Articles

Therese Fessenden

Therese Fessenden is a Senior Experience Specialist with Nielsen Norman Group and host of the NN/g UX Podcast. Her research focuses on understanding human behavior, attitudes, and expectations in order to better orchestrate system and service design strategies. 

Articles and Videos

  • What Is a SWOT Analysis?

    A SWOT Analysis is a framework to analyze the position of a company or product experience relative to others in the market. Its four quadrants offer prompts to help teams identify specific factors that may impact their success.

  • Competitive Reviews vs. Competitive Research

    There is more than one way to conduct a competitive evaluation. This video describes the difference between a competitive review and competitive research.

  • Net Promoter Score: What a Customer-Relations Metric Can Tell You About Your User Experience

    NPS is a loyalty metric that correlates well with perception of usability, is easy to understand and administer, but has limitations for understanding and evaluating UX when used in isolation.

  • The Diverge-and-Converge Technique for UX Workshops

    By first working independently on a problem and then converging to share insights, teams can leverage the benefits of both work styles, leading to rapid data analysis, diverse ideas, and high-quality designs.

  • Delightful UX Is Like a 3-Legged Stool

    Delight can be experienced viscerally, behaviorally, and reflectively. A delightful design must consider all three of these pillars.

  • Visual Design: Glossary

    Use this glossary to quickly clarify key terms and concepts related to visual design.

  • Typography Terms: Glossary

    Use this glossary to clarify key definitions related to typography.

  • STEEPLE: Building Contextual Knowledge

    STEEPLE is an acronym to help teams identify specific categories of external, contextual factors that may impact the success of your product or service. Being conscious of these factors can ensure your team reduces risks in future design strategies or investments.

  • Field Studies

    Field research is conducted in the user’s natural setting. Learn the unexpected by leaving the office and observing people in their normal environments.

  • Focus Groups 101

    Focus groups are a polarizing research method. Within UX, they are best used in early discovery research to understand interest in a concept.