#20704
Many colleagues in the web design field have felt that my recent article, 'Gone in a Flash: Why E-com firms are in flat line mode', was a bit harsh and too critical of web developers who do not have a formal human factors engineering education. Despite this criticism I hold my original view. However, in the interest of being even handed, it is also true that some usability professionals took advantage of inexperienced and over-capitalized web firms to market and promote usability consulting services that were, shall we say, a bit overpriced.
Mauro, Charles L. TaskZ (2001). Articles>Usability
#19040
Is A Lab Essential For User Testing?
Once an organisation decides to go ahead with a user testing programme, the questions really begin. Is it really necessary to undertake testing in a 'usability lab'? And what exactly should a fully functioning lab consist of anyway? As one might imagine, opinion is divided on these issues. We take a quick look at what a typical lab might consist of and the pros and cons of lab-based testing.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#27380
Is Beauty the New Usability Attribute?
The beauty of a product can influence the users' overall impression or general user satisfaction of the product. Think iPod. But how do you measure that?
Hall, Mark D. and Kathleen Straub. Human Factors International (2005). Articles>Usability>Aesthetics>User Experience
#29793
What do customers want from our software and documentation? They want to accomplish tasks, and to obtain information about tasks, as quickly and painlessly as possible. Do they also expect to be entertained along the way? No, not when there is work to be done. Years of usability analysis in the software industry indicates very clearly that clarity and ease-of-use is topmost on the minds of software users.
Kocher, Sue. Carolina Communique (2007). Articles>User Interface>Software>Usability
#11873
Some analysts conclude that navigation is useless and that navigation elements should be removed from Web pages. Don't try teaching users the site structure, don't try showing them where they are, don't try telling them where else they can go. Instead, just show people content. I don't fully agree with this analysis. Navigation is overdone on many sites. In particular, the so-called spoke design where every page is linked to every other page leads to reduced usability. Similarly, many sites have overblown footers that link to too many meta-features (say, 'about the company' or a privacy statement).
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2000). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#13335
Is RSVP a Solution for Reading from Small Displays?
In the last five years, we have witnessed a virtual explosion in the number and variety of hand-held devices that use small-screen interfaces (SSIs). These devices, which may include everything from personal digital assistants (PDAs) to cellular telephones, offer the convenience of portable, or even wearable interfaces. This convenience, however, comes at a price; the amount of information that can be displayed on the screen at one time is very small. Moreover, manual scrolling, tabbing, and paging are required to present successive displays of information. This, of course, limits the usefulness of these devices, especially if the information that is viewed is more than just a small amount. These limitations serve as a critical usability concern as more and more consumers use hand-held devices for such things as reading e-mail, browsing the web, and reading documents.
Bernard, Michael, Barbara S. Chaparro and Mark Russell. Usability News (2000). Articles>Usability>Wireless Web
#10118
Is the Slowing Economy Helping or Hurting Usability?
Seattle attendees felt the slowing economy would underscore the importance of usability practices. They don't see the slow-down in retail sales negatively affecting the usability field: 'In terms of usability, the focus will be the same...If we had to cut something, it wouldn't be usability.' While the slowing economy will force some companies to implement cutbacks and downsize, they believe that it will also show companies that they need usability in order to remain competitive.
Loranger, Hoa. Nielsen Norman Group (2001). Articles>Usability
#19820
Issues and Questions on Usability Testing: An Open Discussion Session 
Many technical communicators are assuming new roles as usability specialists or are doing user analysis, task analysis, and usability testing for their own documents. Many others would like to start disability testing. In this open discussion session, you can ask questions and share experiences with a panel of four technical communicators/usability specialists and with other conference attendees.
Hackos, JoAnn T., Janice S. James, Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish and Chauncey E. Wilson. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Usability>TC
#28645
Sizing UCD projects presents special challenges to usability practitioners and consultants. Each project and UCD methodology comes with its own set of variables that makes it difficult to accurately estimate resource requirements and completion times.
Usability Body of Knowledge (2007). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design>Project Management
#22754
It Is Easy To Criticize But...Challenge to Find Examples of GOOD Usability
It is easy to find examples of poor usability and many books and sites devote themselves to this. We can learn from mistakes and we can laugh and feel superior about it, but what about learning from great design?
Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#25191
I traveled to Beijing, China for User Friendly 2004 to meet a few of our usability colleagues there. What I found was a large and vibrant usability community.
Quesenbery, Whitney. Usability Professionals Association (2005). Articles>Usability>Regional>China
#26094
One of the perennial criticisms of ergonomics consultants is that much of what we say is 'just common sense’. I do not see this as a criticism. Nowadays, there is far too little common sense evident in our daily lives. However, what critics really fail to understand is that what may seem obvious with hindsight was rarely that obvious beforehand.
System Concepts (2005). Articles>Usability>Ergonomics
#23913
Iterative Design of ESR Web Site with Lightweight Remote Usability Evaluations
The IBM Ease of Use team designed a lightweight remote usability evaluation method and successfully used it in a series of iterative design activities for the IBM Electronic Service Request (ESR) Web pages. User satisfaction increased remarkably within a short time during the iterative design process. The results of this project proved the feasibility and effectiveness of the lightweight remote usability evaluation method being used.
