Kasper Sorensen

"I did some testing myself the other day with saddle angle on my SMP Dynamic at different seat heights. At higher seat heights (read: a bit too high), I found more saddle tilt comfortable. Range from about -2.8 degrees up to around -4 degrees (minus for nose down) depending on the height. At lower saddle heights I found this to be uncomfortable and need the angle to be between -1.6 degrees and under -2.2. I took some time to figure it out because at a lower saddle height I got pain at the top of my left hamstring because it was being pressed against the edge of the saddle. More so than on the right. My assumption was simply that saddle height must have been too high, but I was wrong. Shimming on the right moved the problem to the right side. So basically lengthening one leg, caused the problem, I thought. I then tried to angle the seat right and left at different shim heights, but it had no positive effect. The last thing I did was to lessen up no the saddle tilt from -2.8 to -2.2 and..." - Kasper Sorensen

The Fogg Behavior Grid describes 15 ways behavior can change. The purpose is to help people think more clearly about behavior change. Each of the 15 behaviors types uses different psychological strategies and persuasive techniques. For example, the methods for persuading people to buy a book online (BlueDot Behavior) are different than getting people to quit smoking forever (BlackPath Behavior). You may click any behavior type in the Behavior Grid below to see an overview. However, it’s recommended that you begin with The Behavior Wizard to asses the type of behavior you are interested in. - Kasper Sorensen

Think of a specific behavior change you would like to make in yourself or others. Don't think too hard about the right answer. Simply pick the one that fits your desired behavior change best. If in doubt, select the "Start Behavior" option. For example, you may want to replace an old behavior with a new one. In that case, pick "Do a behavior." - Kasper Sorensen

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum, published in 1998, introduced the use of personas as a practical interaction design tool. Based on the single-chapter discussion in that book, personas rapidly gained popularity in the software industry due to their unusual power and effectiveness. - Kasper Sorensen

Behavioural heuristics The term has some currency in game theory, other economic decision-making and even in games design, but all I really mean here is rules (of thumb) that people might follow when interacting with a system – things like: - Kasper Sorensen

the laddering method of interviewing, which is a technique that is particularly helpful in eliciting goals and underlying values, and therefore, possibly helpful during early stages of user experience research, as I learned after a brief review of the literature on this topic. This column introduces the laddering technique and describes my first experience trying it for myself. - Kasper Sorensen

In his most recent article Dan Lockton explores a way to capture how and why users behave the way they do and capture this into “something like rules.” He calls it behavioral heuristics. - Kasper Sorensen

Fortunately a few smart people have turned to font-face for the answer. By turning icons into fonts they become styleable with CSS, are infinitely scalable and are a smaller file size than imagery. If you are interested in adopting this technique there are two options available to you. You can download and use one of the royalty free font sets out there such as Modern Pictogram or IcoMoon. pictos icon hostingPictos provides a hosting service for its icon fonts. Alternatively you can use a hosted service like Pictos. This is similar to Fontdeck and so has an annual fee associated with it. My preference is to use a royalty free icon set that I can host myself. This will perform better than relying on a third party service. - Kasper Sorensen

In this month’s column, I’d like to broaden the scope of our IA strategy lens by raising awareness of six information signatures that many of us may have observed in practice, but never related collectively to the information overload problem: Feedback The Utility Gap Filter Failure Information Abundance Volatility The Literacy Gap - Kasper Sorensen

"So I came back from the chiropractor and wanted to update this thread. But first I wanted to say that on saturday I had a 90 minute ride at 20 beats below my LTHR. For me, this is a hard ride. But I'm happy to say that the only thing trying to stop me was my mind. - No physical pain, worth mentioning, threatened to stop my ride. And I should say, that being a beginner with a history of overuse injuries, I am very careful, and always stop a workout premature, if I sense something is wrong. Not this time. So now I have a record of a position that allows me to ride hard without a worry. So for my Sunday recovery ride, I experimented a bit with seat height and set back. I came across a height and set back a tiny bit further back and higher than the Saturday ride. At this setting I rode good on the hoods, but once I reached for the drops, I started getting pain in the left hamstring, like when the seat is too high. Does it make sense to you that when in the drops, you stretch the..." - Kasper Sorensen

