#26449
Most usability professionals don't have a driver's licence to servers and are not aware of the steps that can be taken to make them behave in a user-friendly way. In this article, we'll take a look at how to avoid that server technology becomes an obstacle to usability.
Olsen, Henrik. GUUUI (2004). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#31072
You load a new web service, eager to dive in and start engaging, and what's the first thing that greets you? A sign-up form. We can do better, says Luke Wroblewski, author of Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks. Via a technique of "gradual engagment," we can get people using and caring about our web services instead of frustrating them (or sending them to a competitor's site) by forcing them to fill out a sign-up form first.
Wroblewski, Luke. List Apart, A (2008). Articles>Web Design>Forms>User Centered Design
#27494
Luke has made some great slides about Social Web Application Design, saying some very sensible things very well. I particularly like the 'System' diagram that shows how, when thinking about a simple photo, how it can be connected to other entities and related, aggregated and re-presented.
Smith, Tom. Other Blog, The (2006). Articles>Web Design>Community Building>User Centered Design
#30867
Stop Obsessing About Conversion Rate
Perhaps there is no other single metric that is abused as much as conversion rate, none that is perhaps more detrimental to solving for a holistic customer experience on the website because of the company behavior it drives.
Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis
#13732
In order to gain a better understanding of the designer’s intentions with the Arthritis Source, we conducted an interview with the designer, Rick Matsen, on November 15, 1999. Further, we wanted to gather more information that would generate potential research questions for the PETTT team as well as re-design ideas for the D3 team. Below is a summary of Rick’s interview compiled from observations of four researchers, followed by the implications for re-design and research questions.
Fondiller, Julianne, Jennifer Turns, Jake Burghardt, Brett Shelton and Scott Macklin. PETTT (2000). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#24771
Tacit Knowledge, Knowledge Management, and Active User Participation in Web Site Navigation 
One of the reasons that people who seek out information on web sites often feel powerless is that when they do not find what they are looking for, their own tacit sense of what they know is not validated. If tacit knowledge is not calculated for in the design of a web site, it puts the people navigating the site in the position of passive observers. The primary reason for this can be found in the rigid organization schemes in place on many sites. Even the most sophisticated manuals that offer methods for designing web site architectures fail to suggest how they can replicate what is known in knowledge management circles as an “enabling environment.”
Applen, J.D. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication (2002). Articles>User Centered Design>Knowledge Management>Web Design
#20869
Tech-Support Tales: Internet Hard to Use for Novice Users
The Internet is still much too difficult to use for novice users. Specialized information appliances like WebTV reduce complexity but still involve considerable risk of user error.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1997). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#30878
Trinity: A Mindset and Strategic Approach
The goal of the Trinity mindset is to power the generation of actionable insights. Its goal is not to do reporting. Its goal is not to figure out how to spam decision makers with data. Actionable Insights and Metrics are the uber-goal simply because they drive strategic differentiation and a sustainable competitive advantage.
Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis
#19475
User Experience Design for Working Web Sites and Applications
As Technical Communicators, we’re often added as members of software and web site development teams merely as an afterthought. Executives, managers, programmers, and other team members frequently view the results of our work—manuals, online help systems, tutorials, and other documents—as 'nice-to-have' additions to products. This pervasive attitude is certainly not healthy for the profession of technical communication... but it’s not good for the applications our organizations and clients produce either. When Technical Communicators working in an e-business unit as user advocates are given more responsibility and more authority over the 'user experience' of a web-based application, for instance, they affect the bottom-line. They increase hits, product buzz, and completed transactions. By moving beyond manuals, beyond help, and into the new role of User Experience Designer, we increase the value we add to services and products and increase our professional status within organizations.
Sisler, Paul and Catherine M. Titta. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#30827
User Skills Improving, But Only Slightly
Users now do basic operations with confidence and perform with skill on sites they use often. But when users try new sites, well-known usability problems still cause failures.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design
#27940
Users Interleave Sites and Genres
When working on business problems, users flitter among sites, alternating visits to different service genres. No single website defines the user experience on its own.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#30879
Web Analytics: Insights From the Front Line, Part 1
In many companies Web and Web analytics have been a silo that someone else is taking care of. Web sites are becoming the most important customer touch point and the most important revenue generator, even for businesses that are not first of mind.
