Techniques

Adopting a hypothesis-led approach to design
Adopting a hypothesis-led approach to design 2560 1704 Border Crossing UX
Scientists are known for being measured, methodical and exacting in their approach. They follow a logical structure and systemise their research to obtain valid data and confident results. Following a path of enquiry has given us some of the most important discoveries of our time. We owe everything from insulin to x-rays to the scientific process that asks, “What happens if I do this?”.  read more about Adopting a hypothesis-led approach to design

Customers or Competitors: Who defines your unique value proposition?
Customers or Competitors: Who defines your unique value proposition? 904 600 Border Crossing UX
The unique value proposition is the element of strategy that has an outward perspective, and sits on the demand side of your business, with a sliding scale of uses. Yet, in an age of digital transformation, most businesses cite the need to keep up with disruptive and well-established competitors, retaining an inward, comparative perspective rather than an evaluative edge. read more about Customers or Competitors: Who defines your unique value proposition?

The power of lightning talks & how to get them right
The power of lightning talks & how to get them right 1920 1400 Border Crossing UX
Lightning talks are a brilliant way to harness and share internal and external expertise. If you’ve participated in a research or design sprint before, then you’ll know how powerful a good lightning talk can be. Done right, they should inspire and inform “how might we” brainstorming sessions, as well as help energise and align participants. read more about The power of lightning talks & how to get them right

Google, Ranking Updates & What you can do
Google, Ranking Updates & What you can do 1180 611 Border Crossing UX
Google is one of those companies that absolutely nails continuous improvement. A great example is how they approach improving the search results we encounter each time we use Google. read more about Google, Ranking Updates & What you can do

Responsive vs Adaptive Design for Website Development
Responsive vs Adaptive Design for Website Development 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
Responsive and Adaptive design are two common approaches for website development. Both allow websites to be experienced on different sized devices. But, it’s important to be aware of the key differences before choosing. read more about Responsive vs Adaptive Design for Website Development

Usability: The Core Principles of Web Usability
Usability: The Core Principles of Web Usability 720 479 Border Crossing UX
Whether it’s a tin opener or a website, if people can’t use it, they won’t. Usability is integral to success. It directly influences the user experience. Poor usability impacts brand perception, employee productivity and your bottom line. read more about Usability: The Core Principles of Web Usability

What is a Prototype and How Do They Reduce Wastage?
What is a Prototype and How Do They Reduce Wastage? 1024 681 Border Crossing UX
Delivering an experience that truly meets end-user needs and goals is difficult. Often, compelling user experiences are the result of an iterative design process. But how do you validate your designs in user testing without wastage? read more about What is a Prototype and How Do They Reduce Wastage?

Why Do User Experience (UX) Personas Matter?
Why Do User Experience (UX) Personas Matter? 860 489 Border Crossing UX
A user experience persona is a fictional character that represents the needs and constraints of a range of real users. It is essentially a design tool used to inform the design at the beginning of a process and validate decisions in the later stages. read more about Why Do User Experience (UX) Personas Matter?

What is a Diary Study and Why Should You Care?
What is a Diary Study and Why Should You Care? 860 489 Border Crossing UX
A Diary Study is a longitudinal research method used for collecting qualitative user data. It is self-documented to promote honest feedback reflecting their experiences. It’s a perfect way to understand what people think and feel. read more about What is a Diary Study and Why Should You Care?

UX Design Links & Resources: July 2016 Round-up
UX Design Links & Resources: July 2016 Round-up 1150 647 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful UX Design links: July 2016. Great actionable advice from some of the best in the industry. This month features Co. Design, UX Booth, Nielson Norman Group, UIE, Conversion XL and Mind the Product. read more about UX Design Links & Resources: July 2016 Round-up

Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up
Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round up of the best business and UX strategy links: June 2016. Get insights from other people’s successes and failures. This month features Lean Blogs, Astronomer, David Cummings, First Round and Medium. Happy reading! read more about Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up

User Research Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up
User Research Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up 1147 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful User Research links that we have come across in June 2016. Great actionable advice from some of the best in the industry. Featuring Nielson Norman Group, Andrew Chen and Medium. Happy reading! read more about User Research Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up

UX Design Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up
UX Design Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up 1150 647 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful UX Design links from June 2016. Great advice from some of the best in the industry. This month features Apptimize, Disambiguity, Nielson Norman Group, Baymard Group and Medium. Happy reading! read more about UX Design Links & Resources: June 2016 Round-up

