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.
#20044
An interactive tutorial about usable website design.
Schutz, Bart. Interview NSS. Resources>Multimedia>Usability>Web Design
#21140
Are You Creating a Path of Resistance?
I've been watching people type in web site addresses for a long time now. However, I only started watching people closely about 4 weeks ago. I recorded 75 observations of people typing in URLs in the address bar (I kept a notepad with a running tally). I'll be the first to admit that this was not scientific and, as you might guess, I was acting in a biased manner. Nevertheless, I think the results are somewhat useful as a starting point. I found that in about 20 of the 75 observations, when people typed in a new URL they first tried the address without the 'www'. So, my findings indicate that about 27% of the time, users did not use the 'www'.
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (1999). Design>Web Design>Usability
#11752
Are You Satisfied with Online Shopping?
How many of you use the Internet to order merchandise? Many consumers are choosing the Internet to order merchandise rather than brave the crowds and traffic snarls at shopping malls. I don’t know if you have noticed it, but the order process and ease of use varies from one web site to another. The often-confusing process is enough to make you bail out and shop elsewhere. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, 'E-tailers Try to Keep Shoppers From Bolting at Checkout Point,' (1) usability, technology, and e-commerce issues are stopping shoppers from completing their purchases. The article states that about 65% of shoppers bail out at the checkout point. Poor design has cost E-tailers over $6.1 billion in potential sales.
Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability
#14191
Site visitors crave the sense that someone is there, within and behind your Web pages, your emails and newsletters. Dealing with the bare technology of online interactions is a cold experience for many, or even most of us. It makes us feel anxious. Technology isn't warm. It has no heart. It neither understands us, nor cares for us. For many Web sites, whether for businesses or organizations, we simply plug in and play the bare technology - the super-duper means of information delivery. All the site visitor sees and feels is the design, the interface, the links and the clicks. The experience is about as warm and human as banking with an ATM machine.
Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2002). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#26919
The Art of Usability Benchmarking
One common concern raised by managers and engineers alike is this: how easy to use is enough? This question, and the absence of an easy answer, is often the first defense people offer against investing in usability and ease of use. The smart usability engineer or designer has at least one response: the usability benchmark. By capturing the current level of ease of use of the current product or website, a reference point is created that can be measured against in the future. It doesn't answer the question of how usable is enough, but if the benchmark is done properly, it does enable someone to set goals and expectations around ease of use for the future.
Berkun, Scott. ScottBerkun.com (2006). Articles>Usability>Methods
#18679
The Art of User Interface Prototyping
It takes a certain craft to know how and when to build prototypes of web designs or software designs. This primer of prototyping explains when and how to build them.
Berkun, Scott. UIWeb (2000). Design>User Interface>Usability
#27361
An artifact simply means any product of human workmanship or any object modified by man. It is used to denote anything from a hammer to a computer system, but it is often used in the meaning 'a tool' in HCI or Interaction Design terminology. The term is also used to denote activities in a design process.
Soegaard, Mads. Interaction-Design.org (2006). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability
#19368
The virtues of simplicity are well-known among experienced systems designers. And many of the things that are 'right' with simpler software systems are also applicable to Web pages and site designs.
Sullivan, Terry. All Things Web (1996). Articles>Usability>Web Design
#20816
Assessing the Usability of a User Interface Standard
User interface standards can be hard to use for developers. In a laboratory experiment, 26 students achieved only 71% compliance with a two page standard; many violations were due to influence from previous experience with non-standard systems. In a study of a real company's standard,developers were only able to find 4 of 12 deviations in a sample system, and three real products broke between 32% and 55% of the mandatory rules in the standard. Designers were found to rely heavily on the examples in the standard and their experience with other user interfaces.
Thovtrup, Henrik and Jakob Nielsen. Alertbox (1991). Articles>User Interface>Standards>Usability
#14381
Assessing Web site usability can be complex, because the medium can be both a document and a 'software product.' Documentation usability testing asks how headings, page elements, and index entries help users find the content they need, and whether that content is useful. Software usability testing asks how well the user inteface supports users’ job-task activity, indicates functionality, provides navigation signposts and program status, and prevents errors. A Web site must meet a combination of these goals—links should lead to the content that users seek, through pathways that users can easily follow without reaching a dead-end or getting lost.
