Benutzertests durch Spurenverwertung  

In most cases a technical writer cannot do any user tests. If you have access to the user log of a web server you can derive quite interesting facts like how often and how long a specific page was viewed and how the surfers navigated.

von Obert, Alexander. Techwriter.de (2003). (German) Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Guidelines for Web Data Collection: Understanding and Interacting with Your Users    

The global growth of the World Wide Web challenges technical communicators to reconsider the methods we use to create designs that meet the goals and needs of our users. This article focuses on taking advantage of the Web's potential for interactivity between designers and users. It offers strategies for getting data from users of Web sites and using it for two main purposes: (1) analyzing audience and patterns of use to support continuous redesign, and (2) building a relationship or sense of community on a Web site.

Ramey, Judith A. Technical Communication Online (2000). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Information Architecture through Web Analytics

Is your website structured according to the needs of your users? Does it deliver on your website objectives? Use Web Analytics to redesign it.

Hurol Inan (2005). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Path Analysis: A Good Use of Time?

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.

Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Standard Metrics Revisited: Bounce Rate

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.

Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2007). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Stop Obsessing About Conversion Rate

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.

Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

Trinity: A Mindset and Strategic Approach

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.

Kaushik, Avinash. Occam's Razor (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Log Analysis

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

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

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