http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/User-Centered-Design A listing of the most recently indexed works about Design and Web Design and User Centered Design in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/User-Centered-Design http://tc.eserver.org/35822.html http://tc.eserver.org/35822.html The term "user" has also been critiqued because it obscures the fact that people use software and web sites in different ways. Sometimes the "user" is a customer, sometimes a contributor, sometimes an employee, sometimes a learner. In many cases, one of these words would be more accurate than the catch-all "user." http://tc.eserver.org/35705.html http://tc.eserver.org/35705.html Be it web-based applications or online services, they are taking the Internet by storm. Many websites introducing these services are created and launched to get users to sign up and use the software (hopefully for a long-term). The question is: How do we get users from the unfamiliar zone into the interested zone and subsequently becoming a first time use? http://tc.eserver.org/35629.html http://tc.eserver.org/35629.html On the web, write in small digestible chucks, which fit into the information hierarchy. To create your hierarchy, outline the website as you would for printed material. Then examine the site’s purpose and outline the main sections (e.g. words people use to navigate) and the links within those heads. Test it before it goes online. http://tc.eserver.org/35590.html http://tc.eserver.org/35590.html The site focuses on web usability, user research, usability testing, accessibility and standards focused design. http://tc.eserver.org/34959.html http://tc.eserver.org/34959.html The purpose of this paper is first to highlight some of the social phenomena that are driving the design of people-centred information solutions; second, to develop a broad ontology of information behaviour research that serves to identify factors that should be taken into account when designing such solutions. Finally, the author illustrates how this knowledge is being applied in the design of people-centred inclusive information products and services. http://tc.eserver.org/34964.html http://tc.eserver.org/34964.html The purpose of this research is to explore a method for the determination of users' representations of search engines, formed during their interaction with these systems. Determines the extent to which these elicited "mental models" indicate the system aspects of importance to the user and from this their evaluative view of these tools. http://tc.eserver.org/34466.html http://tc.eserver.org/34466.html Could a charter of rights for the user of web applications lead to the design of user-centred interfaces, better user experience and avoid causing frustration, irritation and consequently lost business? The following is an attempt to outline a charter of rights for the user of web applications. http://tc.eserver.org/34367.html http://tc.eserver.org/34367.html Clients, like other humans, often fear what they don't understand. Daniel Ritzenthaler explains how sound goal-setting, documentation, and communication strategies can bridge the gap between a designer's intuition and a client's need for proof. http://tc.eserver.org/34368.html http://tc.eserver.org/34368.html The web, with its low barrier to entry and permeable social boundaries, is the ultimate medium through which to explore the finer points of the wisdom of crowds. You’re surrounded by online examples: Google’s search results. BitTorrent. The “Most E-mailed” stories on your favorite news site. Each is powered by wisdom gleaned from crowds online. You need a few things to enable online crowds to be wise. http://tc.eserver.org/34308.html http://tc.eserver.org/34308.html Web developers frequently launch websites with self-absorbed web copy, which turns off visitors and kills conversions. Who’s to blame? Self-absorbed copywriters and business owners. To engage prospects and turn them into customers, web copy needs to appeal to the visitor’s self-interest. http://tc.eserver.org/34178.html http://tc.eserver.org/34178.html Understanding the extent to which people’s search behaviors differ in terms of the interaction flow and information targeted is important in designing interfaces to help World Wide Web users search more effectively. In this paper we describe a longitudinal log-based study that investigated variability in people’s interaction behavior when engaged in search-related activities on the Web. We analyze the search interactions of more than two thousand volunteer users over a five-month period, with the aim of characterizing differences in their interaction styles. The findings of our study suggest that there are dramatic differences in variability in key aspects of the interaction within and between users, and within and between the search queries they submit. Our findings also suggest two classes of extreme user--navigators and explorers--whose search interaction is highly consistent or highly variable. Lessons learned from these users can inform the design of tools to support effective Web-search interactions for everyone. http://tc.eserver.org/34100.html http://tc.eserver.org/34100.html Fluid layouts are an undervalued commodity in web design. They put control of our designs firmly in the hands of our users and their browsing habits. They’ve also utterly failed to seize the imagination of web designers. http://tc.eserver.org/34105.html http://tc.eserver.org/34105.html The parallels between the theories of technical communications and those of web design are very similar, the key aim is to keep the audience in mind at all times. The way you structure and present the information is also important, as is a sense of usability of the content itself. http://tc.eserver.org/33942.html http://tc.eserver.org/33942.html