#23060
In January 1998, Kodak introduced a new top-level structure and visual design for its Web site. This paper describes the user-centered approach utilized in the design process. We discovered that combining the knowledge gained from a variety of data collection methods was critical to understanding and defining Web site user requirements. We also found an on-line preview and survey to be a useful tool for assessing user acceptance of new designs. A sampling of results is provided to illustrate the process we used and to discuss its effectiveness.
Yu, Jack J., Prasad V. Prabhu and Wayne C. Neale. HFweb (1998). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Case Studies
#20607
Graphic user interfaces were designed to give people control over their personal computers. Users now expect a level of design sophistication from all graphic interfaces, including Web pages. The goal is to provide for the needs of all your potential users, adapting Web technology to their expectations and never requiring readers to conform to an interface that places unnecessary obstacles in their paths.
Lynch, Patrick J. and Sarah Horton. Yale University (1999). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design
#19182
User-Centered Design and Web Development
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.
Katz-Haas, Raissa. STC Usability SIG (1998). Design>User Centered Design>Web Design
#10627
User-Centered Design/Ease of Use Guidelines
The most compelling design solutions are ones that are simple, natural to use, and completely in tune with users' needs and experiences. Achieving these solutions in the design of technology products and e-business applications requires building a multi-disciplinary team, tapping resources such as published research, guidelines, and standards, and involving users throughout the design process. Here we outline a process and provide resources for achieving compelling designs.
#30019
User-Centered Engineering for Web Applications 
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.
Constantine, Larry L. and Lucy A.D. Lockwood. Constantine and Lockwood (2002). Design>Web Design>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
#28429
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.
Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2005). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#23189
L'Utilisateur Moyen N'existe Pas
La conception d'un site est trop souvent ponctuée de ces réunions stériles où chacun cherche à défendre son point de vue persuadé de plaider la cause de l'utilisateur final. Mais il n'existe pas d'utilisateur moyen. Chaque utilisateur est unique. L'approche ergonomique permet d'adapter le site à l'usage qui en est réellement fait et ainsi de construire sur des bases objectives.
Nogier, Jean-Francois. Usabilis (2004). (French) Design>Web Design>Collaboration>User Centered Design
#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
#21381
This article looks at web design issues from a technical writing perspective. It highlights aspects of poor design that can prevent your intended audience from receiving your message.
Unwalla, Mike. TechScribe (2003). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design
#21569
Taking the time to plan a Web site is crucial for the success of the project.
Leonard-Wilkinson, Theresa A. W-edge Design (1998). Design>Web Design>Information Design>User Centered Design
#23299
Web-User Satisfaction on the Upswing
Site visitors are more likely to finish Web tasks successfully, but site searches are still troublesome, according to a recent survey.
O'Reilly, Dennis. PC World (2004). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#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
#23514
It is advisable to be aware of the predominant conventions used on the Web. As Jakob Nielsen writes in the November 14, 1999 issue of his Alertbox, 'No website is seen in isolation: users come to your site expecting things to work the same way they are already used to.'
Atkisson, Heidi. University of Washington-Seattle (2003). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design
#29996
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'.
HyperWrite (2001). Design>Web Design>Writing>User Centered Design
#23982
What Causes Customers to Buy on Impulse?
This paper studies the design elements within e-commerce sites that motivate impulse purchases online.
Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2003). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>E Commerce
#23505
When users complain about sites, webmasters frequently respond with hostility, derision, condescension, or just plain silence. No wonder users rarely bother to complain. Bad attitudes stand between the site you created and the site your users want to use.
Seebach, Peter. IBM (2001). Design>Web Design>Correspondence>User Centered Design
#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
#18690
Why Are Good User Interfaces So Hard to Make? Three Insights into Good Design
Last year at Internet World a woman asked me why software and Web sites were so hard to use. Let's call her Pandora. I told Pandora that either we aren't smart enough yet, or the industry has not matured to the point at which well-designed products are required for companies to be profitable. She didn't buy it. She swore that sometimes we just did it on purpose. She laughed when she said it, but I think she meant it. It's my job to make simple-to-use products, and I took what she said to heart. I said that we really are trying, and that we're getting better at it all the time. She walked away unimpressed. I went back to the hotel bar that night and thought about why things are the way they are with the Internet and computers.
Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (1999). Design>User Interface>User Centered Design>Web Design
