Anvendelighed som Succeskriterie

Normalt arbejder man i en velkendt kontekst på sin lokale computer, hvad enten der er tale om Windows, Kde, RedHat, Mac os X m.fl. men når vi åbner døren til Internet bliver disse rutiner ødelagt af noget som ikke altid er til at sætte fingeren på. Hvad er det som gør webløsninger svære at arbejde med og finde rundt i? Når man første gang sætter sig foran en computer er det som oftest med et mål. Nysgerrighed, at komme på Internet og shoppe, at skrive et brev og mange andre ting. Oftest er det denne drivkraft som får os til at tage de første slidsomme uger med styresystemet som man langsomt kommer til at forstå, og som man på sigt bliver fortroligt med idet det er den platform som giver og adgang til alle de digitale oplevelser. Kan man ikke arbejde på platformen vil man med sikkerhed heller ikke kunne opnå sine mål med arbejdet.

Orgaard Larsen, Thomas. Quark, The (2002). (Danish) Design>Web Design>Assessment

Assessing Web Site Quality  

Lists several questions to pose when evaluating a Web site's form and content.

Smart, Karl L. Intercom (2000). Design>Web Design>Assessment

Balancing Image Quality and Speed: How to Shave Seconds off Your Download Time

The Internet has changed the way information is displayed. According to Weinman and Heavin, (1997) “It is no longer necessary to only create compelling visuals and information - the speed with which your site is viewed is also subject to critique,” (p. 36). Internet audiences are not captive. They can leave, and often do, at any time. It is the daunting task of web designers to not only draw the audience into a page, but to keep them there. One way to attract and keep an audience is by maximizing image quality while minimizing download time. This can be accomplished by choosing appropriate graphic file formats and by utilizing a variety of file size reduction techniques.

Larsen, Laurie and Christine Phillips. Usability News (2001). Design>Web Design>Assessment

Calculate Web Page Display Speed

Calculates the size of a web page and estimates its download time at various connection rates. It also gives you recommendations on how to improve page display time.

IAsummit (2004). Design>Web Design>Assessment>Bandwidth

Characterizing Web Heuristics    

This article is intended to make Web designers more aware of the qualities of heuristics by presenting a framework for analyzing the characteristics of heuristics. The framework is meant to support Web designers in choosing among alternative heuristics. We hope that better knowledge of the backgrounds, potentials, and limitations of heuristics will contribute to the professional expertise in the field. Our second goal is to make those who develop and present heuristics more aware of the information their users need. Thus, we try to increase the usability of heuristics.

de Jong, Menno D.T. and Thea van der Geest. Technical Communication Online (2000). Design>Web Design>Assessment>Usability

The Delicate Art of (Web) Design Critique

Since I tend to hang around on various web-related mailing lists, I often see numerous requests for design critiques. Increasingly, this leads me to wonder about the process of critiquing other people's design. It's quite one thing to criticize someone's code; one can argue the merits or not of being a stickler about standards compliancy, or using CSS, or whatever. But design is more personal than writing code. (Writing on its own is also very personal, but that's not the topic here.) How do you constructively critique someone's work without being taken the wrong way? How do you accept criticism without feeling hurt or angry? Here are just a few ideas, gathered from observations and comments from others.

Itoh, Makiko. Digital Web Magazine (2000). Design>Web Design>Graphic Design>Assessment

Developing Heuristics for Web Communication: An Introduction to This Special Issue    

This article describes the role of heuristics in the Web design process. The five sets of heuristics that appear in this issue are also described, as well as the research methods used in their development. The heuristics were designed to help designers and developers of Web pages or sites to consider crucial communicative aspects of Web site design. Also previewed is a sixth article that presents a framework for characterizing and analyzing the broad variety of heuristics that are available for Web designers.

van der Geest, Thea and Jan H. Spyridakis. Technical Communication Online (2000). Design>Web Design>Assessment>Heuristic Evaluation

The DOM And Screen Readers

This article investigates a method of providing client-side form validation through the DOM, and ensures that it works as expected with screen readers. Modern screen readers work relatively well with scripting, but it's the extra steps required to inform screen reader users that the content has changed that needs addressing.

Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2006). Design>Web Design>Assessment

Don't Be a Slave to the Web Stats

Web stats are a tool and you need to know how to you that tool. Otherwise, you aren't accomplishing anything. At the very simplest level, your web stats should help you to figure out this overused business truism: 'Do more of what works. Do less of what doesn't.' But if you really want to derive value, you need to delve deeper. You need to understand what the numbers are telling you.

Improving Customer Experience (2006). Design>Web Design>Assessment>Log Analysis

Evaluating Your Web Site  

Assesses three methods of evaluating Web sites: guest books, hit counters, and log analyzers.

Archee, Raymond K. Intercom (2001). Design>Web Design>Assessment

Evaluating Your Web Site's Content  

Whether a web site is in its creation stages or it has been in place for a while, it can benefit from evaluation. Like all technical communicators, web authors must determine who their audience groups are, determine their needs, and determine the strengths and weaknesses of the site based on the needs of the audience groups.

