#33016
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.
UIaccess (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Personas
#33056
From Producer Logic to User Logic: The Greatest Challenge You May Have
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.
NetStrategy-JMC (2007). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>User Centered Design
#33059
Human-Centered Intranet Design
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.
Chin, Paul. Intranet Journal (2005). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>User Centered Design
#33084
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.
Robertson, James. Step Two (2005). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>User Centered Design
#33105
Top Ten Ways to Lose Your Intranet Users
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?
Chin, Paul. Intranet Journal (2004). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>User Centered Design
#33112
Five Things to Know About Users
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.
Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2002). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design
#33158
Results of a Study about Online Experience
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.
Gryphon Mountain (2008). Articles>Web Design>User Experience>User Centered Design
#33160
Redesign of the Monash University Web Site: A Case Study in User-Centred Design Methods
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.
Alexander, Dey. AusWeb (2003). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Case Studies
#33166
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.
Eisenberg, Bryan. ClickZ (2004). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#33167
The Secret of Managing a Successful Website
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.
McGovern, Gerry. New Thinking (2004). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#33220
Are We There Yet? Effects of Delay on User Perceptions of Web Sites
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.
Straub, Kathleen. Human Factors International (2003). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Emotions
#33222
Fast-Downloading Websites are Still Important
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.
McGovern, Gerry. New Thinking (2003). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Emotions
#33223
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.
Lash, Jeff. Digital Web Magazine (2003). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design
#33224
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.
Logvinov, Eugene. IBM (2002). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#33234
Where's the Search? Re-Examining User Expectations of Web Objects
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.
Shaikh, A. Dawn and Kelsi Lenz. Usability News (2006). Articles>Web Design>Search>User Centered Design
#33437
The Five Issues that Persuade Visitors
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.
Eisenberg, Bryan. ClickZ (2004). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Persuasive Design
#33443
The Trouble With Personalization
Personalization has rarely been implemented well. Its failure is usually because of a lack of understanding of customer behavior.
McGovern, Gerry. New Thinking (2006). Articles>Web Design>Personalization>User Centered Design
#33475
Accessing Information: Not Everyone Does it the Same Way
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.
DMN Communications (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>User Centered Design
#33665
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.
Boag, Paul. Digital Web Magazine (2008). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Audience Analysis
#33942
The Elements of Social Architecture
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.
Wodtke, Christina. List Apart, A (2009). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#33944
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.
Brown, Mandy. List Apart, A (2009). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design
#33947
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.
McGovern, Gerry. CMSwire (2009). Articles>Web Design>Search>User Centered Design
#33948
Social Media is Here to Stay... Now What?
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.
Boyd, Danah. Microsoft (2009). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Social Networking
#34100
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.
Marcotte, Ethan. List Apart, A (2009). Articles>Web Design>Document Design>User Centered Design
#34105
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.
McLean, Gordon. One Man Writes (2009). Articles>Web Design>Technical Writing>User Centered Design
