Miia Kososen verkkoyhteisöjä koskevan väitöstutkimuksen lektioluento.

The first European conference of the Usability Professionals’ Association (UPA), which was dedicated to Usability and Design, was held in the beginning of December. Nearly all the presentations are available online and they are worthwhile exploring.

This paper presents a macro level model of design with three internally coherent modes of design. These are immediate des ign dealing with users’ immediate situated challenges, traditional product design creating generally appealing solutions, and remote design, which elaborates on preconditions for design such as knowledge, platforms and standards. The need for the model is justified by a discussion addressing a set of conflicting trends called design tensions within the design of complicated human-technology systems. These include technology, innovation, competence, readiness and generality tensions. Finally, the impact of immediate and remote design on design education and design business is discussed. (via Ville)

Why is it that many of the same companies appear repeatedly on lists of the best places to work, the best providers of customer service, and the most profitable in their industries? We can learn a great deal from organizations whose strong and adaptive ownership cultures give them a powerful competitive edge. Here are our top 10 lessons.