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.
#28325
E-Banking: Quando il Servizio non è Accessibile 
La zona di confine tra normalità e disabilità è una delle più permeabili, soprattutto quando, come oggi, l'invecchiamento crescente della popolazione è messo a dura prova da una continua rincorsa ad apprendere e padroneggiare sempre nuove tecnologie di accesso ai servizi. L'e-book di Patrizia Bertini e Marco Trevisan non arriva per caso nell'Anno del Disabile. È frutto di un interesse di lunga data e di un sistematico lavoro di ricerca per rendere visibili e quindi superabili le barriere più insidiose, quelle dell'informazione. In particolare, quelle barriere che continuano a impedire l'accesso di tutti ai servizi bancari automatizzati (ATM/Bancomat) e ai servizi in rete (e-banking).
Bertini, Patrizia and M. Trevisan. Apogeonline (2003). (Italian) Books>Usability>Accessibility>eBooks
#24734
People are increasingly relying on web channels to check on their billing relationship with companies. The problem: Not all billing applications present information that’s easy to navigate and action.
Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Usability>Web Design
#13342
E-Books: Are We Going Paperless?
Will electronic books (e-books) change the experience of reading? Will students soon carry a mobile device in their backpacks instead of a ton of textbooks? Some major university projects at the University of Michigan and at Columbia have already created and distributed electronic versions of textbooks (Epstein, 1999). In addition, Microsoft joined publishing firms and electronic manufacturers to set open technical standards for the electronic book format (Wired News, 1999). So what advantages do e-books offer? Some advantages include convenience and reduced storage space. Anywhere from 10 to 250 textbooks or novels can be held on the device, depending on the e-book model, so you can have a portion of your library with you. In addition, users can annotate, highlight, bookmark, and publish their own content on the e-book. By removing the need for paper, the cost of books should decrease and also decrease environmental damage. Another advantage of the e-book is accessibility. Those with visual impairments can increase the font size to improve readability.
Selvidge, Paula and C. Phillips. Usability News (2000). Articles>Usability>Publishing>eBooks
#30221
E-Commerce Imagery: Persuading with Pictures
The use of effective images to sell online is crucial. Read through these essential guidelines and find out how to use images to increase conversion rates.
Kodali, Mrudula. Webcredible (2007). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce
#19607
This website is for people who want to improve the usability of their e-commerce site.
Userfocus (2003). Design>Usability>E Commerce>Web Design
#19050
E-Commerce Usability and Trust 
Egger's research starts with a model of trust for e-commerce, then derives tools that designers can use to evaluate or design trustworthiness into e-commerce websites.
Egger, Florian N. EcommUse (1999). Resources>Bibliographies>E Commerce>Usability
#13326
E-Commerce, the Consumer Decision Process, and the Theory of Reasoned Action
More and more companies are relying on e-commerce as a principal method of revenue. However, little is known about the behaviors of online shoppers. The focus of this research was to assess users’ attitudes regarding online consumer behaviors. This research considers nine Internet behaviors across five consumer behavior processes: (a) Motivation and Need Recognition, (b) Information Search, (c) Alternatives Evaluation, (d) Purchase Decision and Purchase, and (e) Purchase Outcomes. The behaviors studied include: clicking on banner ads, reading e-mail advertisements, searching for product information in online stores and using search engines, using comparison engines and online reviews to evaluate alternatives, purchase products, and accessing online customer support via e-mail and websites.
Volk, Fred. Usability News (2001). Articles>Usability>Education
#22371
E-Mail Notifications: Making Unsubscription Easy
Unsubscribing email newsletters and other email notification services can be an unpleasant and time-consuming experience. Most unsubscribe problems can be avoided by making the subscribers email visible and linking to an unsubscribe page in all emails.