Funkhouser, LaVonna F. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Web Design>Assessment

Evaluation of Digital Libraries Using Snowball Sampling  

This article describes how snowball sampling was applied in two different cases to evaluate digital collections. The first digital library was evaluated by conducting in–person interviews with survey participants. For the second digital library, an e–mail survey was mailed to site users. The results are compared and a cost–benefit analysis is provided. The author concludes that the convenience of an e–mail survey is not necessarily the most effective way to survey users.

Peterson, Elaine. First Monday (2005). Articles>Web Design>Assessment>Surveys

Even Excellent Sites Benefit from Expert Reviews

Get the flavor of an Expert Review as Dr. Schaffer points out the strengths and weaknesses of 11 award-winning Web sites.

Schaffer, Eric M. and Phil Goddard. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Web Design>Assessment

Guidelines for Designing and Evaluating the Display of Information on the Web    

These guidelines are intended to assist Web designers, authors, and editors in their efforts to create Web pages that effectively reveal—rather than obscure or confuse—the information they are trying to present. These guidelines are also intended to be used to assist in the evaluation of existing Web sites. Of course, the design of a Web site can, to some degree, be modified by the user or by the characteristics of the browser or monitor enlisted to display it. The guidelines, consequently, acknowledge that in a very real sense, users may also assume the role of designer. The guidelines, therefore, are also intended to help users make informed decisions about how to make a display easier to use.

Williams, Thomas R. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Web Design>Assessment>Visual Rhetoric

How C.R.A.P is Your Site Design?

Eons ago when I was taking the Freshman web design course in college (okay, it was only 4 years ago) I was taught about the acronym of all acronyms, the one by which all other web design acronyms were judged. We learned that good design is based on the C.R.A.P. principles where C.R.A.P. stands for Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity, and when Creative Directors tell you that your design is crap, they’re actually giving you positive reinforcement. Okay, that last part was made up, sorry. “Crappy work” is probably not a term of endearment but rather an indication that your pixels smell.

Rundle, Mike. Vitamin (2008). Articles>Web Design>Assessment

How to Determine Monthly Web Site Visitors

If you pay another business to host your Web site, give them a call. Tell them you want monthly traffic reports delivered to you each month.

Costello, Rick. STC Chicago (2003). Articles>Web Design>Assessment>Log Analysis

How to Judge a Website's Accessibility Level

Many web developers and administrators are conscious of the need to ensure that their web sites reach as high a level of accessibility as possible. But how do you actually find out whether a site has accessibility problems? Certainly, you can not assume that if no complaints have been received through the site feedback facility (assuming you have one), there are no problems. Many people affected by accessibility problems will just give up and go somewhere else. So you must be proactive in rooting out any problems as soon as possible. Fortunately, there are a number of handy ways to help you get an idea of the level of accessibility of the site, which do not require an in-depth understanding of web design or accessibility issues. It may be impractical to test every page, but try to make sure you check the Home page plus as many high traffic pages as possible.

Sloan, David. TechDis (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Assessment

How to Measure Web Site Effectiveness

Learn how to measure your Web site's effectiveness, justify the expense and prove ROI with precision.

Costello, Rick. STC Chicago (2003). Design>Web Design>Assessment

Improving Your Reader's Content Forms  

For most organizations, Reader’s Comment Forms serve primarily as Reader’s Complaint Forms. Most of these forms typically ask readers to identify errors in the text, citing location of the error, describing the error, and suggesting a change. What a waste!

Carliner, Saul. Intercom (2003). Design>Web Design>Assessment>Usability

Investing in a Website: Do You Know What's Important?

Knowing what to ask for is half the battle. Use this short quiz to test your knowledge of some basic issues involved in getting an effective website.

Bennaco (2004). Design>Web Design>Assessment

Keep Office Politics Out of Your Design

Everyone has an opinion about design. If your debate is based only on opinions, the person with the most power always wins. Almost always. The team that has rational support for its conclusion can trump power and opinion. User research can give you concrete proof that one direction is better than another.

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

Klare's "Useful Information" is Useful for Web Designers    

In many ways the writing principles that Klare recommended 37 years ago to promote high readability scores still apply to web-site design. Behind the pursuit of readability lies audience analysis, a concern with the intellectual level, previous experience, motivation, and reading goals of ones intended audience. Suitably adjusted to take account of online interactivity, those same concerns should guide design work on web structure and interfaces today.

Zibell, Kristin. Journal of Computer Documentation (2000). Design>Web Design>Writing>Assessment

Measuring Search Engine Marketing ROI

Spending on search engine marketing (SEM) is rising dramatically, yet surprisingly few companies are measuring the effectiveness of their campaigns. In a short survey conducted by web analytics vendor NetIQ, more than 800 participants responded to questions about their search engine marketing efforts and their attempts to measure success. The survey responses provide interesting insights into the state of search engine marketing ROI.

Sherman, Chris. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Assessment