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When determining if one is a unicorn, it is important to consult an expert, like a good patient would consult a specialist (or, perhaps, even two). In this instance, I was able to locate one in the tri-county area who focuses on mythical creatures and Greek mythology. Okay, so she may be twelve, but she is well read and very cute (insert parental bias here). I posed this question to my daughter first, “Do you think a unicorn is the best creature?” Her reply, “No! An alicorn is the best creature. It is a cross-between a unicorn and a pegasus. It has all the qualities of a unicorn, but it can also fly!” My next question was for myself, “Could I be an alicorn?”

Good news! The glass is half full. Humans still have vital roles to play, this is according to Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAffee in their book, The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. (188)

Copyright is exclusive, but the internet is not, nor are its users. The lines between right and wrong can become blurred, and decisions can become compromised when it comes to technology. Piracy without concern for consequence is disconcerting.

In 2014, Thomas L. Friedman wrote in the New York Times editorial piece, “If I Had a Hammer,” about “Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee’s fascinating book, ‘The Second Machine Age.’”

Friedman emphasizes in the article that “something very, very big happened over the last decade. It is being felt in every job, factory and school.” He is describing the technological advances that Brynjolfsson and McAfee focus on in their book. Friedman concludes that the authors are saying that the technological advances, that our generation is seeing “will have more power to improve (or destroy) the world than any before, relying on fewer people and more technology.”

Understanding is the key to strategic design.

Proper planning, listening, viewing, testing, reporting, designing, iterating, and so forth, can only be successful if they stem from understanding the user's tasks, overall goals, current processes, etc., from the start of the project.

In order to move forward, we need to know the moves that the user has previously made.

A clear presentation that reinforces the values of the stakeholders and goals of the project is important to show you have not only understood their mission, but incorporated it into your research.

Since this specific usability testing is for a reminder application, it is only appropriate that our testing be executed on time and as planned. However, even the best well-laid plans can unravel.

When a lawyer is in court, presenting his case, he or she is told to not ask leading questions, as to not elicit testimony the witness would not otherwise volunteer. The same is true for usability testing, whereas you do not want to lead your participant into the answer.

You’ve done the research. You’ve put in the work.

You click submit. You wait.

Now, it’s time to listen.

A website is not simply built based on creative design visuals, that will attract visitors in droves to the site. Instead it is built on a wealth of field research and knowledge, with one of the first steps being conducting user interviews.

Humans have limits. We struggle to remember simple daily tasks. So what do we do? We generate to-do list upon to-do list. I know personally, I am keeping Post-It Notes in business. Additionally, with dependencies on electronic devices, we forgo the need to remember how to calculate a tip at 15 percent, or what our closest friend’s phone number is.

So, if we have trouble remembering where we parked, or what we wore yesterday, or better yet — what we have to do this week, how can we be expected to self-report accurately when questioned?

Personas help to determine how to design a workflow, characterizing what a user needs to accomplish his or her goals. Understanding the context of use, motivation and task frequency are only a few key components of a useful persona. These assist in providing focus and clarity in our design thinking. While a persona is not a real person, they are built upon, and are largely based on, observations of target users.

When creating a persona, one should include information about the user, their goals, pain points, wants, needs, recommendations and so forth.

We can measure type accurately by its descenders, ascenders, x-height and so-forth, but what we cannot measure is beyond the baseline — or rather the depth of which a typeface can penetrate our emotions.

Looks aren’t always what they seem. A site can appear to be effective, when meeting the design principles, but it is very important not to lose sight of how the user will successfully accomplish the key task at hand, and who it is designed for.

To fail is to succeed. When we are in school we are taught lessons. We are tested on these lessons and expected to retain the information through our studies, and then as a result, score high on tests. The expectation is to succeed, not to fail. The opposite is true of design. Failure is desired, because failure sheds light on where improvements can be made.

The only constant in life is change. That is a given. Day turns to night and night into day. We continue in a forward motion, despite our best attempts to hold onto the past.

“People invariably object and complain whenever a new approach is introduced into an existing array of products and systems. Conventions are violated: new learning is required,” Don Norman writes in The Design of Everyday Things.

Everything has a capacity. A cup can only contain a max capacity of liquid. A trash bag, can only contain a max capacity of trash. A computer can only contain a max capacity of memory. Our brains, too, can only retain so much information in our short-term memory (STM) — or working memory.

We need to clear our minds and focus on what the user wants to experience, and advocate for that in the design process. The user needs to be motivated to learn something new, and that something new needs to not only accomplish the user’s goals, but also aid in their productivity, through an easy-to-learn process.