Mobile User Experience (UX) Design Links & Resources: May 2016
Mobile User Experience (UX) Design Links & Resources: May 2016 1150 647 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful Mobile UX Design links: May 2016. Great actionable advice from some of the best in the industry. This month features articles from Google, UIE, Nielson Norman Group, and Apple. Happy reading! read more about Mobile User Experience (UX) Design Links & Resources: May 2016

User Research Links & Resources: May 2016 Round-up
User Research Links & Resources: May 2016 Round-up 1147 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the usefulUser Research links from April 2016. Great actionable advice from some of the best in the industry. This month features The Effective Engineer, UX Matters, and Mike Fishbein. Happy reading! read more about User Research Links & Resources: May 2016 Round-up

Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: May 2016 Round-up
Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: May 2016 Round-up 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the best UX strategy resources May 2016. Get insights from other people’s successes and failures. This month features insights from Peter Reinhardt, Steve Blank, First Round and Nielsen Norman Group. Happy reading! read more about Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: May 2016 Round-up

UX Design Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up
UX Design Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up 1150 647 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful and interesting User Experience (UX) Design links from April 2016. This month’s articles and insights from UIE, Conversion XL, Nielson Norman Group, OnStartups and UX Matters. Happy reading! read more about UX Design Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up

User Research Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up
User Research Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up 1147 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful User Research links that we have come across in April 2016. Great actionable advice comes this month from User Focus, Nielson Norman Group, Andrew Chen and Baymard Institute. Happy reading! read more about User Research Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up

Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up
Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the best business and UX strategy links and resources April 2016. This month features insights and learning from McKinsey & Company, Sam Altman, Steve Blank and First Round Review. Happy reading! read more about Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: April 2016 Round-up

Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: March 2016 Round-up
Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: March 2016 Round-up 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the best business and UX strategy links and resources March 2016. This month features insight, articles and learning from Jerry Chen, Google Ventures, Sachin Rekhi and First Round . Happy reading! read more about Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: March 2016 Round-up

UX Design Techniques: Red Routing and Top Tasks
UX Design Techniques: Red Routing and Top Tasks 860 489 Border Crossing UX
In the age of the consumer, it is vital for companies who conduct business online to identify their user’s goals.  By pinpointing the key tasks that people want to carry out on your website, you are establishing your ‘Red Routes’ or ‘Top Tasks’. read more about UX Design Techniques: Red Routing and Top Tasks

User Research Links & Resources: March 2016 Round-up
User Research Links & Resources: March 2016 Round-up 1147 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the interesting User Research links that we have come across in March 2016. Great actionable advice and insights from UserFocus, Nielson Norman Group, UX Matters and Baymard Institute. Happy reading! read more about User Research Links & Resources: March 2016 Round-up

Using Personas for your Digital Transformation
Using Personas for your Digital Transformation 860 489 Border Crossing UX
A persona is a representation of a user. A good persona should be based on interviews with real customers.  A persona then has the ability to help design teams empathise with the user and appreciate their frustrations and difficulties. read more about Using Personas for your Digital Transformation

UX Design Techniques: Introduction to Storyboarding
UX Design Techniques: Introduction to Storyboarding 1120 711 Border Crossing UX
A storyboard is a method in which to illustrate the interaction between a person and a product. They allow a team to visually map out and specify how a user interacts and reacts to a product whilst considering additional external factors. read more about UX Design Techniques: Introduction to Storyboarding

How to develop a pre-launch plan for your start-up
How to develop a pre-launch plan for your start-up 860 489 Border Crossing UX
Over the years I’ve come across and contributed to a diverse range of start-up launch plans. A key ingredient of the successful start-up launches I’ve observed has been a willingness to invest time and thought into an objective-driven plan. read more about How to develop a pre-launch plan for your start-up

Conversion rate optimisation: process matters
Conversion rate optimisation: process matters 1920 1440 Border Crossing UX
Conversion rate optimisation (CRO) is a process used to increase the percentage of visitors that complete a specific task or action. Generally this relates to financial or data transactions but what that task or action is, doesn’t really matter. read more about Conversion rate optimisation: process matters

Expert usability reviews: when (and when not) to use them
Expert usability reviews: when (and when not) to use them 1920 1440 Border Crossing UX
A formal or informal expert usability review is a common starting point for most of our projects. Oddly enough it’s also one of the only methods in user centred design that doesn’t directly involve people who will use the product or service. read more about Expert usability reviews: when (and when not) to use them

Email marketing: how to build your email database
Email marketing: how to build your email database 860 489 Border Crossing UX
Despite the changing ways in which we receive and consume content, one thing that has remained a constant in a professional context, is email. In fact email marketing is still one of the most effective methods for reaching, converting and establishing a long-term relationship with your customers. read more about Email marketing: how to build your email database