While your designs can never control people, they can encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior. The psychologist Kurt Lewin developed an equation that explains why people do the crazy things they do. Lewin asserts that behavior is a function of a person and his environment: Bf(P,E). You can’t change a person’s nature, but you can design the environment he moves around in. Let’s explore some of Alexander’s patterns I’ve observed in my work and the design work of my fellow practitioners. http://tc.eserver.org/33944.html http://tc.eserver.org/33944.html Despite the ubiquity of reading on the web, readers remain a neglected audience. Much of our talk about web design revolves around a sense of movement: users are thought to be finding, searching, skimming, looking. We measure how frequently they click but not how long they stay on the page. We concern ourselves with their travel and participation—how they move from page to page, who they talk to when they get there—but forget the needs of those whose purpose is to be still. Readers flourish when they have space—some distance from the hubbub of the crowds—and as web designers, there is yet much we can do to help them carve out that space. http://tc.eserver.org/33947.html http://tc.eserver.org/33947.html The words we use when we search are not always the words we like to read when we arrive at a website. Over the years, I have discovered that the way we think and the words we use when we search give strong clues as to what we want, but only clues. The words that will help us complete the task we came to the website to complete can be subtly-and sometimes substantially different-to the words we used when searching for it. http://tc.eserver.org/33948.html http://tc.eserver.org/33948.html For users, Web 2.0 was all about reorganizing web-based practices around Friends. For many users, direct communication tools like email and IM were used to communicate with one's closest and dearest while online communities were tools for connecting with strangers around shared interests. Web 2.0 reworked all of that by allowing users to connect in new ways. While many of the tools may have been designed to help people find others, what Web 2.0 showed was that people really wanted a way to connect with those that they already knew in new ways. Even tools like MySpace and Facebook which are typically labeled social networkING sites were never really about networking for most users. They were about socializing inside of pre-existing networks. http://tc.eserver.org/33665.html http://tc.eserver.org/33665.html A good starting point for planning the future of your website is to analyze what you already have. To some extent we are doing this all the time. That is how new projects happen. However, a more formal approach helps to better inform your decision-making throughout the web project. There are two ways to better understand your current website: qualitative and quantitative. http://tc.eserver.org/33475.html http://tc.eserver.org/33475.html As some in our profession have come to realize, social media and use of the Web in general have changed (and are still changing) the way in which people access and use information. http://tc.eserver.org/33437.html http://tc.eserver.org/33437.html Whenever visitors land on your web site, they consciously or subconsciously deal with five issues until they're satisfied, or better yet, delighted. These five issues will either induce the visitor to take the action you want them to take, or a lack of satisfaction may push them to find a competitor. None of these five issues is easy to measure. None has objective factors that are easily influenced. But all are nonetheless key to converting visitors. http://tc.eserver.org/33443.html http://tc.eserver.org/33443.html Personalization has rarely been implemented well. Its failure is usually because of a lack of understanding of customer behavior. http://tc.eserver.org/33234.html http://tc.eserver.org/33234.html In 2001, Bernard determined that users were able to form a schema for the location of web objects on informational websites. The current study investigates whether users' expectations have changed since the 2001 study. Changes were found in the expected location of the site search engine, internal links, and advertisements. http://tc.eserver.org/33220.html http://tc.eserver.org/33220.html One of the chronic challenges that will be highlighted by emotional design is site download speed. There are many sources of delay in Web site and application delivery. http://tc.eserver.org/33222.html http://tc.eserver.org/33222.html People are impatient on the Web. They are function and task orientated. They want to get things done as quickly as possible. The average person is still accessing the Web over a 56 KB modem. You should therefore have a major focus on 'light' webpages if you want to increase reader-satisfaction. http://tc.eserver.org/33223.html http://tc.eserver.org/33223.html One of the most overlooked aspects of designing a Web site is how users get to it. Separate factions are often devoted to promoting, designing, and maintaining a Web site, and the lack of communication and involvement can lead to apathy or confusion. Too frequently is it assumed that visitors are knowledgeable about the company and Web site, and that they enter through the home page. False assumptions about visitor entry can plague even a well-planned, well-designed site. http://tc.eserver.org/33224.html http://tc.eserver.org/33224.html When your Web pages load, you can't afford to let people be bored by a blank page at the outset. This article gives some tips on how to avoid common page loading problems and give users that valuable information they want even as more downloading takes place. http://tc.eserver.org/33158.html http://tc.eserver.org/33158.html