human factors

psychology

The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two

The seminal 1956 George Miller paper The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information [http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Miller/] is a true classic. In it, Miller observed that the results of a number of 1950's era experiments in short-term memory

By Jeff Atwood ·
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usability

You’ll Never Have Enough Cheese

This Human Factors International presentation (ppt) references something called a Columbia Obstruction Device: I couldn’t find any actual references to the Columbia University science experiment they’re referring to, but it certainly seems plausible enough. The parallel with users and usability is natural. Either maximize the cheese (make your

By Jeff Atwood ·
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