Simplicity Costs Less and Works Better

If ordinary people have to use it, make it simple. You'll be doing your users a favour, and saving money too.

Baker, Adam. Merges.net (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

Simplify and Sort for Better Searches

Nothing matters more to your Web site's success than a good search tool. More than 50 percent of visitors to a Web site head straight for the search button, according to Web site usability expert Jakob Nielsen. You may feel your Web site's logical layout obviates any need for a search tool, but chances are a first-time visitor won't agree. Even if it's a paragon of elegance and efficiency, too many users have been traumatized by poorly organized Web sites to even try browsing anymore. Users are task-focused and want to find specific information as fast as possible. That means using a search tool.

Peterson, Constance J. Smartisans (1997). Design>Web Design>Search>Usability

Site Comment: Yellow Page Search on Krak.dk

Too many required choices, too much mouse moving, too weak words, and less obvious options make address search hard on Krak.dk.

Bohmann, Kristoffer. Bohmann Usability (2000). Design>Web Design>Usability>Forms

Site Map Usability

One of the oldest hypertext usability principles is to visualize the structure of the information space to help users understand where they can go. On today's Web, site maps are a common approach to facilitating navigation. Unfortunately, they are often not very successful at it. We conducted a usability study of site maps on 10 websites, and our main conclusion is that users are reluctant to use site maps and sometimes have problems even finding them. Considering that site maps could be particularly useful to people who are lost, it is not good news that they are often hard to find.

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

Site Navigation: A Few Helpful Definitions

Every site has structure, and visitors will form their first and most lasting impressions of that structure by looking at the links, buttons, tabs, and other controls that form the “navigation.” As designers, we’re very concerned with creating a navigation scheme and interface that makes it easy for the user to understand what they can do and where they can go. But collaborating with your team on the design of a navigation system can be difficult unless you all share the same vocabulary when talking about the different parts that make up the navigation UI.

Young, Indi. Adaptive Path (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Site Navigation: Keeping It Under Control

Site navigation is the structure of the site, and is presented as a globally present set of selections on your pages. These selections normally appear in a header, sidebar, or footer; the rest of the page displays content. Navigation is the section of the page that controls what appears in this content area. The beauty of this is that the page content is malleable. The architecture is not, and should represent a strong, extensible foundation that will last at least ten years. It's like building out floors in an office building. You can change the functionality of the floors as needed without changing the structure of the building. Global navigation is often divided into two or three sections: primary, utility, and footer navigation. Primary navigation supports the main tasks the user has in mind when he or she comes to the site. Utility navigation provides tools for the user that will support the main tasks, but are not tasks themselves. Footer navigation contains 'small print' and other links, defined by convention. Secondary navigation can appear when the user selects one of the global navigation items.

Young, Indi. Adaptive Path (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability

Site Usability Must Guide Web Designers

Spend money on usability and the investment will be returned. Nielsen Norman Group's Jakob Nielsen tells Steve Barrett why site usability must be a factor from the outset, no matter what designers might say Jakob Nielsen is a man with a mission - a mission to convert digital businesses to the benefits and overriding importance of usability.

Barrett, Steve. Revolution Magazine (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Slash Forward

Some URLs are better than others. The effect of web addresses on usability and design. Short, sweet, simple, and useful.

List Apart, A (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Slash Forward (Some URLs are Better Than Others)

A frequently overlooked step in this process is the structure of your links--the actual URLs you’ll be using to point to items on your site. Here are a few handy tips.

Waferbaby. List Apart, A (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Slate: Calculated Refinement or Simple Inertia

From an information architecture perspective, a daily web publication presents challenges and possibilities no newspaper editor ever had to face. As one of the longest-running daily publications on the web, Slate has dealt with these issues for years.

Garrett, Jesse James. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

The Slow Tail: Time Lag Between Visiting and Buying

Users often convert to buyers long after their initial visit to a website. A full 5% of orders occur more than four weeks after users click on search engine ads.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Web Design>E Commerce>Usability

So What Is User Requirements Gathering?

More than one reader has pointed out that our recent article 'Alternatives To User Requirement Gathering' spent plenty of time illustrating why certain methods were inappropriate for the task of requirement gathering, without actually detailing the correct way to undertake this type of research. In way of compensation, this week we provide some (brief) advice on this absolutely crucial area to successful application or site development.

Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

So You Want to Be an Interaction Designer 2006

Five years ago, Robert Reimann wrote a seminal article for the Cooper Newsletter called 'So You Want To Be an Interaction Designer.' Like many people, I read the article and said, yep, that's what I want to be. I took Reimann's (good) advice and found both work and training as an interaction designer.