Users’ “enjoyment” of a site is tied closely to how easily they can find the information they want and stay oriented at the same time. I think this is a given for technical communicators; we know that users want to get answers as fast as possible, and documentation must be navigable. http://tc.eserver.org/33160.html http://tc.eserver.org/33160.html This paper presents a case study in user-centred design as applied to the redesign of the Monash University web site. It begins with an overview of user-centred design which is then contrasted with traditional development processes. The case study provides some background information about the project and the choice of methodology, an outline of the user-centred design methods used, and the nature of the multi-disciplinary team responsible for the project. http://tc.eserver.org/33166.html http://tc.eserver.org/33166.html User-centric design's (UCD's) aim is to enhance and improve the user's experience with software or a product. This principle has benefits, but can it translate seamlessly to the commercial Web design process? Do UCD principles result in a customer-centric Web site that satisfies the diverse needs of potentially millions of visitors? UCD complements the process of designing and optimizing a site for conversion, but it was never conceived to address the intricacies of building a persuasive system. http://tc.eserver.org/33167.html http://tc.eserver.org/33167.html The Web is about self-service. To achieve success in self-service you need to really understand how your visitors think and behave. If they are to serve themselves they must feel comfortable and confident. That requires getting to know their needs in a comprehensive manner. It requires an ongoing conversation with them. http://tc.eserver.org/33112.html http://tc.eserver.org/33112.html Over the years, we've studied the usability of hundreds of product and web site designs. We've seen designs that were incredibly effective for users and designs that fell tremendously short. One emerging pattern in our ongoing research is that design teams that know a lot about their users are more likely to produce user experiences that are usable, effective, and pleasing. http://tc.eserver.org/33105.html http://tc.eserver.org/33105.html Intranet developers and content owners are able to grab the attention of their users through momentum. Interest--caused by curiosity, marketing, word-of-mouth, or hype--is raised during initial rollout. And there will always be a surge in your web server's usage logs during this period. But once the novelty has worn off, will your intranet have enough true substance to transform that initial momentum into regular usage? http://tc.eserver.org/33084.html http://tc.eserver.org/33084.html You can’t usefully deliver information to users that you haven’t personally met. This article discusses the challenges in delivering information to all staff within an organisation, and outlining practical approaches that ensure efforts spent publishing intranet content are not wasted. http://tc.eserver.org/33056.html http://tc.eserver.org/33056.html Moving an intranet structure from a producer logic to a user logic is probably the hardest thing an intranet manager will ever have to do, especially in large, complex organisations. http://tc.eserver.org/33059.html http://tc.eserver.org/33059.html The role of the developer is to ensure that their systems don't put undue stress on users simply for the sake of technology. Developing for technology alone helps no one. It may showcase the advances in the industry and impress those in-the-know; but after the oohing and aahing stop, it does little to ease the disconnect between the user and the tool. http://tc.eserver.org/33015.html http://tc.eserver.org/33015.html Personas are "hypothetical archetypes" of actual users. They are not real people, but they represent real people during the design process. A persona is a fictional characterization of a user. The purpose of personas is to make the users seem more real, to help designers keep realistic ideas of users throughout the design process. http://tc.eserver.org/33016.html http://tc.eserver.org/33016.html Generally, user group profiles are not developed for all user groups, rather they are developed for the primary user groups and for user groups that designers don't know well. Because many designers start out with little or no knowledge of accessibility issues, adding accessibility considerations to user group profiles is particularly important. http://tc.eserver.org/32981.html http://tc.eserver.org/32981.html I first heard of ethnography in Sociology 101. In his sonorous voice, our professor regaled us with tales of intrepid anthropologists immersing themselves in little-known cultures in exotic settings. We discussed Margaret Mead's seminal work, Coming of Age in Samoa. We examined the rigors of fieldwork, the tension between observation and participation and the challenge of analysis. It was a great class and I even opted for Soc 102. And that was that. Ethnography faded into the recesses of my mind until reawakened with a start a few years ago when I began hearing it applied to Web design. And it scared me spitless. http://tc.eserver.org/32992.html http://tc.eserver.org/32992.html User-Centered Design.hmm.seems intuitive, doesn't it? Obviously, if we're launching something onto the World Wide Web, we must be expecting someone to use it — duh. Though this may be true, many companies are missing the mark and their audience and, consequently, their business objectives by failing to successfully integrate the user. A User-Centered Design approach can create successes by merging business and user objectives to deliver a service that users value, while generating a benefit for the business. http://tc.eserver.org/32993.html http://tc.eserver.org/32993.html