Universal usability refers to the design of information and communications products and services that are usable for every citizen. The concept of universal usability is closely related to the concepts of universal accessibility and universal design.
#30022
Design Study 2: Structured Selection with a Multi-Modal Extended Selection List 
The design of a special-purpose selection list is reviewed. As part of a performance-support application for classroom teachers, a means was needed for rapid selection from a large number of alternative words. By taking into account the inherent structure of the terms in the list, instead of treating it as a simple list of unspecified objects, a more efficient and more easily used design was achieved. By incorporating the structure of the alternatives, the design was also able to reflect and support best practices in classroom lesson planning.
Constantine, Larry L. and Lucy A.D. Lockwood. Constantine and Lockwood (2001). Design>User Interface>Usability
#21034
Designing a Search People Can Really Use
The challenge of finding the right information at the right time has grown with the Web. The information superhighway is larger and more crowded than ever, and individual sites are also larger and more complex. With this explosion in the sheer volume of pages, finding the information you need is harder than ever. Search engines have always held out the promise of solving this problem, but they are often a usability disaster area. Inaccurate results, cluttered search entries, and a narrow focus on technological capabilities are only a few of the issues that make search features so difficult to use.
Quesenbery, Whitney. Intercom (2003). Design>Web Design>Search>Usability
#20297
Designing an Effective User Study
When it comes to learning about your users, a plethora of methods await you. But which one is best for your situation? The answer depends on many factors, including the kind of information you hope to discover, the time and budget you have available, and your access to users.
Hammar, Molly and Dawn Stevens. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Usability>Methods>User Centered Design
#22850
Designing and Testing Customer Satisfaction Surveys on WWW Sites
The types of surveys being conducted on the web fall into two categories: surveys that determine who is using the WWW and surveys that determine customer satisfaction with the product or service. To the survey guidelines described by GVU, we add five guidelines for designing web customer satisfaction surveys based on reviews of recent surveys and browsing the web: (1) Begin with a clear mission statement. (2) Classlfy current users of the site. (3) Report the results online. (4) Limit the length of the questionnaire to no more than 25 multiple-part questions. (5) Limit big graphics.
Feinberg, Susan G. and Peter Y. Johnson. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Usability>Testing>Web Design
#27653
Designing and Writing to Reduce User Errors
A vast majority of documents (I consider print and online as documentation) often works to define the optimized error-free method of performing a task and provides a user with a straightforward solution. However, the user expects documentation to help solve problems and address errors. Thus, attention must be paid to potential problems users can have and how to correct them. Errors have different causes; the information designer should understand the potential types of errors since properly addressing each type requires a different approach in the design and documentation.
Albers, Michael J. WritersUA (2004). Articles>Writing>Technical Writing>Usability
#26782
After the 2000 election, Design for Democracy worked with election officials in Illinois, Oregon and Nevada to design ballots, polling place signage, registration forms and other election materials. The election design system establishes a visual style, use of color, and an approach to illustrating instructions that make the ballot and polling place more usable.
Scott, Josephine. Usability Professionals Association (2006). Articles>Usability>Forms>Politics
#21250
Designing Customer-Centered Organizations
Even with the present downturn in the economy, more companies, from new media to established banks, have larger usability and design teams than ever before. Should we be content that we have come so far?
Zapolski, John and Jared Braiterman. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>User Centered Design>Workflow>Usability
#20642
Designing Educational Booklets for the Web
We discuss here the results of usability tests on two booklets which were transferred from print to the Web. The booklets provide the public with basic information on various cancers, cancer treatment, and other cancer-related topics. The booklets were written by the National Cancer Institute's Office of Education and Special Initiatives (NCI OESI).
#19919
While there are many instruments that measure the capacity for establishing peer-level communication skills, few exist that evaluate the effectiveness of knowledge transfer in the writer-reader relationship. The Learning Style Inventory (LSI), the User Empowerment Inventory (UEI), and thinkaloud protocols help assess how people acquire new knowledge and process information. The results of such measurements/ observations help determine user requirements. This paper presents a case history of how the LSI, the UEI, and think-aloud protocols helped improve both user and training documentation to a technology-averse audience in a reactive project environment.
LeVie, Donald S., Jr. STC Proceedings (1996). Design>Documentation>Methods>Usability
#30801
It's not that people resist change whole-scale. They just hate losing control and feeling stupid. When we make critical changes, we risk putting our users in that position. We must take care to ensure that we've considered the process of change as much as we've considered the technology changes themselves. Only then will we end up with changes that our users embrace.
Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2005). Design>User Interface>Redesign>Usability
#10286
Much discussion in web usability in recent years has revolved around designing web sites which are intended to be easily accessible by even the least technologically advanced user. This attempt to attract the highest number of visitors is especially appropriate for promoting and selling goods and services. The inexperienced user unaccustomed to reading text displayed on monitors and unable to efficiently download multimedia files should not be alienated by highly detailed or stylized web writing or a lack of bandwidth. Yet, there are more-advanced users on the web that designers should consider when appropriate.
Hinkelman, Andrew. Orange Journal, The (2001). Design>Information Design>Usability
#19390
Designing for Motivation and Usability in a Museum-Based Multi-User Virtual Environment
This National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research project is creating and evaluating graphical multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) that use digitized museum resources to enhance middle school students' motivation and learning about science and its impacts on society. MUVEs enable multiple simultaneous participants to access virtual contexts, to interact with digital artifacts, to represent themselves through “avatars,” to communicate with other participants and with computer-based agents, and to enact collaborative learning activities of various types. Initially, MUVEs were based only on textual descriptions); now, many MUVEs are graphical in nature, or use graphics to enhance textual descriptions. Our project's educational environments are extending current MUVE capabilities in order to study the science learning potential of immersive simulations, interactive virtual museum exhibits, and 'participatory' historical situations (http://www.virtual.gmu.edu/muvees/). To accomplish this, we have built our own MUVE shell based on the Sense8 WorldToolKit (http://www.sense8.com/).