Saffer, Dan. uiGarden (2007). Careers>Usability>Interaction Design>User Centered Design

So, What Size and Type of Font Should I Use on My Website?

By far the two most common types of fonts currently used on the Web are the serif font, Times New Roman (TNR) and the sans serif font, Arial. The question is, which one is more legible and at which size? In the past, it has been determined that serif fonts, which have ornamental strokes at the tip and base of each letter, are easier to read on paper than sans serif fonts, which do not have serifs. This is because it is believed that serifs help distinguished each individual letter (Albers, 1963). However, this benefit may be reduced or even eliminated on computer screens because of their display particularities, like poorer screen resolution and aliasing or 'jaggies,' as it is commonly known.

Bernard, Michael and Melissa Mills. Usability News (2000). Articles>Usability>Web Design

Social and Cognitive Effects of Professional Communication on Software Usability      

We designed and piloted a technical communication course for software engineering majors to take concurrently with their capstone project course in software design. In the pilot, one third of the capstone design course students jointly enrolled in the writing class. One goal of the collaborative courses was to use writing to improve the usability of students' software. We studied the effects of writing on students' user-centered beliefs and design practices and on the usability of their product, using surveys, document analyses, expert reviews, and user test results. When possible, we compared the usability processes and products of teams who did and did not take the writing class. Our findings suggest that the synergy of this interdisciplinary approach effectively sensitized students to user-centered design, instilled in them a commitment to it, and helped them develop usable products.

Mirel, Barbara E. and Leslie A. Olsen. Technical Communication Quarterly (1998). Design>Software>Usability>Rhetoric

Split A/B Testing

Split A/B testing is ideal for testing two web page designs to find out which is the best. Find out how A/B testing works and when to use it.

Halabi, Lisa. Webcredible (2007). Design>Web Design>Usability

Stalking the User: Practical Field Research  

Describes how technical communicators can use field research--observing people in their workplaces, homes, and schools--to gain a better understanding of user behavior.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. Intercom (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>User Centered Design

Starting a Career in User Experience

This article is based upon my own experience transitioning from a career in corporate-world project management into the field of user experience design. With dedication, some talent, a few classes, and a healthy dose of self-promotion, the transition was fairly easy, very enjoyable, and took about two years. I have outlined a few key points to consider if you are planning to start a career in user experience design.

Haid, Marcus. Adaptive Path (2003). Careers>Usability>User Centered Design>User Experience

Statistically Analyzing Success Rates in Web Usability Testing: The Cochran's Q Test

The Cochran's Q Test can be used to statistically analyze success rate data. It can be used even when only a small number of users are tested. This provides some indication that a vast amount of usability data can, and should be statistically analyzed

Griffith, Jamie. WebWord (2001). Articles>Web Design>Statistics>Usability

Staying Ahead of Competitors

Learn how to stay ahead of your competitors in the fast-paced ever-changing world of the Internet.

Claiborne, Scottie. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability

The Stench of Evil Users

Some users are out to destroy you. Some users want you to fail. Some users would like to crush your business. They hate you. They hate your web site. They don't like you. They don't like your company. They are poisonous, vengeful, and twisted. And they're smart.

Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Design>Web Design>Usability

Stop the Presses! Experts Offer Tips On Usability: News Sites Have a Lot To Learn

For all the hoopla of the last few years and the maturing of the online media business, this is still a medium where the practitioners have lots to learn. These are still the pioneer days. So as I look at news Web sites, in particular, I still see lots of room for improvement and experimentation. So do the self-appointed guardians of Web content quality, the usability experts and Web writing gurus. I recently asked several such individuals to make suggestions on how news-oriented sites can be improved -- how they can better serve their users and thus better evolve into viable independent enterprises. Here are some of their best ideas gleaned that might help you make improvements on your site(s) -- or help you to realize that there's a problem or need for improvement in the first place. I've added my ideas into the mix, as well.

Outing, Steve. Editor and Publisher (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability

Strategic Usability: Partnering Business, Engineering and Ease of Use

It's easy to fall into working in response to how things are going, instead of using usability engineering as a way to help lead a team in the right direction. Thinking strategically about the connections between business goals, and engineering practices can can help.

Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (2002). Design>Usability

Strategies for Usability: Putting ISO Standards to Practice  

Is your documentation and training a solution for complex product design? Whether designing software, hardware, documentation, online help, or a telecommunication network, a strategy for usability is essential to user-friendly design.

Dick, David J. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design

Streamlining an Interface Using Information Design Principles  

Describes a process for improving interface usability.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Design>Usability>User Interface