User Centered-Design (UCD) is a philosophy and a process. It is a philosophy that places the person (as opposed to the 'thing') at the center; it is a process that focuses on cognitive factors (such as perception, memory, learning, problem-solving, etc.) as they come into play during peoples' interactions with things. UCD seeks to answer questions about users and their tasks and goals, then use the findings to drive development and design. http://tc.eserver.org/32996.html http://tc.eserver.org/32996.html While user-centered design (UCD) is a commonly used process for designing mainstream hardware, software, and web interfaces; design for accessibility is relatively uncommon in education and practice. As a result, the scope of users and the situations in which they operate products is not as inclusive as it could be. Designing for accessibility does not require a whole new process. Accessible design techniques fit well into established UCD processes for designing a range of products, from a handheld device, to office software, to a government web site. By integrating accessibility into the design process, designers can efficiently create products that work effectively for more people in more situations. http://tc.eserver.org/33013.html http://tc.eserver.org/33013.html The key revolution of the Web is customer empowerment and engagement. The Web empowers the customer more than it empowers the organization. The implications are enormous. http://tc.eserver.org/32905.html http://tc.eserver.org/32905.html This paper reports the results of scavenger-hunt usability tests conducted with 16 adolescent children (8 males and 8 females) in two age groups (12 years old and 16 years old), using two general-interest topical Web sites. The tests yield comparison data regarding both search performance and self-reported subjective preferences. The sole independent variable affecting search performance was the age of the subject, from which the authors conclude that children's domain knowledge may be a key component of their ability to retrieve information successfully from Web-based systems. Subjective preferences of children are systematically compared to previously reported preference data for adults who tested the same topical Web sites. Based on these data, as well as on insights based on subjects' verbal protocols, conclusions regarding both commonalities and differences in Web usability requirements between adults and children are suggested. http://tc.eserver.org/32926.html http://tc.eserver.org/32926.html Information architect Lou Rosenfeld never thought he'd criticize a website for being over-architected. Then he saw Brint.com and its 16 navigational systems. http://tc.eserver.org/32927.html http://tc.eserver.org/32927.html It's all too common for IT players to emphasize the technology and ignore the information that the technology exists to convey. Take my friendly local cable provider, MediaOne. http://tc.eserver.org/32952.html http://tc.eserver.org/32952.html To know the mind of others is one of the fundamental problems of being human. Much of our energy is spent trying to do so. For web designers, knowing the mind of users is complicated by having very little interaction with them. It is possible, on some projects, to design and redesign web sites without ever talking to one user. http://tc.eserver.org/32956.html http://tc.eserver.org/32956.html I find that many designers give much more of their time to learning the latest standards trick than learning the latest “designing for users” trick. Here are a few reasons why this may be so. http://tc.eserver.org/32807.html http://tc.eserver.org/32807.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/32735.html http://tc.eserver.org/32735.html Here’s a very quick, but very useful trick. You can catch 404 errors (page not found) on a static site and serve up a custom 404 page with a one-liner in your .htaccess file. http://tc.eserver.org/32686.html http://tc.eserver.org/32686.html Conversation is a theme that flows through all the work we do as technical communicators. Every use of your web site is a conversation started by a busy site visitor. http://tc.eserver.org/32452.html http://tc.eserver.org/32452.html 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? http://tc.eserver.org/32360.html http://tc.eserver.org/32360.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/31912.html http://tc.eserver.org/31912.html Bad content, bad links, bad navigation, bad category pages... which is worst for business? In these examples, bad content takes the prize for costing the company the most money. http://tc.eserver.org/31909.html http://tc.eserver.org/31909.html On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely. http://tc.eserver.org/31904.html http://tc.eserver.org/31904.html Different traffic sources imply different reasons for why visitors might immediately leave your site. Design to keep deep-link followers engaged through additional pageviews. http://tc.eserver.org/31778.html http://tc.eserver.org/31778.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/31623.html http://tc.eserver.org/31623.html User Vision's top seven tips on how to ensure your internal search is capable of meeting the needs of your users. http://tc.eserver.org/31072.html http://tc.eserver.org/31072.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/31019.html http://tc.eserver.org/31019.html 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! http://tc.eserver.org/30882.html http://tc.eserver.org/30882.html I know what engagement is (everyone does), but I don't know what it means or how to explain it, let alone how to measure it. In a digital marketing context, I think it's one of those words that everyone understands but can't define. http://tc.eserver.org/30879.html http://tc.eserver.org/30879.