Dede, Chris, Diane Ketelhut and Kevin Ruess. Harvard University (2000). Articles>Education>Instructional Design>Usability
#20847
Designing for Real People: Additional Lessons for Web Design from Mall and Retail Design
Suggests lessons from bricks-and-mortar retailers that can be applied to web design.
Carliner, Saul. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#27407
Designing for the "Average User"
User advocacy is one of the central goals of usability. User advocacy can be defined as the process an IT professional (with an interest in user experience) goes through in re-sensitizing herself to the world of the 'average user'.
Spillers, Frank. Demystifying Usability (2006). Articles>Usability>Web Design
#14238
Designing for Users With Cognitive Disabilities
Users with cognitive disabilities interact with technology in different forms. Designers need to understand the deficits of users with cognitive disabilities in order to design materials that are accessible to those users. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the current state of service to those with cognitive disabilities, and makes practical suggestions on design issues, as well as suggesting further areas for research.
Kolatch, Erica. Universal Usability (2000). Design>Usability>Accessibility
#25080
Designing High Fidelity Home Pages
A high fidelity home page is one that simply and clearly communicates an accurate, complete, and favorable impression of your organization and its products. An effective home page will also display your intimate understanding of, and desire to fully accommodate, the actual needs and interests of users.
Streight, Steven. Usability Interface (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability
#27463
Designing Information-Gathering Forms
Poorly designed information-gathering forms drive up operating costs. Good design depends on a careful analysis of two users: Form-Fillers and Form Readers. Both types ofform user benefit if the form designer follows four principles of overall design. Guidelines for answer sections and user testing can also help designers produce more effective forms. Evaluation of existing forms can lead to successful revision so that costly mistakes can be avoided.
MacNealy, Mary Sue. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Document Design>Forms>Usability
#25061
Designing Minimalist Principles Into User Interfaces
Designing a user interface using minimalist principles for guided exploration can reduce the amount of paper and text necessary to document the system. Graphics in the interface can help the user grasp the concepts of the system, while dialog boxes, status information, and error messages can aid in recognition of success and recovery from errors. Online help can then be used as a backup for users if they get stuck. Reducing text and paper can reduce translation and printing costs, making this process very attractive.
Elser, Arthur G. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>User Interface>Usability>Minimalism
#18603
Designing More Usable Documents
This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward creating more usable documents for all. A number of interrelated efforts and projects are listed below.
#18604
Designing More Usable Web Sites
This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward building a more usable Web for all. At the present time, there are a number of interlocking and interrelated efforts.
University of Wisconsin (2001). Resources>Usability>Accessibility>Web Design
#26077
Designing Products for Offshore Development
Although as an Interaction Designer I'm not involved in the actual development of the products I design, I find it increasingly clear that outsourcing creates a significant impact on the entire software design and construction process. Offshore development is in its infancy, but will continue to evolve to become an increasingly effective way to go about certain kinds of software construction. Based on recent project work, this article describes a number of observations worth considering as you ponder how outsourcing and offshore development may fit into your plans.
Cronin, Dave. Cooper Interaction Design (2004). Design>Usability>International>Offshoring
#21488
Designing the Handheld Maritime Communicator
We present the process of designing the first prototype of the Handheld Maritime Communicator: a mobile computer system supporting communication and coordination of safety-critical work activities on large container vessels. Designing the user experience of the Handheld Maritime Communicator was a particular challenge because it targets a highly specialized context of use and because poor design could potentially become a safety hazard. Meeting this challenge, ethnographic field studies on board container vessels were conducted, detailed analyses were carried out, and iterative design was performed. The design produced replaces a large amount of present spoken communication with predefined textual messages on a handheld device. This facilitates persistency, partial automation, and possible integration with other computer-based data. Evaluating the prototype in a high-fidelity ship simulator, prospective users validated the overall design, but also identified a number of usability problems that need to be addressed.
Kjeldskov, Jesper and Jan Stage. AIGA (2003). Design>User Interface>EPSS>Usability
#20299
Designing the User-Centered Process Model: A Case Study
The case study involved the redesigning of NCR’s performance improvement model for developing information products, documentation, and training interventions for our customers. This process model, the Quality Information Products Process (QIPP) seeks to move information product developers away from an adversarial, compliance type model towards a quality improvement system that is grounded in the everyday practices of the users. The redesign effort was initiated during a review of the existing process as it related to a new corporate-wide product creation process which was recently implemented.
Kabel, Mary Ann. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>User Centered Design>Usability
#19744
Designing Usable Technical Documents: Why Bother?
Many professionals in the field of technical writing involved in the design of instruction guides, will at some point in their career have experienced some doubt whether their efforts to produce high quality documentation really make sense. Do consumers attach some value to the instruction guides for the products they have purchased? Do they use these documents at all, or are most instruction guides thrown away, together with the packing material of the equipment they come with?
Jansen, C. Indus (2002). Articles>Documentation>Usability
#13357
Designing Web Ads Using Click-Through Data
Search engine ads are one type of Web advertising that can actually work. To create the best ads, do quick experiments and redesign ads based on usability principles for online writing. Doing so helped us increase ad click-through by 55 to 310 percent.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Usability