Bohmann, Kristoffer. Bohmann Usability (2001). Articles>Usability>Email
#10554
I am personally calling this the year of the e-Tailer. I have seen more hype in e-commerce this year than in any other holiday season in the past including the year the almighty Amazon.com launched its e-commerce site. I consider myself an avid web user and I know what it takes to develop a full-fledged e-commerce site because I have been there in the trenches developing some of those sites in time for the holiday season. I have seen battles won and lost in as few as a week's time. Nothing turns me off more than a poorly constructed e-commerce site and this year, the numbers seem to be taking a turn for the worse.
Finck, Nick. Digital Web Magazine (1999). Articles>Usability>Web Design
#21611
En el número 126 nos preguntábamos ¿existe el color?. Ahora, dos revisiones de la literatura que cubren cien años de investigación sobre el factor humano del color revelan cómo y dónde existe el color, y cómo los diseñadores pueden hacer mejor uso de él en entornos reales y simulados. Jim Wise nos lo explica.
Wise, James A. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>Graphic Design>Usability>Color
#26119
Collection of principles that can also form a process for editing web content to make it usable.
Jarrett, Caroline. Editing That Works (2005). Resources>Editing>Technical Editing>Usability
#13090
Education: More Needles in the Haystack
One of the great challenges -- and joys -- of teaching takes place outside the classroom. Whether on Saturday or Sunday, in the heat of August or chill of early January, class preparation plays a major role in developing the best possible learning environment for students. Access to current resources is paramount. For HCI educators, the World Wide Web is becoming an essential link to such information.
Gasen, Jean B. SIGCHI Bulletin (1996). Articles>Education>Usability
#13091
Education: Some Progress and Some New Questions
For each of the last five years, there has been a workshop on HCI Education at the annual CHI conference. What makes these workshops so interesting isn't just the variety of people it brings together or issues discussed, it's the way the workshops have changed over the years. Just as HCI has evolved as a discipline, the topics of these and other workshops have also evolved. These changes are one indication of how much we have learned and what we have left to understand.
Sears, Andrew. SIGCHI Bulletin (1996). Articles>Education>Human Computer Interaction>Usability
#18663
Although his books mostly predate the Internet phenomenon, Tufte's ideas certainly have applications in web site design. As was pointed out on a handout, they can also be used for teaching, news graphics, technical illustrations, displaying financial data, decision-making, animation, and a host of other areas. It appeared that many in the audience were primarily interested in web design, and Tufte spent some time discussing this.
Kuro5hin (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability>Technical Illustration
#25405
The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect of different web page text/background color combinations on users' retention and subjective perception. One hundred and thirty-six participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: black text on a white background (BW), white on black (WB), light blue on dark blue (B), or teal on black (TB). They then studied two Web pages, with a color combination consistent with their group assignment. One page contained information on the Neuron and the other consisted of information on a fictitious TV/DVD player. After studying each page they completed a quiz and survey. Analysis of the data indicated: a) Retention scores did not differ as a function of text/background color combinations; b) BW and B pages received the highest ratings for readability, and TB the lowest; c) B pages received the highest ratings for the aesthetic qualities; d) BW pages were perceived as most 'professional'; e) Subjective readability ratings significantly predicted retention; and f) Users view 'professionalism' as more strongly related to readability than aesthetics. Taken together, these results indicate that the relationship between font/background color combinations and outcomes is complex and often inconsistent with web guidelines posed by 'web gurus'.
Hall, Richard H. and Patrick Hanna. University of Missouri-Rolla (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability>Color
#31191
The Effect of Website Typeface Appropriateness on the Perception of a Company's Ethos
This study investigated the effect of website typeface appropriateness on the perception of the site's company. Results indicate that typefaces that are high in appropriateness should be used for websites. Neutral and low appropriate typefaces significantly decreased the perception of the company as judged by professionalism, believability, trust, and intent to act on the site.