Mazon, Neil. ClickZ (2008). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis
#25197
Web Analytics: The Voice of Users in Information Architecture Projects
How to use web analytics in designing web information architecture.
Hurol Inan (2005). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis
#24549
When users visit your web site, their immediate impression of its credibility is based on appearance, colors, text fonts. Then, as they explore your site, other factors contribute to its credibility impact. Lose users here, and they probably will never return.
Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Interaction Design
#31778
Web Interactivity: Connecting People and Knowledge
We humans are wired to seek interaction with other people. Complex language and reasoning powers support your interactive nature. Your brain can retrieve and store unlimited amounts of information from everyday interactions and use that information to think, analyze, and solve complex problems.
Girolami, Frank. Between the Lines (2007). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>User Centered Design
#15064
Widely utilized in the West to make environments more beneficial to occupants, the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui aligns the forces of chi (energy) to create balance, harmony, and prosperity. I've adapted a sort of feng shui for Web sites.
Deaton, Mary M. Builder.com (2003). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#15063
Web Shui: Working the Guidelines
Design conventions represent the dominant and successful methods of Web site planning and creation and give you a clear set of dos and don'ts for your own site.
Deaton, Mary M. CNET Builder.com (2003). Articles>User Centered Design>Web Design
#22384
Weblogs Enable User-Centric Sites
Weblogs give users information from multiple sources in one page.
Bohmann, Kristoffer. Bohmann Usability (2000). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Blogging
#31019
When Geolocation Gets Too Clever
Geo-redirecting -- redirecting users to different parts of your website depending on their own geographical location -- is a neat trick. It is handy when your website has different messages or product offers for users from different countries or regions. But many website owners mistakenly assume that their geolocation software works every time. It doesn't!
Heraghty, Michael. Mediajunk (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#27379
When Getting the Job Done Isn't Enough
Interface designers today are swirling within a blizzard of data. How many types of user data does your Web team collect?
Straub, Kathleen. Human Factors International (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis
#24109
Individual words are simply tools. Similarly, a particular color is a tool to a painter, and a given note to a musician. To write copy while focused on power words is like painting by numbers. You achieve a recognizable outcome with absolutely no creativity or life. No passion, no originality. Copywriting 'by numbers' may be good enough for some people. But if you have aspirations to write great copy, to make your mark -- you need to think beyond that.
Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2003). Articles>Web Design>Writing>User Centered Design
#20867
Zipf Curves and Website Popularity
Much available data suggests that Web use follows a Zipf distribution. The figure shows the distribution of incoming page requests to www.sun.com during a one-month period last year. Each datapoint represents one page, with the x-axis showing pages sorted according to popularity: the first page is the most popular one (the home page), the second page is the one that received second-most requests that month, and so on until we reach page number 10,000 which was only requested a single time that month.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1997). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#32360
Examining Users on News Provider Web Sites: A Review of Methodology
This project implemented and reviewed several methods to collect data about users' information seeking behavior on news provider Web sites. While browsing news sites, participants exhibited a tendency toward a breadth-first search approach where they used the home page or a search results page as a hub to which they returned and then linked to other pages. Generally, they browsed before using search. Information seeking patterns were consistent within-user but varied somewhat across users. Most behaviors were characterized as visually scanning with users spending much time scrolling.
Gibbs, William. Journal of Usability Studies (2008). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#32452
Does Advanced Search Sound Too Advanced?
Should advanced search be called something else to sound more friendly and inviting, and would it make more people to use it when they need to?
Johansson, Roger. 456 Berea Street (2008). Articles>Web Design>Search>User Centered Design
#32807
Usability Evaluation of a University Portal Website
This article provides a summary of a usability evaluation of a university portal website. University faculty, staff, and student users were asked to complete representative search tasks and provide feedback on the portal usability. Several user interface design issues were found to impact user performance in terms of task success and perceived task difficulty, in addition to overall satisfaction. From these results, recommendations are made for university portal design related to the default 'home' page, channel customization and configuration, and placement of user-specific functions.
Chaparro, Barbara S. Usability News (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design