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/30878.html http://tc.eserver.org/30878.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/30865.html http://tc.eserver.org/30865.html Is doing Path Analysis a good use of time? In my humble opinion the answer is a rather emphatic no, except for one exception (which I'll discuss below). Almost always Path Analysis tends to be a sub optimal use of our time, resources and any money that is expended on buying tools that do 'great' Path Analysis. http://tc.eserver.org/30864.html http://tc.eserver.org/30864.html Bounce rate is a beautiful way to measure the quality of traffic coming to your website. It is almost instantly accessible in any web analytics tool. It is easy to understand, hard to misunderstand and can be applied to any of your efforts. http://tc.eserver.org/30867.html http://tc.eserver.org/30867.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/30827.html http://tc.eserver.org/30827.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/30764.html http://tc.eserver.org/30764.html The emergence of Internet was, and still is a fascinating thing to happen in technology firmament. The ease and the comforts of connecting to people, defying geographical boundaries, and getting a global audience for businesses were unparalleled -- first of its kind ever. So wonderful a thing has, unfortunately, got its share of woes -- the connection speed. The bandwidth of Internet connectivity was considerable at the time when it was entirely new to the world. The newness of the medium did not let it know to the excited lots of users and beneficiaries. Gradually, when people wished for more speed, they earnestly expected that things will turn favorable in the times ahead. Strategy is not something entirely applicable to chart out the direction of a corporation. Yeah, Your web design has to be strategized as well if you wish to serve your target audience in business friendly manner. http://tc.eserver.org/30668.html http://tc.eserver.org/30668.html Encourage user contribution to your Web site by learning from Wikipedia. Wikipedia builds on open source and respects the geographical variety and potential accessibility needs of its users. It provides tools to help users contribute, but also fosters an atmosphere where contributions are verified and discussed by the broader community. http://tc.eserver.org/30208.html http://tc.eserver.org/30208.html Sometimes, when a customer looks for contact information for Customer Support, it is hidden from view or buried beneath layers of menus. Some companies even deliberately hide their contact information, because they simply don't want customers to contact them. So, what factors should you consider if your goal is providing more optimal customer support on the Web? http://tc.eserver.org/30030.html http://tc.eserver.org/30030.html Ever visited the website of a company with a glaring error either on the site or in their product, only to discover that they have successfully sealed themselves off from the world, so you can't report it? Sure you have, and it's not only causing you frustration, it's costing that company real money. http://tc.eserver.org/30028.html http://tc.eserver.org/30028.html Slashing subjective time on your site by 50% is a perfectly reasonable goal. Indolent worker George Costanza once reflected on the time in the shower you wait for the hair conditioner to work as, 'a really tough minute.' A minute waiting for hair conditioner to work while getting ready for a date can feel longer than the three subsequent hours you spend with that very special person. Reducing/eliminating boredom points can make the time spent on your website appear to really fly by. http://tc.eserver.org/30019.html http://tc.eserver.org/30019.html This paper presents a lightweight form of usage-centered design that has proved particularly effective in designing highly usable Web-based applications. Fully compatible with both traditional object-oriented software engineering methods and newer agile techniques such as Extreme Programming, this approach employs rapid, card-based techniques to develop simplified models of user roles, tasks, and user interface contents. The process attempts to resolve the conflict between the demands of rapid iterative design and incremental development on the one hand and the needs for integrity in a user interface fitted to the full set of user tasks on the other. The resolution depends on creating a navigation architecture and a visual and interaction design scheme based on quick but comprehensive task modeling. The process is illustrated with experiences from the design of a Web-deployed application for classroom teachers. http://tc.eserver.org/29996.html http://tc.eserver.org/29996.html When IT professionals meet to talk about Internet and Intranets, the focus is invariably on technology. Active Server, Java applets, browsers, cookies, XML, scripting, secure sockets, JDBC, push, etc. It is rarely that any attention is given to what makes good content. What does the user want? And most users are actually 'readers'. http://tc.eserver.org/29810.html http://tc.eserver.org/29810.html On your site, the content page is the user's most frequent final destination. This page contains the information the user came to the site to find. Sites often have hundreds, if not thousands (and in some cases, millions) of these critical pages. How can design teams be confident their content pages are understandable to users? How does a team ensure they've designed content pages that communicate the essential information effectively? http://tc.eserver.org/29558.html http://tc.eserver.org/29558.html Is it more important for your web site to be desirable or accessible? How about usable or credible? The truth is, it depends on your unique balance of context, content and users, and the required tradeoffs