Mauro New Media, a leading provider of user experience design and usability testing services for major corporations world wide, published today its annual User Experience Design Review, covering the major happenings in interactive user experience design for 2007. This year's review presents 5 major user experience design solutions that had important short-term, mid-term, or long-term impact on how users interact with technology across various platforms and industry sectors.
"This was one of the most significant years in recent history for innovations in user experience design," said Charles L. Mauro, President of Mauro New Media. Several UED innovations fundamentally altered the way users will interact with important technology platforms in the future. Most notable was the introduction of the iPhone, which changed the way mobile Telco systems are developed and presented to users. Other notable innovations covered gaming applications, where Guitar Hero and the Nintendo Wii were judged to be fundamentally important user experience design innovations in 2007. Additional selected user experience happenings were the major changes at MTV. Com and the new MTV virtual worlds. Google Docs received kudos, but with interesting reservations.
The annual review also makes note of 3 user experience design programs that were significant missteps in 2007. "We try to bring a broader perspective to the importance of user experience design and its impact on corporate profits and, in certain instances, the broader social implications of technology utilization," said Charles L. Mauro, president of Mauro New Media. This year the annual review makes special note of problems with Wall Street's obsession with algorithm-based risk management systems that in recent years have progressively removed the human component from risk assessment. The review also examines Facebook's Beacon system and why it raised concern with users and the national media. Finally, in a new section of the annual review, the authors ask 3 critical questions about the viability of the One Laptop One Child (OLPC) program as a solution to 3rd world education.