"@Florian, Now worries. This is what the forum is for, to learn from each other. I enjoy reading your thoughts, and the dialogue you have with Steve, make them even more valuable." - Kasper Sorensen

"Hi Steve, Thanks for your response. Except for the 10-15 minutes of aching pain just in front of the heel, it felt really amazing and very equal on both feet with the red + 3 heel wedges in the left and blue + 3 heel wedges in the right. My left arch is a little different than the right. Not so much in height when standing or difference in drop, as far as I can tell. But the arch support on the right foot feels like it's supporting the whole arch, where as on the left it can feel like it's more supporting towards the rear of the arch, in front of the heel. When using the orange arch support I can't really feel it at all. Not even when standing. Next ride I will try and assume that I have the correct arch support and number of wedges, but exchange one heel wedge for an ITS wedge. I have a "bonus question" regarding cleat placement. Btw. it's a shame that commenting is closed on all the older threads as they provide a good forum for further discussion of the topics discussed in those..." - Kasper Sorensen

"Thanks Steve, I'n fairly certain the pressure comes fron the lack of space. I feel no pressure when the ITS wedge is not there. The pressure can make it diffucult to judge the feeling of distributed load over the foot, but I'm grtting better at distinguishing. Is it likely that wedging can have a negative impact on arch support? In my last ride I tried with a lower arch support in the left and three heel wedges instead of two. Initially it felt better, but after an hour I started to feel my arch support irritating me at the heel. Even though it was now less than before. Can the increased wedging have had an impact?" - Kasper Sorensen

"Thanks for your thorough reply. Sorry for the misunderstanding about too much arch support being better than too little. I actually thought that wedging would be more or less definitive once established, but there I learned something new. Staying on topic. I know that the need for a forefoot wedge is rare, but not uncommon. I have gotten a pair of ITS wedges for my weekly wedge rides, and have had some positive experiences with a ITS wedge in the left shoe. The ITS wedge in the left foot makes it feel more solid, but there seems to be too much pressure on the pad below my 5th. metatarsel joint (I guess it's called). Is that where the pressure from an ITS wedge is supposed to be? Or in other words is that where the biggest correction should be? Mine is cut to a size 10, so I could use on of the size 11 which will move the pressure a bit backwards. Although this irritates me a little, the positive gains seems to outweigh it. Exchanging it with heel wedges doesn't seems to feel as solid..." - Kasper Sorensen

There are certain links that should open in new browser tabs, and ones that should open in the same browser tab. It’s important for designers to know the difference. - Kasper Sorensen

"So the private hospital couldn't perform either the x-ray nor the test for food allergies. They offered me an MR-scan, but for that I'm looking at a price that equals 1000 AUD. So I might try and find another solution. I have booked an appointment with my local doctor to ask for a food allergy test. Hopefully he can help. I'm finally able to say that I'm fairly confident that I have reached a good amount of arch support and wedge no. It's taken around 50 days of training almost everyday to come this far. Especially arch support took quite a while. Riding consistently with each options for at least 4 rides, it took a great deal of time. Once I thought I had the right amount and started wedging but I needed 6 wedges on the right with blue arch support. So I increased the arch support, and it actually felt better, so it was back to getting used to that before wedging again. The same thing happened on my left and now I'm at black arch support in both shoes with 4 heel wedges in the left..." - Kasper Sorensen

"Is the route confirmed? I'm going to ride this, and have been looking for the gps coordinates." - Kasper Sorensen

"Sorry for having to double post. Just re reading your post on Material Challenges. For the last months due to the weather in Scandinavia, I have only been riding on my indoor trainer. Should I be worried that any of that equipment could challenge my CNS as you describe in the post. My rubber bracelet is more than a few meters away from my bike, but I have a Tacx Fortius trainer meaning that I have a controller on the handlebar and a laptop within reach. I also have a couple of bike tools, levers, speakers and my iPhone close by. Are there any special equipment, except for what you have mentioned, that are likely to be present in an indoor environment, that could be problematic?" - Kasper Sorensen

