This site is an archive for blog posts from 2011 - 2022.

For more recent posts please see my LinkedIn page.

To learn more about what I do professionally check out Lebsontech.com.

Cory's Blog 2011-2022 (see LinkedIn feed for current posts)

Intercom Magazine – Making Usability a Priority: Advocating for the Value of User Research

By |2020-12-04T09:08:43-05:00October 1st, 2012|Advocating for UX, Posted elsewhere, Project Management, Publication, User Research|

As a consultant specializing in user research, studying how users interact with Web and mobile resources, I wish I could give my clients a short contract to sign promising that if they work with me, they will definitely incorporate usability into their project. They will ...

Usability: What a Project Manager Needs to Know – Part 2

By |2020-12-04T09:08:45-05:00February 21st, 2012|Advocating for UX, Project Management, User Research|

Update 3/29/13 This blog has been the basis for: Lebson, Cory. 2012. "Making Usability a Priority: Advocating for the Value of User Research (PDF)." Intercom Magazine. October 2012. Lebson, Cory. "Making Usability a Priority: Advocating for the Value of User Research." Society for Technical Communication (STC) ...

Usability: What a Project Manager Needs to Know – Part 1

By |2020-12-04T09:08:45-05:00February 8th, 2012|Advocating for UX, Project Management, User Research|

Update 3/29/13 This blog has been the basis for: A reprint on usability.gov (May 28, 2014) Lebson, Cory. 2012. "Making Usability a Priority: Advocating for the Value of User Research (PDF)." Intercom Magazine. October 2012. Lebson, Cory. "Making Usability a Priority: Advocating for the Value of ...

If I could just pick one usability participant for the client to observe, who would I pick?

By |2020-12-04T09:08:46-05:00January 4th, 2012|User Research|

How many sessions should a stakeholder observe? In an ideal world, the stakeholder would be able to observe all of the usability test sessions live. The stakeholder would get to see those that succeed with ease, and those that may have a fair bit of ...

Importance of a Good Logger in Qualitative Research

By |2020-12-04T09:08:46-05:00December 23rd, 2011|User Research|

A usability test, user interview, or any one-on-one qualitative research really isn’t entirely one-on-one, at least not in an ideal setup. Ideally, it involves two research staff members to do research with a single participant – a moderator and a logger. A focus group should ...

How do you convince them to see the world through a different lens?

By |2020-12-04T09:08:46-05:00December 12th, 2011|Advocating for UX, User Research|

A friend asked me if I could take a quick look at a web interface that he was building. I reviewed the site and emailed him a few usability suggestions to consider. The suggestions basically focused on his approach to include a number of additional ...

How many trainers does it take to do UX training?

By |2020-12-04T09:08:46-05:00November 18th, 2011|Speaking, Training|

I’ve been teaching usability training workshops for a number of years now, and I invariably prefer a team-teaching approach. However, I was challenged on that principle lately. A client asked why I would suggest two trainers, when I, as a single trainer, should be capable ...

Usability as Sociology: How the Perspectives of Tornado Survivors Differ from those of Other Major Disasters

By |2020-12-04T09:08:46-05:00August 14th, 2011|Disaster UX, User Research|

My initial training in usability occurred during my undergraduate years, within the framework of my bachelor’s degree in psychology. The research methodology that was applied to usability fit well within an experimental psychology approach. After graduating with my psychology degree, I decided to pursue a ...

How Much Should a Small Business Owner Pretend?

By |2020-12-04T09:11:31-05:00August 7th, 2011|Consulting, Freelancing|

I’m a small business owner. My office is in my basement. The basement was converted into a two-room “in-law suite” apartment by the prior owners. We use one room as my office and the other room as my wife, Aviva’s, office. We also have a ...

User Research and Emotional Awareness

By |2020-12-04T09:08:47-05:00May 16th, 2011|User Research|

Although I interned in a usability lab while a psychology undergrad at University of Maryland, my undergraduate senior honors thesis was actually in the field of cognitive neuropsychology. Specifically, I conducted in-depth qualitative research on patients with frontal lobe damage, focusing on their ability (or ...

On the Importance of Body Language in User Research

By |2020-12-04T09:08:48-05:00February 15th, 2011|User Research|

I love interacting with people but have never particularly enjoyed those interactions when over the telephone.  No matter how clear the voice on the other end is, no matter how great it is to catch up with someone, I still have the vague impression of ...

DC Usability

By |2020-12-04T09:08:49-05:00January 19th, 2011|Writing|

My earliest memories of loving to write were as a 6th grader, deciding one nice spring day to sit alone under a tree during recess and write a short story that I had been contemplating.  I was so wrapped up in penning my story into ...

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