are better made explicitly than unconsciously. http://tc.eserver.org/29552.html http://tc.eserver.org/29552.html Users rarely look at display advertisements on websites. Of the four design elements that do attract a few ad fixations, one is unethical and reduces the value of advertising networks. http://tc.eserver.org/29551.html http://tc.eserver.org/29551.html One site did most things right, but still had a miserable 14% success rate for its most important task. The reason? Users ignored a key area because it resembled a promotion. http://tc.eserver.org/29293.html http://tc.eserver.org/29293.html There is an astonishing amount of disbelief that the users of web pages have learned to scroll and that they do so regularly. Holding on to this disbelief--this myth that users won't scroll to see anything below the fold--is doing everyone a great disservice, most of all our users. http://tc.eserver.org/28957.html http://tc.eserver.org/28957.html The Web is about self-service and self-service is about simplicity and convenience. You've got a small screen and every time you add something extra to that screen you make the world more complicated for your reader. You must make very difficult choices if you want your website to work. You can't serve everybody, and if you try to you will serve nobody. http://tc.eserver.org/28946.html http://tc.eserver.org/28946.html When you hear the term "customer centric content management", you might think we're talking about marketing content. We're not. We're talking about managing the delivery of all types of content, including marketing content. And, we're specifically talking about providing individuals -- people -- both existing and prospective customers, with only the content that is relevant and of interest to them. You may think you already do a good job at this task, but in most organizations, there is significant room for improvement. Most of the problems are caused by one very big mistake: failing to listen. http://tc.eserver.org/28922.html http://tc.eserver.org/28922.html Basic problem solving still completely swamps any other creative concern when working on mobile sites. A refreshing blast of Spartan usability problems, mobile site design is uncluttered with your typical mamby-pamby web problems. Can a user get the information, and fast? Answer this question and you're far ahead of everyone else. The design process described was quite effective at powering through a lot of basic usability problems, but struck me as potentially ill suited to a younger project that might still be finding itself. http://tc.eserver.org/28529.html http://tc.eserver.org/28529.html Sometimes there's a lot more to simple than meets the eye. To the customer, this is just a few obvious words in a small box. But really, that's the point. http://tc.eserver.org/28432.html http://tc.eserver.org/28432.html Site Personas are analogous to User Personas. Whereas User Personas represent typical individuals in your target user base, together with goals and motivations, the Site Persona represents the site, embodying its brand and its goals. I often find it helpful to picture my web sites as information flowing both ways between the site and users. The Dialogue Process is a way to optimise your web site interactions by scripting them as conversations between your two types of persona. http://tc.eserver.org/28429.html http://tc.eserver.org/28429.html Once you've got a statement of purpose you're halfway to being ready to design. The next step is to understand who'll be looking at the page, and why. http://tc.eserver.org/28428.html http://tc.eserver.org/28428.html If you already have a web site, or you have a site project in mind, what needs does it fulfil? How many different needs are there? How strong are they? Your job as a web site designer is to craft a solution that meets all the most important needs. http://tc.eserver.org/28430.html http://tc.eserver.org/28430.html Of course, the ideal solution is a win-win, where you achieve your goal at the same time as enabling your visitors to reach theirs. This section of the site introduces some tools to help find win-win situations. http://tc.eserver.org/28404.html http://tc.eserver.org/28404.html Web designers frequently suffer under the illusion that other people look at their web pages the way we do. This is wrong. Designers need to develop the skill of looking at their designs through naïve eyes. http://tc.eserver.org/28407.html http://tc.eserver.org/28407.html Everything that goes into your web site must have a purpose. Every single element and decision must help users achieve their goals and support the site's goals. http://tc.eserver.org/28413.html http://tc.eserver.org/28413.html One of the most fundamental factors in designing for screen-based media is: No-one likes looking at a computer screen. http://tc.eserver.org/28390.html http://tc.eserver.org/28390.html To me, understanding goals is the single most critical factor in the success of any design project, and fundamental to the Web Design from Scratch approach. In this section, you'll learn techniques that help you discover your own goals and gain insight into what your target audience really wants. If you're working on a project, this section will help you get a clear picture of your purpose, understand the key goals of your target users and start to visualise a high-value solution that ensures everybody wins. http://tc.eserver.org/28377.html http://tc.eserver.org/28377.html もしユーザが、いつもウェブサイトの間違えたセクションを開いているなら、ラベリングの改良から、構造の明確化まで、幅広い改善策がある。 