new with UserVue?!

• You can now view markers in the .WMV file.
• You can facilitate, observe and record UserVue sessions in the Microsoft Vista environment. Basically, you can run all of UserVue's components on Microsoft Vista.
• We've added the ability for Marker information to be saved in a CSV file. That way you can easily open this in a spreadsheet application. Markers are also indexed in the WMV file and can be viewed in Windows Media Player.
• We have also increased the ability to work through the most common firewalls.

If you would like to learn more about UserVue, watch the screencast here and visit UserVue's homepage here

We've heard some great stories about how people are using UserVue. Check them out here. You can even watch a screencast about how Andrew MacNeill, a software architect at AKSEL Solutions, is using UserVue here.

And, there's a trial of UserVue so you can try it yourself.

If you've tried UserVue, what did you think?

Ever thought, "Why doesn't this work?" or "How do I make this easier?" Then, celebrate World Usability Day (WUD) with the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) tomorrow. It's all about promoting and raising the awareness of usability. Your participation will help make things better. And, you don't have to be a usability professional to participate.

There are events going on all over the world. To find a local event, please visit here. If you're not near a local event, it looks like there are several events online here.

At TechSmith, we will be celebrating World Usability Day! The whole Morae team and I will be attending the Michigan World Usability Day event at Michigan State University. If you're going, drop me a line (517.410.0030) and we'll meet up. I'll post pics from the event here on Flickr.

We are a proud sponsor of World Usability Day and provided the t-shirts for the events worldwide. If you get a WUD t-shirt, it would really make my day if you'd send us a pic wearing the t-shirt. Please e-mail it to me and we'll post it here.

Happy WUD!

We're having a party at TechSmith today. Why? UserVue has launched! You may be wondering, 'What is UserVue?' It's a Web-based service that enables you to connect remotely with your customers in their natural environment (like their office or home), using their own computers, to conduct research on desktop applications and Web sites. Also, you can have several observers watch the customer's live interaction and listen to what she says in real time.

Shane Lovellette, the UserVue Product Manager, sat down and gave me a quick demo of UserVue too. Click the screenshot below to watch. In about 12 minutes, you'll know everything you wanted to know...

If you don't feel like watching a video, you can find out more about UserVue here. What questions do you have? Post them here and we'll get them answered...

I'm off to the Canadian Rockies today for CanUX, the Canadian User Experience Workshop, to learn from User Experience (UX) experts and to show off Morae and UserVue!

There are so many great speakers at the workshop - including John Morkes of Expero and Free Usability Advice, David Crow, Jess McMullin from Business+Design, Kevin Cheng from OK/Cancel, Liz Danzico from the UX Magazine, Boxes and Arrows. I'll be constantly learning from experts.

So, if you're in the Calgary or Banff area, or attending CanUX and want to meet up, e-mail or call me (517.410.0030)!

And, you gotta love that name, CanUX (pronounced 'Canucks')! That's the best name I've heard for a conference in a long time!

I was just alerted to this news story from one of my RSS feeds! Morae was used to test the usability of a GPS navigation system. What's great about this is that you could not have tested this in a traditional usability lab. They needed a portable solution to test a handheld device, and that's where Morae came in.

Read more about the news story here.

And, you can visit our website for an interview with Rob Tannen, PhD, is Director of Human Factors at Electronic Ink, for more information.

This is more of the more unique ways I've heard Morae used. Anyone else have Morae stories to share?

As an added bonus, I was just sent a video made Camtasia Studio from Todd Follansbee of Web Marketing Resources. He shares how he does usability testing of a Web site with Morae. Click here to watch his video.

Ever wish you could help develop a new product? Well, here's your chance! No coding experience necessary!

TechSmith is developing a new product, code name Astoria Project. We're opening up beta testing to the public! Click here to sign up.

So, what is Project Astoria? It's a Web-based service that allows you to view and record a user's experience with your software or Web site. You can connect to that user's computer via the Internet. It makes it possible for remote users to participate in a usability test, and for others to facilitate or observe, regardless of their location.

If you use Morae, Astoria Project recordings can be seamlessly imported into Morae Manager for later analysis. The Astoria Project captures additional rich, behind-the-scenes data such as the user's keyboard entry, mouse clicks, and movement from one Web page to another.

So, if you'd like to have input on this new product before it's released, please join our Beta Program! You will be working with Allen Dalton (pictured below), the Morae Project Manager, in the Beta Group.