Customer mapping: the basics
Customer mapping: the basics 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
Customer mapping or customer journey mapping is key to delivering an excellent customer experience, whether you operate online or not. It allows you to identify what your customers need, desire and feel when they interact with your company. read more about Customer mapping: the basics

Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: April 2015
Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: April 2015 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round up of the best business and UX strategy links: April 2015. Get insights from other people’s successes and failures. This month features Steve Blank, Andrew Chen and MIT Technology Review. Happy reading! read more about Business & UX Strategy Links & Resources: April 2015

UX Design Resources & Links: April 2015
UX Design Resources & Links: April 2015 1150 647 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful and interesting User Experience (UX) Design links from April 2015. This month’s articles and insights from Cone Tree, Nielson Norman Group, PDF, Yiibu and ReadyMag. Happy reading! read more about UX Design Resources & Links: April 2015

User Research Resources & Links: April 2015
User Research Resources & Links: April 2015 1147 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful and interesting User Research resources and links from April 2015. This month’s articles and insights from Thought works, Nielson Norman Group, GOV.UK and Google Ventures. Happy reading! read more about User Research Resources & Links: April 2015

Business & UX Strategy Resouces & Links: April 2015
Business & UX Strategy Resouces & Links: April 2015 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round up of the best business and UX strategy links: April 2015. Get insights from other people’s successes and failures. This month features Wired Magazine, Intercom, Angel VC and Onstartups. Happy reading! read more about Business & UX Strategy Resouces & Links: April 2015

UX Design Resources & Links: March 2015
UX Design Resources & Links: March 2015 1150 647 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful and interesting User Experience (UX) Design links from March 2015. This month’s articles and insights from Smashing Magazine, UIE, Crisp’s Blog, Nielson Norman Group and Accessibility Project. Happy reading! read more about UX Design Resources & Links: March 2015

User Research Resources & Links: March 2015
User Research Resources & Links: March 2015 1147 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the interesting User Research links that we have come across in March 2015. Great actionable advice and insights from the best including GOV.UK, Fortune and the Baymard Institute. Happy reading! read more about User Research Resources & Links: March 2015

Business & UX Strategy Resources & Links: March 2015
Business & UX Strategy Resources & Links: March 2015 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round up of the best business and UX strategy links: March 2015. Get insights from other people’s successes and failures. This month features Dan McKinley, Inside Intercom, UIE, The Effective Engineer and Nielson Norman Group. Happy reading! read more about Business & UX Strategy Resources & Links: March 2015

UX Design Resources & Links: January 2015
UX Design Resources & Links: January 2015 1150 647 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round-up of the useful and interesting User Experience (UX) Design links from January 2015. This month’s articles and insights from UX Matters, Neilson Norman Group, UIE, Usability Net, UXmas and Peterme . Happy reading! read more about UX Design Resources & Links: January 2015

Business and UX Strategy Resources: January 2015
Business and UX Strategy Resources: January 2015 1146 651 Border Crossing UX
Here’s our round up of the best business and UX strategy links: January 2015. Get insights from other people’s successes and failures. This month features Google Ventures, Steve Blank, GOV.UK, SaaStr and Nielson Norman Group. Happy reading! read more about Business and UX Strategy Resources: January 2015

Are you running Drupal 7.32 or lower?
Are you running Drupal 7.32 or lower? 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
A significant security issue has been found within the code of most Drupal 7 installations and a patch has now been issued for versions below 7.32.  read more about Are you running Drupal 7.32 or lower?

Update to the ICO’s guidance on the rules on use of cookies
Update to the ICO’s guidance on the rules on use of cookies 860 489 Border Crossing UX
With less than 24 hours until the grace period ends for websites to comply with the EU Privacy and Electronic Communications regulations, the ICO held a press briefing to communicate updates to the guidance. read more about Update to the ICO’s guidance on the rules on use of cookies

Assessing the invasiveness of your cookies
Assessing the invasiveness of your cookies 860 489 Border Crossing UX
With only 5 days to go to the grace period ends for complying with the updated EU Privacy and Electronic Communication Directive, here is our latest blog post on how to comply. read more about Assessing the invasiveness of your cookies

We’re going on a cookie hunt
We’re going on a cookie hunt 860 489 Border Crossing UX
Whilst undertaking a cookie audit of our website, a requirement of the new EU Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive, I was reminded of one of my kids favourite stories. read more about We’re going on a cookie hunt