http://tc.eserver.org/28358.html http://tc.eserver.org/28358.html Why haven't we figured out search yet? Amanda Spink talks with Christina Wodtke on why searchers still can't ask a useful question of a search engine, and how Google may be part of the problem rather than part of the solution. http://tc.eserver.org/28330.html http://tc.eserver.org/28330.html The homepage is different from all other Web site pages. A well-constructed homepage will project a good first impression to all who visit the site. It is important to ensure that the homepage has all of the features expected of a homepage and looks like a homepage to users. A homepage should clearly communicate the site's purpose, and show all major options available on the Web site. Generally, the majority of the homepage should be visible 'above the fold,' and should contain a limited amount of prose text. Designers should provide easy access to the homepage from every page in the site. http://tc.eserver.org/28318.html http://tc.eserver.org/28318.html Although there are lots of elements to consider when designing compelling Web experiences (writing style, look and feel, information organization--to name just a few), there is one 'knowable' element that can be used to appraise the rest: audience. http://tc.eserver.org/28296.html http://tc.eserver.org/28296.html Find out how to avoid sneaky marketing practices that users can see through. Instead, provide honest and useful content and watch the number of repeat site visitors soar. http://tc.eserver.org/28260.html http://tc.eserver.org/28260.html The easier it is to find places with good information, the less time users will spend visiting any individual website. This is one of many conclusions that follow from analyzing how people optimize their behavior in online information systems. http://tc.eserver.org/28237.html http://tc.eserver.org/28237.html After personally observing users with disabilities interacting with websites in unexpected ways, I have come to believe strongly in the value of user research--and to suspect that we really don't know quite as much about real-world accessibility as we think we do. http://tc.eserver.org/28216.html http://tc.eserver.org/28216.html We now have over 75 million websites we can go to, but still we only visit six of them regularily, as we just learned from a study recently made public by Directgov. Their findings make us think of a new phase of the Internet. http://tc.eserver.org/28220.html http://tc.eserver.org/28220.html If it is your side column on your website you want it. But does your user see or even read it? You might argue that the sidecolumn is a common standard. So we do need it. Do we? http://tc.eserver.org/28213.html http://tc.eserver.org/28213.html Simplicity as a result of a creative process is 'the ultimate sophistication,' as Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) said. Achieving simplicity is a difficult task not only in web-design but in every discipline (art, business, sports, science), yet simplicity for websites is a particular challenge as paper derived graphic design and usability on one side, marketing language and user expectations on the other side are in constant struggle with each-other. http://tc.eserver.org/28215.html http://tc.eserver.org/28215.html Since I've started developing websites I've been looking for the ideal layout. Today I got another hint on the direction to take. Jacob Nielsen calls it the 'F-Pattern.' http://tc.eserver.org/28051.html http://tc.eserver.org/28051.html Eyetracking data show that users are easily distracted when watching video on websites, especially when the video shows a talking head and is optimized for broadcast rather than online viewing. http://tc.eserver.org/27942.html http://tc.eserver.org/27942.html Clear content, simple navigation, and answers to customer questions have the biggest impact on business value. Advanced technology matters much less. http://tc.eserver.org/27940.html http://tc.eserver.org/27940.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/27679.html http://tc.eserver.org/27679.html RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication (depending on who you believe). If you don't know what it is, you had best grow a brain about it tout de suite. http://tc.eserver.org/27682.html http://tc.eserver.org/27682.html The most monotonous entities in the known universe, forms, are a staple of every web programmer's balanced diet. Whether we like them or not, forms are the gatekeepers to our site’s goodies and often their design alone determines whether a user will try what you’re selling or simply walk away. Without pomp or circumstance, here are ten tips to transform your plain vanilla into double chocolate chunk with marshmallows. http://tc.eserver.org/27494.html http://tc.eserver.org/27494.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/27476.html http://tc.eserver.org/27476.html Research indicates that most users never find the majority of the functionality in any given application. Learning tends to reach a plateau early on, and is rarely expanded upon. And what that means is that most customers consistently undervalue the software products they purchase and use. http://tc.eserver.org/27379.html http://tc.eserver.org/27379.html Interface designers today are swirling within a blizzard of data. How many types of user data does your Web team collect? http://tc.eserver.org/27107.html http://tc.eserver.org/27107.html Remember your site visitors won't find your website as easy to use as you do. Change your state of mind and you'll improve the user experience for all visitors. http://tc.eserver.org/26764.html http://tc.eserver.org/26764.html How could there be a successful business model in actively sending people away from your site? Seven years and a $75 billion market capitalization later, that question has obviously been answered. http://tc.eserver.org/26570.html http://tc.eserver.org/26570.html To explore information behavior from a psychological perspective by relating information seeking to personality traits and study approaches. Fast surfing could be related to a surface study approach and emotionality, as