Designing High Fidelity Home Pages

A high fidelity home page is one that simply and clearly communicates an accurate, complete, and favorable impression of your organization and its products. An effective home page will also display your intimate understanding of, and desire to fully accommodate, the actual needs and interests of users.

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

Designing Information-Gathering Forms  

Poorly designed information-gathering forms drive up operating costs. Good design depends on a careful analysis of two users: Form-Fillers and Form Readers. Both types ofform user benefit if the form designer follows four principles of overall design. Guidelines for answer sections and user testing can also help designers produce more effective forms. Evaluation of existing forms can lead to successful revision so that costly mistakes can be avoided.

MacNealy, Mary Sue. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Document Design>Forms>Usability

Designing More Usable Web Sites

This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward building a more usable Web for all. At the present time, there are a number of interlocking and interrelated efforts.

University of Wisconsin (2001). Resources>Usability>Accessibility>Web Design

Designing Products for Offshore Development

Although as an Interaction Designer I'm not involved in the actual development of the products I design, I find it increasingly clear that outsourcing creates a significant impact on the entire software design and construction process. Offshore development is in its infancy, but will continue to evolve to become an increasingly effective way to go about certain kinds of software construction. Based on recent project work, this article describes a number of observations worth considering as you ponder how outsourcing and offshore development may fit into your plans.

Cronin, Dave. Cooper Interaction Design (2004). Design>Usability>International>Offshoring

Designing the Handheld Maritime Communicator  

We present the process of designing the first prototype of the Handheld Maritime Communicator: a mobile computer system supporting communication and coordination of safety-critical work activities on large container vessels. Designing the user experience of the Handheld Maritime Communicator was a particular challenge because it targets a highly specialized context of use and because poor design could potentially become a safety hazard. Meeting this challenge, ethnographic field studies on board container vessels were conducted, detailed analyses were carried out, and iterative design was performed. The design produced replaces a large amount of present spoken communication with predefined textual messages on a handheld device. This facilitates persistency, partial automation, and possible integration with other computer-based data. Evaluating the prototype in a high-fidelity ship simulator, prospective users validated the overall design, but also identified a number of usability problems that need to be addressed.

Kjeldskov, Jesper and Jan Stage. AIGA (2003). Design>User Interface>EPSS>Usability

Designing the User-Centered Process Model: A Case Study  

The case study involved the redesigning of NCR’s performance improvement model for developing information products, documentation, and training interventions for our customers. This process model, the Quality Information Products Process (QIPP) seeks to move information product developers away from an adversarial, compliance type model towards a quality improvement system that is grounded in the everyday practices of the users. The redesign effort was initiated during a review of the existing process as it related to a new corporate-wide product creation process which was recently implemented.

Kabel, Mary Ann. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>User Centered Design>Usability

Designing Web Ads Using Click-Through Data

Search engine ads are one type of Web advertising that can actually work. To create the best ads, do quick experiments and redesign ads based on usability principles for online writing. Doing so helped us increase ad click-through by 55 to 310 percent.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Usability

Designing Web Pages that Work

If you surf the Net, even just a little, it's not hard to run into a poorly designed site. These sites detract from the user’s online experience. Here are some 'strong suggestions' every Web designer should follow to avoid adding more poorly designed sites to the Web.

Gieseke, Laura. Techniques (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability

Developing an Online Form

Creating an online form can present developers with many challenges. This case study reviews how a paper-based form was taken through the usability engineering process to develop a functional online version. We discuss the steps in planning and research, prototype development, test design, and the usability test results.

Usability.gov. Articles>Web Design>Forms>Usability

Developing Heuristics for Web Communication    

The quicklists presented here are derived from five sets of heuristics that were published in the August 2000 special issue of Technical Communication, 'Heuristics for Web Communication.' They are intended to help Web designers and developers consider crucial communicative aspects of Web site design.

van der Geest, Thea and Jan H. Spyridakis. Technical Communication Online (2000). Design>Web Design>Methods>Usability

Developing Intranets Which People Use: Making Progress When Everyone has an Opinion

The goal of an intranet site is to improve knowledge sharing and productivity. In a large company, it can be difficult to achieve consensus on how to make this happen. Knowledge management experts, information systems project managers, graphic designers, marketing leaders, HTML developers and usability engineers are used to fighting for their places, convinced that they know best. In truth, the intranet is not yet mature, and there are no definite answers. This chapter describes experiences with the intranet sites of two Fortune 500 companies. In both cases, the usability engineer was a consultant from outside the company, in one case part of a team of consultants and in the other working more closely with company employees. Both intranet projects were riddled with mishaps, bad decisions, personality conflicts, and compromises. Still, the usability engineers were able to improve the sites by becoming members of the project teams, and by tirelessly incorporating usability in everything they did.

Zukor, Lee. ACM (2001). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>Usability

Developing Schemas for the Location of Common Web Objects

An essential ingredient in constructing the content of a website is knowing the typical users' mental model or 'schema' for the characteristic location of web objects on a website. Knowledge of this schema and constructing a site that reflects this should aid in the site's accessibility. This, in turn, should produce more accurate and faster information retrieval, as well as greater satisfaction with the site. However, little is known about the average users' schema for the location of web objects on a typical website.