Google announces new privacy policy
Google announces new privacy policy 1920 1280 Border Crossing UX
On January 24th Google revealed some major updates to their privacy policy.  There has been a mixed response to the changes that were announced on Google’s Official Blog. read more about Google announces new privacy policy

Resolve a path error in Symfony2 when using MAMP under OSX Lion
Resolve a path error in Symfony2 when using MAMP under OSX Lion 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
You have installed and configured your Symfony2 project, added the Entity classes, prepared everything for persisting them into a database and, bam, you end up with the following error message read more about Resolve a path error in Symfony2 when using MAMP under OSX Lion

Why create a sitemap when planning a new website?
Why create a sitemap when planning a new website? 720 479 Border Crossing UX
A sitemap is a visual representation of a website or application’s structure. It should clearly communicate how all the information is organised.If you are commissioning a new website or a redesign then you should include one in your brief.  read more about Why create a sitemap when planning a new website?

Gain insights by profiling your competitors domains
Gain insights by profiling your competitors domains 860 489 Border Crossing UX
Back in January some interesting data on the the technical purchasing decisions of YCombinator startups was released. The data shared was a showcase for a simple but incredibly useful tool called domain profiler. read more about Gain insights by profiling your competitors domains

Moving off of Amazon Web Services
Moving off of Amazon Web Services 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
We recently decided to rethink how we host this website. Since 2008 we’ve used Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host our live and development websites as well as all of our other tools and software. read more about Moving off of Amazon Web Services

Exclude specific IP’s from Google Anlaytics reports
Exclude specific IP’s from Google Anlaytics reports 860 489 Border Crossing UX
Worried about your Google Analytics data being skewed by your staff’s usage of your own website? If so, set-up a custom filter to exclude those IP addresses. read more about Exclude specific IP’s from Google Anlaytics reports

Which Google Analytics tracking code are you using?
Which Google Analytics tracking code are you using? 860 489 Border Crossing UX
Whilst doing a website review I was pretty surprised to see that the old Google Analytics tracking code was still being used. read more about Which Google Analytics tracking code are you using?

Google Apps our transition experience
Google Apps our transition experience 860 490 Border Crossing UX
We recently received our notification that important changes were happening to Google Apps. This means our Google Apps accounts are being transitioned to Google Account infrastructure. read more about Google Apps our transition experience

7 things your company MUST have on it’s website
7 things your company MUST have on it’s website 860 489 Border Crossing UX
Is your company a private limited company based in the United Kingdom? Do you know what information your company MUST display on your website? Whilst putting together our new screen designs with Adam from Remote Location we thought it would be best to check what company information you must have on your website according to [...]read more about 7 things your company MUST have on it’s website

How Google works, a fantastic infographic
How Google works, a fantastic infographic 860 489 Border Crossing UX
When I first joined Border Crossing Media I spent quite a lot of time familiarising myself with the way that Google and other search engines operate. read more about How Google works, a fantastic infographic

Google releases updated SEO starter guide
Google releases updated SEO starter guide 860 490 Border Crossing UX
Google have updated their SEO starter guide. We always recommend that clients familiarise themselves with this document as it provides a comprehensive and perhaps more importantly free overview of how best to approach search engine optimisation (SEO) from Google itself. read more about Google releases updated SEO starter guide

Alpha, beta & official releases: What’s the difference?
Alpha, beta & official releases: What’s the difference? 860 489 Border Crossing UX
We do our best not to use jargon when communicating with clients. That said, we do use the terms alpha, beta and official release. These terms are useful because they help everyone understand where we are with a technical development project. read more about Alpha, beta & official releases: What’s the difference?

Sharing Bookmarks: A better way
Sharing Bookmarks: A better way 1053 597 Border Crossing UX
I’ve recently completed testing more efficient ways to share our bookmarks. Previously we shared links internally and with clients by writing a weekly round-up post on our blog. read more about Sharing Bookmarks: A better way

Must Read: The 10 do’s & dont’s of web development
Must Read: The 10 do’s & dont’s of web development 860 490 Border Crossing UX
This article has to be shared and promoted. Written by the always inspiring Eric Reiss of The FatDUX Group, this is a must read if you are commissioning or project managing the development of a website. read more about Must Read: The 10 do’s & dont’s of web development

Browser Size: A new tool from Google Labs
Browser Size: A new tool from Google Labs 700 420 Border Crossing UX
Google Labs recently released a new tool called Browser Size which provides a visualisation of what a user is likely to see given the screen size of their browser when they visit your website. read more about Browser Size: A new tool from Google Labs