Dong, Jianming. IBM (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods
#15003
Iterative Usability Research Methods: Why Testing Isn't Enough
Discusses how to choose different usability methods for iterative research. Slides only.
Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. Tec-Ed, Inc. (1999). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#28023
Iterative Usability Testing as Continuous Feedback: A Control Systems Perspective 
This paper argues that in the field of usability, debates about number of users, the use of statistics, etc. in the abstract are pointless and even counter-productive. We propose that the answers depend on the research questions and business objectives of each project and thus cannot be discussed in absolute terms. Sometimes usability testing is done with an implicit or explicit hypothesis in mind. At other times the purpose of testing is to guide iterative design. These two approaches call for different study designs and treatment of data. We apply control systems theory to the topic of usability to highlight and frame the value of iterative usability testing in the design lifecycle. Within this new metaphor, iterative testing is a form of feedback which is most effective and resource-efficient if done as often as practically possible with project resources and timelines in mind.
Genov, Alex. Journal of Usability Studies (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing>Methods
#22304
Jakob Nielsen's PDF Phobia is Seemingly Incurable
The noted usability guru strays outside his area of expertise once again in a new 'Alertbox' column denigrating any uses of PDF other than printing. We can't help but wonder -- due to the silliness of some of his comments and suggestions -- whether he's being serious. We're afraid he is. Nonetheless, to show our respect, we've christened a special Google Advanced Search setting in his honor.
Foss, Kurt. PlanetPDF (2003). Articles>Usability>Software>Adobe Acrobat
#18622
Journaled sessions bridges usability inquiry, where you ask people about their experiences with a product, and usability testing, where you observe people experiencing the product's user interface. Journaled sessions are often used as a remote inquiry method for software user interface evaluation. A disk is distributed to a number of test subjects containing a prototype of the software product, as well as additional code to capture (or journalize) the subjects' actions when using the prototype. Users perform several tasks with the prototype, much as in formal usability tests, and their actions are captured with the journalizing software. Upon completion of the series of tasks, the users return the disks to you for you to evaluate. Because the journaling portion of the evaluation is largely automated, this approach to remote, hands-off inquiry is certainly more 'usable' then self-reporting logging, where users are requested to write down their observations and comments and send them back to you.
#27415
A Journey Through Accessibility
Identifies web accessibility problems throughout the web generations, and summarises where we are now, and what we can expect for the future.
Scano, Roberto. Juicy Studio (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#13336
Just How 'Blind' Are We to Advertising Banners on the Web?
The most common medium for advertising on the Web is through the use of banners. This form of advertisement often combines animation, sophisticated graphics, and even audio to endorse product information. Currently, advertising companies test the effectiveness of banners by calculating their 'click-through' ratio rate (Briggs & Hollis, 1997). This ratio is the number of times an ad appears on a page compared to the number of times an individual clicks on the banner. It has been argued by Nielsen (1997) that click-through ratio rates are typically about 1%, which suggests that 99% of the time Internet users don’t bother to click on advertisements.
Bayles, Michelle. Usability News (2000). Articles>Usability>Web Design
#19018
A dead fragment of text is what's left after a usability expert has had his or her way with some perfectly good copy. The process works a little like this... First, take some great text that engages the reader on a number of levels. Here are a few words from Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.' Now cut that back to make it more 'usable': 'Have sons judged by character and not color.' What are you left with? A brief, but dead, fragment. The substance of the communication remains, but the soul has been ripped out of it.
Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2001). Articles>Writing>Usability>Web Design
#11786
Justification for Documentation Testing
Is documentation testing a part of your production process? If not, don't you think that it should be? Generally, Technical Writers work to tight schedules, which often does not include documentation testing because there is no time. Besides, who wants to take the risk of causing a rewrite or correcting product design and not shipping on schedule? Nobody! What is needed is a justification for including documentation testing in the production schedule. In 'Liability for Defective Documentation,' Cem Kaner provides valuable justification for documentation testing to ensure quality. Bad documentation, he says, has a ripple effect on the number of users it impacts such as Product Development, Training, and Customer Support.
Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2000). Articles>Usability
#21765
#26400
The Key for Effective Documentation: Answer the User's Real Question
To successfully communicate to users, documentation must do more than meet the user’s information needs, it must present the information in the same way the user processes the information. The design of software and it accompanying documentation must be reconceived so that the design is done from the problem-solver’s point of view.
Albers, Michael J. Usability Interface (2005). Articles>Documentation>Usability
#31738
The Kind of Documentation Users Really Want
Have you ever asked your users what kind of training materials they want, or how they prefer to learn software? This kind of information is critical to figuring out what help deliverables to produce. But really when it comes down to it, there are only so many options — printed manuals, short guides, interactive flash guides, videos, online help, live training, reference cards, context-sensitive help, workbooks and exercises, or, usually the favorite, someone to stand by their computer and answer questions whenever they need help.
Johnson, Tom H. I'd Rather Be Writing (2008). Articles>Documentation>Usability>User Centered Design
#28494
Kindred Spirits? Usability Practitioners and Technical Communicators
Technical communicators and usability practitioners are not simply kindred spirits--they are the same spirit: the spirit of communication.
Keirnan, Timothy. Usability Interface (2006). Articles>TC>Usability
