Designing and Testing Customer Satisfaction Surveys on WWW Sites  

The types of surveys being conducted on the web fall into two categories: surveys that determine who is using the WWW and surveys that determine customer satisfaction with the product or service. To the survey guidelines described by GVU, we add five guidelines for designing web customer satisfaction surveys based on reviews of recent surveys and browsing the web: (1) Begin with a clear mission statement. (2) Classlfy current users of the site. (3) Report the results online. (4) Limit the length of the questionnaire to no more than 25 multiple-part questions. (5) Limit big graphics.

Feinberg, Susan G. and Peter Y. Johnson. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Usability>Testing>Web Design

The Myth of the Genius Designer

Having a good designer doesn't eliminate the need for a systematic usability process. Risk reduction and quality improvement both require user testing and other usability methods.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Testing

User Observation Tests: Forms and Procedures

Detailed explanation of how to conduct a web usability user observation test. Simple, step-by-step instructions for professional administration of testing program. How to select and supervise test subjects. How to design test task assignments. Suggested forms to use: test subject selection computer skills level telesurvey, link strategy survey, system usability scale questionnaire, site satisfaction survey.

Streight, Steven. Usability Interface (2004). Articles>Usability>Testing>Web Design

Variability in User Performance

When doing website tasks, the slowest 25% of users take 2.4 times as long as the fastest 25% of users. This difference is much higher than for other types of computer use; only programming shows a greater disparity.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Testing