"Hi Steve, I've made contact to a private hospital in my area, but waiting to hear back from them regarding getting on the waiting list. I wanted to wait until I had the X-ray to update this post, but too much is happening and I like to document it here for my own sake at least. My chiropractor has now performed the Lumbar Roll 5 times and it seems to come easier and easier. So hopefully I'm getting more functional in my SI joint. Following on from your thoughts on leg length. I think there might be at least some functional difference. I know from my own and my chiropractors assessment that my right ASIS is higher on the right and my right PSIS is lower than my left and a little closer to my spine. So basically my right ilium, I guess it's called, is rotated back and a tiny bit inwards, giving me the foot outward motion. The left ilium has followed to some degree, but the two pelvis bones have rotated individually. As I mentioned earlier, it feels like my left side is sitting further..." - Kasper Sorensen

Simple usability tests where users think out loud are cheap, robust, flexible, and easy to learn. Thinking aloud should be the first tool in your UX toolbox, even though it entails some risks and doesn't solve all problems. - Kasper Sorensen

This report tells you how to set up and manage a recruiting program, how to get the right users for specific tests, and how to deal with the users you have recruited. It also presents advice on when to outsource to a recruiting agency (for a fee) and when to use in-house recruiting. - Kasper Sorensen

"Hi Steve, Thanks for taking the time to respond. Today was the fourth time seeing my chiropractor about this pelvis twisting issue. He told me he could see an improvement and that I was nearly square. I could also feel that when he did the usual alignment on both sides, it came much easier. I haven't verified it on the bike by video, but it sure feels that I'm more square. I've also successfully realigned my seat so it's now very close to being straight. I'm still dropping my right hip, so even when looking square when standing, I'm still dropping that hip, and I can see that my knicks are very worn just under the right sitbone. Although that's no surprise, as i can read this is very common, even when you look square off the bike. But at least the twisted hip is becoming less and less of a problem. Unfortunately I've started to experience symptoms like those of a runners knee. I know that diagnose varies a lot and is seldom very useful in terms of treatment. But I've had the problem..." - Kasper Sorensen

"I know this post is a bit old, but I have something I would like to read about. That is your thoughts on pelvis placement on the seat in terms of neutral or rolled forward/rearward. Your article on cycling-inform.com titled "Special Considerations when Fitting Woman to Bicycles - Part 2" sparked my interest. As I understand your argument, a pelvis that is not tilted forward, is better because that won't push the pubic area into the saddle. I understand that better flexibility will aid in this. This in contradictory to what I have always thought. That better flexibility would allow you to roll your pelvis forward, flatten your back and engage your glutes. My way to this way of thinking comes from examples given from various authors. Like this good/bad example: http://www2.trainingbible.com/... And Cancellara (known to have great flexibility) used as a 'good' example: http://cyclingweekly.media.ipc... And Contador's position used as a 'bad'..." - Kasper Sorensen

Bootstrap is a toolkit from Twitter designed to kickstart development of webapps and sites. It includes base CSS and HTML for typography, forms, buttons, tables, grids, navigation, and more. - Kasper Sorensen

When I meet people who practice UX research, I always ask them the same question. I ask what are the top three challenges they face at work. Getting stakeholder buy-in for research is usually the first challenge they mention. - Kasper Sorensen

"This thread has come to serve as a great reference for me, so I will keep it updated with relevant progress for myself, and if any other subscribers can use it. So don't feel obliged to respond. I had the second chiropractor session today, which brought on some new discoveries. My rectus femoris is very tight, wheres as my hip flexors are tight, but not overly tight. And my right rectus femoris is significantly tighter than the left. - I'll be working on that. One thing that I have had problems with is the 'Pretzel' stretch on the right side. This might be related to the pain we talked about earlier that I felt during the 'Crossover stretch'. I basically can't perform the Pretzel stretch as weel on the right, as I can on the left. I got a very painful treatment for this ;-). He had me lay on my back and moved my right leg around for a while and doing a bit of massaging around the groin. Then he bend the right leg so my thigh was at 60 degree angle to my body. He then grabbed hold of..." - Kasper Sorensen

Which is better for users, scrolling or clicking? This is the question that designers have to think about when they’re designing page flow. Clicking offers users a menu of links that take them to a new page. Scrolling offers users all the content divided into different sections on a single page. - Kasper Sorensen

Improving the user experience means starting with the right measure or measures to manage. Here are 10 of the more common ones I've written about in 2011. - Kasper Sorensen