Shaikh, A. Dawn. Usability News (2007). Design>Typography>Usability
#19333
Forms are often an essential element of an application or website. In fact they are the most popular way of gathering information or encouraging user feedback. Given the sort of information that forms are used to collect (such as registering for a service, or placing an order), the importance of ease-of-use hardly needs to be emphasised. These are tasks central to the success of many online businesses.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Web Design>Usability>Forms
#22376
Search result pages must make information easy to find and present results in a format that is easy to use.
Bohmann, Kristoffer. Bohmann Usability (2000). Design>Web Design>Usability>Search
#24516
Learn how to create site navigation so your users can find what they're looking for quickly and efficiently, ultimately increasing their satisfaction with your site.
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability
#23764
Effects of Documentation Errors on User Perception of Interactive Programs: The Experimental Design 
It would be useful to determine how much effect errors in product documentation have on users, if the errors do not seriously interfere with product use. In an effort to start collecting information on this issue, we designed an experiment to explore the reactions of users to a simple interactive program with flawed documentation. We hypothesized that product quality would be judged in part by the quality of the documentation, if the errors in the documentation interfered with task performance. We also hypothesized that some but not all users would be sensitive to documentation errors and would downgrade their rating of the program and the documentation based on these errors. Our experimental design is described in this paper.
Ridgway, Lenore S. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Documentation>Usability
#27527
The Effects of Line Length on Reading Online News
This study examined the effects of line length on reading speed, comprehension, and user satisfaction of online news articles. Twenty college-age students read news articles displayed in 35, 55, 75, or 95 characters per line (cpl) from a computer monitor. Results showed that passages formatted with 95 cpl resulted in faster reading speed. No effects of line length were found for comprehension or satisfaction, however, users indicated a strong preference for either the short or long line lengths.
Shaikh, A. Dawn. Usability News (2005). Articles>Web Design>Typography>Usability
#23120
Effects of Link Arrangement on Search Efficiency
The subjects that used the 155-link Web pages had a significantly faster search time using a three-column link arrangement, while the two-column link arrangement had the slowest search time. Results for the 30-link Web pages did not show a significant difference in search times for any specific link arrangement.
Dietrich, Jon, Karen Gordon and Marc Wexler. SHORE (1997). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#23305
The Effects of Perceptual Grouping on Text Entry Performance
One of the primary challenges confronting designers of mobile computing devices is the issue of efficient text entry. One potential solution is to group multiple letters onto single keys, similar to the T9 keyboard currently used on telephones. Two experiments examined the effects of perceptual grouping on soft keyboard transcription rates. Results from Experiment 1 showed significantly slower transcription rates for QWERTY keyboards with grouped keys. Results from Experiment 2 showed various levels of perceptual interference due to the different Gestalt grouping effects. These results indicate that perceptual grouping can negatively affect text entry performance, and placing multiple letters onto single keys reduces the speed at which users can transcribe words.
Hamblin, Christopher J., Michael Bohan and Alex Chaparro. Usability News (2004). Design>Usability>Human Computer Interaction>PDA
#29821
Effects of RSVP Display Design on Visual Performance in Accomplishing Dual Tasks with Small Screens 
Rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) represents a mechanism for exhibiting temporal information instead of spatial information to overcome the limitations of small-screen devices. Previous studies examining this area focused only on information presented by RSVP displays and disregarded changes in the performance of accompanying tasks associated with such displays. Therefore, this investigation performed a dual-task experiment (a search task for static information and a reading task for RSVP display information) to examine the effects of presentation mode (character-by-character, word-by-word, and one-line format), speed (171, 260, 350, and 430 characters per minute, or cpm), and text-flow orientation (vertical and horizontal orientation) of RSVP display information on the visual performance of users during different stages of usage (whether current usage is the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or eighth day of usage) for a small screen.
Chen, Chien-Hsiung and Yu-Hung Chien. International Journal of Design (2007). Design>User Interface>Information Design>Usability
#26487
Eight Guidelines for Usability Testing
Eight essential guidelines for usability testing, helping you to plan, run and analyse usability tests.
Fidgeon, Tim. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability>Testing