Hinderer, Deborah and Laurie Kantner. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Usability>Web Design
#14994
Assessing Web Site Usability from Server Log Files 
White paper on how to glean usability data from web server log files and how to use that data.
Tec-Ed, Inc. (1999). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#19486
At Oracle, Simplicity Rules All
To jump-start revenue growth, Mark Jarvis has insisted that simplicity be the foundation not only of Oracle's marketing but also of its product development. Programmers, salespeople, and marketing staff now work closely to satisfy real customer problems, not just deliver glitz. On Nov. 18, Mark Jarvis spoke with BusinessWeek Online Technology reporter Jane Black about his plans to improve Oracle's fortunes. Here are edited excerpts from that conversation.
BusinessWeek (2002). Articles>Usability>Databases>Software
#21105
Getting stuck on a web page can be painful. The back button doesn't always work. While there are many ways to escape from web pages, many users don't know the tricks. A company can stop hurting users by doing more testing, using proper development methods, and being aware of the issue.
Rhodes, John S. WebWord (2001). Design>Web Design>Usability
#28397
Attention mapping is a tool to help you start to plan a visual layout around realistic communication between user and site. It can also be a helpful analysis tool, helping you work out what's wrong about a layout.
Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2006). Design>Web Design>Document Design>Usability
#19961
Audience Analysis: Looking Beyond the Superficial
In performing an audience analysis, it’s easy to focus on simple, obvious issues such as the differences between men and women. In fact, men and women have more similarities than differences when it comes to most of the things that technical communicators document. A discussion of some seemingly obvious differences between men and women illustrates how to look beyond superficial issues to find the truly important differences.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. STC Proceedings (2001). Articles>Usability>Audience Analysis
#31078
By incorporating usability techniques--more commonly used in product design--writers can better understand their audiences and the ways they use (or have problems using) the content. Read on for tips on how to incorporate usability techniques into your work.
Stott, Susan. Intercom (2008). Articles>Writing>Usability>Audience Analysis
#14304
A form for coding users' interaction with a written document.
Markel, Mike. Bedford-St. Martin's (2001). Design>Usability>Workflow
#13905
An Audience With Alan Cooper: Defining Interaction Design
What was intended to be an Interview immediately became an audience with the master. It became difficult to slide in the questions as Cooper began to tear up the rulebook for the technology industry and throw it out. He discusses why Interaction Design is about complete systems architecture and he hits on what's wrong with relational databases; what's wrong with file systems; why Interaction Design is a lot more than Interface Design; and why he really doesn't like Usability much either.
Cooper, Alan. UIdesign (2001). Design>Information Design>Interaction Design>Usability
#25194
Authentic Behavior in User Testing
Despite being an artificial situation, user testing generates realistic findings because people engage strongly with the tasks and suspend their disbelief.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Usability>Testing
#30873
Few usability professionals are as well-rounded as Avi Parush. Avi has worked in industry and academia, testing and design, the Old World and the New, with web applications and airplane cockpits, in operating rooms and on the bridges of ships.
Anderson, Clifford. Usability Professionals Association (2008). Articles>Interviews>Web Design>Usability
#14884
Keyboard shortcut commands not only save time; they help save joint strain and brain power.
Dallabrida, Dale. Delaware Online (2002). Articles>Human Computer Interaction>Usability
#21012
Avoiding Bias from the Survivor Effect
Only a few of the survey sites we analyzed in 2000 are still around. We can safely assume that the surviving sites are not a random sample of the original group, but rather that significant differences exist between the sites that made it and those that died. Survival might be due partly to luck, but it is mainly a result of good management and an understanding of Internet fundamentals. Thus, the surviving sites are likely to be disproportionately clued-in about what it takes to run an online business.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods>Web Design
#13371
Software innovations are the main way to differentiate both high-tech products and websites.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Usability
#27694
User testing shows that business-to-business websites have substantially lower usability than mainstream consumer sites. If they want to convert more prospects into leads, B2B sites should follow more guidelines and make it easier for prospects to research their offerings.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce
#22586
B2B: Help Your Fans Convince Their Bosses
B2B websites must support a more complex buying process than B2C sites. Three key goals are to make a buyer's shortlist, offer a downloadable advocacy kit, and build a reputation for great service.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability>Community