Bernard, Michael. Usability News (2001). Articles>Usability>Web Design

Developing Your Site for Performance, Part II: Optimal Cache Control

Focuses primarily on sending that data as infrequently as possible by means of better utilization of caching on the Web. Once you start to design your sites with an eye towards effective caching control, you will dramatically reduce page load times for your users - particularly your most loyal, repeat visitors - as well as lower your overall bandwidth consumption and free up your server resources.

Powell, Thomas A. and Joe Lima. uiGarden (2005). Articles>Web Design>Usability

Devil's Advocate

The problem with wearing the technical support hat, I discovered, is that it tends to slip over your ears. Over time, you stop hearing the shrill cries of the users you're supporting, then you stop listening so carefully, then you stop speaking the same language as they do. And since you're busy putting out fires all over the building, who has time to start listening again? Problem is, once you no longer empathize with 'them,' you forget that they've got their own unending stream of crises to deal with. But if you want to tame those devils, you're going to need to take the time to understand their needs as well as you understand your own, and find a solution that meets both sets of needs. More often than you'd suspect, the result is a win-win solution.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. TECHWR-L (1999). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

Did Poor Usability Kill E-Commerce?

User success rates on e-commerce sites are only 56%, and most sites comply with only a third of documented usability guidelines. Given this, improving a site's usability can substantially increase both sales and a site's odds of survival.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce

Dimensions of Usability: Defining the Conversation, Driving the Process

Have you ever wondered if your colleagues or clients really understand usability? Too often, standards or guidelines substitute for really engaging our business, technical and design colleagues in a discussion of what usability means. By looking at usability from five dimensions, we can create a consensus around usability goals and use that definition to provide the basis for planning user centered design activities.

Quesenbery, Whitney. uiGarden (2006). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

Dimensions of Usability: Defining the Conversation, Driving the Process  

Have you ever wondered if your colleagues or clients really understand usability? Too often, standards or guidelines substitute for really engaging our business, technical and design colleagues in a discussion of what usability means. By looking at usability from five dimensions, we can create a consensus around usability goals and use that definition to provide the basis for planning user centered design activities.

Quesenbery, Whitney. WQusability (2003). Articles>Usability>Consulting>User Centered Design

Disabling Innovation

Setting legal standards for making websites 'accessible' to all won't help web designers, or users.

Perks, Martyn. Spiked Online (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability

Discount Usability for the Web

The introduction of the spreadsheet turned millions of people into programmers without the benefit of a computer science degree. Because of the resulting lack of knowledge about even the simplest debugging techniques, spreadsheet formulae and macros are riddled with bugs and million-dollar business decisions are sometimes based on calculation errors. It has been estimated that at least 40 percent of spreadsheets have bugs. The introduction of the Web is causing a similar phenomenon in user interface design. My current estimate is that there will be about 10 billion Web pages on the Internet by the Year 2001. Intranets and extranets will probably hold at least 10 times that many pages. We already have two million pages on SunWeb (the intranet at Sun Microsystems). Each Web page is a user interface design problem equivalent to that of a dialogue box: you must design a task flow that brings the most important items to users' attention and design alternative options for them to click on -- all the while keeping the meaning of these options clear for novice users. Considering that the world will design more than a 100 billion of these dialog-box equivalents in the next three or four years, extremely simple and inexpensive usability methods are crucial if we are to avoid a usability meltdown on the Web.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1997). Design>Web Design>Usability

Dix Bonnes Raisons pour ne pas Réussir Votre Intranet

Construire un intranet, cela semble simple et pourtant l'expérience nous montre que les écueils sont nombreux. Manque de cohérence, communication mal adaptée, mauvaise ergonomie, manque d'implication du management risquent de transformer l'intranet en un patchwork sans cohérence, ni ligne directrice, que les salariés finissent par ne plus utiliser.

Foliot, Catherine. Usabilis (2004). (French) Design>Web Design>Intranets>Usability

Do Government Agencies and Non-Profits Get ROI From Usability?

Although the gains don't fall into traditional profit columns, there are clear arguments for improving usability of non-commercial websites and intranets. In one example, a state agency could get an ROI of 22,000% by fixing a basic usability problem.

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

Do Links Need Underlines?

During our recent Virtual Seminar on home page design, several people asked about whether it makes a difference if links are underlined or not. It's a good question and one we get frequently.

Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>Interaction Design

Do's and Don'ts of Effective Web Design: A Summary of the UIU-2002 Research

Every year since 1983, I have reviewed and summarized much of the usability-related research literature that was published during the previous year. This has provided the basis for the popular, annual 3-day User Interface Update Course. My annual two-month 'read and outline' activity provides me with a number of research-based insights into 'what works' and 'what does not work' in usability. I have listed many of these insights in this article. What makes these 'Do's and Don'ts' unique is that they all have recent research to support them.

Bailey, Robert. Web Usability (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability

Does the Intrusiveness of an Online Advertisement Influence User Recall and Recognition?

This study investigated the effect of the type (banner ad, pop-up ad and floating ad) and state (animated and non-animated) of online advertisements on recall and recognition of the advertisements. It was hypothesized that floating ads, pop-up ads, and animated ads would be easier to recall due to their intrusive nature. Results showed that participants in the pop-up ad and floating ad condition had better recall of the presence of the ad as well as better recognition. Animation did not significantly influence any of these measures.

Shrestha, Sav. Usability News (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce

Does User Annoyance Matter?

Making users suffer a drop-down menu to enter state abbreviations is one of many small annoyances that add up to a less efficient, less pleasant user experience. It's worth fixing as many of these usability irritants as you can.

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