AWS CloudFront now does true video streaming
AWS CloudFront now does true video streaming 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
Amazon Web Services (AWS) recently announced that CloudFront now supports Flash streaming (RTMP) in addition to progressive downloads (HTTP). Live streaming is also expected to be rolled out at some point in 2010. read more about AWS CloudFront now does true video streaming

AWS Economics Centre releases new cost comparison calculator
AWS Economics Centre releases new cost comparison calculator 860 489 Border Crossing UX
The Amazon Web Services Economics Centre provides access to clear information and easy to use tools and resources that will help you to compare the cost of using Amazon Web Services (AWS) with alternative IT infrastructure. read more about AWS Economics Centre releases new cost comparison calculator

Review: Ankoder’s video transcoding service
Review: Ankoder’s video transcoding service 1024 582 Border Crossing UX
Way back in 2008 we were battling away with a custom install of FFmpeg on Amazon Web Services (AWS). We are really pedantic about video encoding so we had a long list of requirements. read more about Review: Ankoder’s video transcoding service

How to fix Codepress not posting text entered into text area
How to fix Codepress not posting text entered into text area 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
We are using Codepress for the administrator application within our custom CMS.  read more about How to fix Codepress not posting text entered into text area

Deliver online video using Amazon Web Services
Deliver online video using Amazon Web Services 1024 582 Border Crossing UX
After much research and testing we have settled on two approaches for delivering video content from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Each approach uses a different delivery protocol. read more about Deliver online video using Amazon Web Services

JW Player, S3, Wowza and “Stream not found”
JW Player, S3, Wowza and “Stream not found” 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
When working on an application that streams videos from S3 I noticed that whenever an S3 object has a space in its name it fails to stream. However, when streaming objects without spaces in the name it works fine. read more about JW Player, S3, Wowza and “Stream not found”

Setting up Symfony to use Exim instead of Sendmail
Setting up Symfony to use Exim instead of Sendmail 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
By default Symfony uses Sendmail mail transfer agent to prepare emails to be sent out by the system. If you want to use Exim instead, you need to take the following steps: read more about Setting up Symfony to use Exim instead of Sendmail

How to restore your WordPress .htaccess file
How to restore your WordPress .htaccess file 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
If you deleted your .htaccess file (or lost it somehow) here is how you can restore the default one: Create a new blank .htaccess file in your WordPress directory via FTP or SSH. Change permissions to 777. Log-in to your dashboard…… read more about How to restore your WordPress .htaccess file

The tools we use to collaborate remotely
The tools we use to collaborate remotely 1024 582 Border Crossing UX
This is a brief post on the tools our team use to collaborate remotely. They don’t get us around time differences but they certainly help us work better together. read more about The tools we use to collaborate remotely

Hello virtual private server, goodbye shared hosting
Hello virtual private server, goodbye shared hosting 1024 582 Border Crossing UX
I have decided to say goodbye to the shared hosting once and for all and finally moved all of my personal sites and blog to a virtual private server (VPS) running CentOS 5.2 and Plesk. read more about Hello virtual private server, goodbye shared hosting

Ubuntu 8.10 has been released
Ubuntu 8.10 has been released 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you’re into Web Development, and just in case you haven’t heard yet, Ubuntu 8.10 has just been released. read more about Ubuntu 8.10 has been released

Install VMWare Tools (Host – Windows, Guest – Linux)
Install VMWare Tools (Host – Windows, Guest – Linux) 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
Install software needed by VMware Tools Note: you need to boot the 1-1 kernel from grub for this to work. Then: read more about Install VMWare Tools (Host – Windows, Guest – Linux)

Checkout SVN repository on another host using SSH on a custom port
Checkout SVN repository on another host using SSH on a custom port 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
If you want to checkout from your svn repository running on a remote host and on that host the port used for ssh is not the default (port 22), you can run into issues. As you cannot use a custom port in the following command: read more about Checkout SVN repository on another host using SSH on a custom port

Hints collection for a quick start with EC2 and S3
Hints collection for a quick start with EC2 and S3 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
Here’s a hints collection for a quick start with EC2 and S3. The following instructions are for a Windows environment. read more about Hints collection for a quick start with EC2 and S3

Apache test page instead of directory listing in Linux
Apache test page instead of directory listing in Linux 1920 1091 Border Crossing UX
Are you trying to set up your hosting so that if you type a URL ending with a directory name it lists all the files in that directory (in the browser), but instead of the directory listing you get an Apache test page? read more about Apache test page instead of directory listing in Linux
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