well as to low openness to experience and low conscientiousness. Broad scanning was linked to extraversion, openness, and competitiveness, whereas deep diving was a search pattern typical of analytical students with a deep and strategic study approach. http://tc.eserver.org/26564.html http://tc.eserver.org/26564.html User journeys are a method for conceptualising and structuring a website's content and functionality. These journeys allow us to shift away from thinking about structure in terms of hierarchies or a technical build; instead you create a narrative around your user's needs. http://tc.eserver.org/26521.html http://tc.eserver.org/26521.html Relentlessly simple solutions to complex design problems can be the difference between an average experience and a great one. D. Keith Robinson reminds web designers and developers that ease of use is more important than technological sophistication. http://tc.eserver.org/26499.html http://tc.eserver.org/26499.html With a small budget to create a website, many small businesses bypass usability testing. While it is not always possible to do a full-blown usability test on a small website, there are steps that website developers can take to help make sure users are not ignored during the process. http://tc.eserver.org/26450.html http://tc.eserver.org/26450.html Having global navigation isn't a bad thing. It's just not something that should garner a lot of resources, as it's unlikely to be important in the user experience. You're probably better off putting your resources elsewhere (such as increasing scent for the most important content on your site). http://tc.eserver.org/26449.html http://tc.eserver.org/26449.html 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. http://tc.eserver.org/26369.html http://tc.eserver.org/26369.html This document details an XML-based method of providing end-user control over the format of an online document, Web page or entire Web site. This functionality is useful in situations where users, due to preference or physical ability, require a way to personalize their view of the content. Content managers, editors, and developers are also able to work with one set of documents, eliminating the need for multiple files that contain the same information with different formatting, therefore reducing redundancy, version inconsistencies, and workload. http://tc.eserver.org/26362.html http://tc.eserver.org/26362.html Findability is one of the most thorny problems in web design. This is due in part to the inherent ambiguity of semantics and structure. We label and categorize things in so many ways that retrieval is difficult at best. But that’s only the half of it. The most formidable challenges stem from its cross-functional, interdisciplinary nature. Findability defies classification. It flows across the borders between design, engineering, and marketing. Everybody is responsible, and so we run the risk that nobody is accountable. http://tc.eserver.org/26129.html http://tc.eserver.org/26129.html Where do your eyes go when you read articles on the Web? What do you notice, and what do you miss? The upper left quarter of the screen gets the most attention, according to the Eyetrack III research of The Poynter Institute, the Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media, and Eyetools. http://tc.eserver.org/25948.html http://tc.eserver.org/25948.html On a website, certain areas carry more value than the rest of the site, just by virtue of their location. To have an effective site, it's crucial to know where these areas are and what belongs in them. http://tc.eserver.org/25523.html http://tc.eserver.org/25523.html Even the simplest website is harder to figure out than a catalog or magazine. We all know how to 'use' a catalog: start at the front cover and keep turning the pages. But with every new site we visit, we have to 'learn' how it works, how its 'pages' turn, how to find what we’re looking for. Text that takes visitors' needs into account can help guide them through the maze. http://tc.eserver.org/25466.html http://tc.eserver.org/25466.html Reduce the number of database hits and improve your Web application's efficiency when you load common shared list values only once. In this code-filled article, learn to load the values for drop-down lists when your Web application starts and then to share these loaded list values among all the users of your application. http://tc.eserver.org/25452.html http://tc.eserver.org/25452.html The clean-n-simple site map gets a nice haircut and and a shoe-shine as Kim Siever shows us how to hook custom bullet styles to troublesome nested lists. http://tc.eserver.org/25387.html http://tc.eserver.org/25387.html A new buzzword you should know about is 'blog' or 'web log', meaning web log, digital journal, or online diary. Blogs are the Next Big Thing to hit the Internet, after conventional Web Sites. http://tc.eserver.org/25198.html http://tc.eserver.org/25198.html Is your website structured according to the needs of your users? Does it deliver on your website objectives? Use Web Analytics to redesign it. http://tc.eserver.org/25200.html http://tc.eserver.org/25200.html As Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) become more advanced, the tasks, problems, and processes they address become increasingly complex, making it more important than ever to accurately model user workflows. Early Internet applications were often narrowly focused in scope, and the steps were relatively simple and sequential, for example, purchasing items through simple e-commerce, reserving hotel rooms, or renting cars. But as productivity applications move toward a web-based distribution model, the tasks become more complicated. http://tc.eserver.org/25197.html http://tc.eserver.org/25197.html How to use web analytics in designing web information architecture.