#20820
Usability Laboratories: A 1994 Survey
This article provides a table with summary statistics for the thirteen usability laboratories described in the papers in this special issue. It also gives an introduction to the main uses of usability laboratories in usability engineering and surveys some of the issues related to practical use of user testing and CAUSE tools for computer-aided usability engineering.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1994). Articles>Usability>Research
#11863
Although measuring usability can cost four times as much as conducting qualitative studies (which often generate better insight), metrics are sometimes worth the expense. Among other things, metrics can help managers track design progress and support decisions about when to release a product.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Usability
#25195
Usability of Websites for Teenagers
When using websites, teenagers have a lower success rate than adults and they're also easily bored. To work for teens, websites must be simple -- but not childish -- and supply plenty of interactive features.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#26642
Usability: Empiricism or Ideology?
Usability's job is to research user behavior and find out what works. Usability should also defend users' rights and fight for simplicity. Both aspects have their place, and it's important to recognize the difference.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Usability>Professionalism
#28048
Use Old Words When Writing for Findability
Familiar words spring to mind when users create their search queries. If your writing favors made-up terms over legacy words, users won't find your site.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Search
#10015
Jakob Nielsen's useit.com website publishes material about the emerging field of 'information design': articles, essays and links to resources for usable online interfaces.
#25235
User Education Is Not the Answer to Security Problems
Internet scams cannot be thwarted by placing the burden on users to defend themselves at all times. Beleaguered users need protection, and the technology must change to provide this.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Articles>Usability>Security
#13614
User Empowerment and the Fun Factor
Designs that engage and empower users increase their enjoyment and encourage them to explore websites in-depth. Once we achieve ease of use, we'll need additional usability methods to further strengthen joy of use.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>User Interface>Usability
#21013
User Payments: Predictions for 2001 Revisited
Advertising-supported websites will soon be a thing of the past. As I predicted a year ago, sites began charging for services in 2001. Although most sites are still not handling payments right, two innovative European projects hold much hope for 2002.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Articles>Web Design>Marketing
#30827
User Skills Improving, But Only Slightly
Users now do basic operations with confidence and perform with skill on sites they use often. But when users try new sites, well-known usability problems still cause failures.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design
#28092
User Testing is Not Entertainment
Don't run your studies for the benefit of the people in the observation room. Test to discover the truth about the design, even when user tasks are boring to watch.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Usability>Testing
#27940
Users Interleave Sites and Genres
When working on business problems, users flitter among sites, alternating visits to different service genres. No single website defines the user experience on its own.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability
#27701
Variability in User Performance
When doing website tasks, the slowest 25% of users take 2.4 times as long as the fastest 25% of users. This difference is much higher than for other types of computer use; only programming shows a greater disparity.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Testing
#18456
Voice Interfaces: Assessing the Potential
Visual interfaces are inherently superior to auditory interfaces for many tasks. The Star Trek fantasy of speaking to your computer is not the most fruitful path to usable systems.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2003). Design>Usability>Accessibility>Voice
#10255
The good news is that usability has been recognized as an important element of Internet success: the average speaker at industry conferences now promotes good user experience in preference to 'cool sites.' The bad news is that most sites employ horribly misguided methodologies that do not assess real usability. Sometimes the methods are simply worthless; other times they are directly misleading.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1999). Articles>Usability>Methods
#10169
The WAP Backlash has started in Europe: Most speakers at last week's NetMedia 2000 conference in London proclaimed WAP a temporary aberration that delivers substandard services. British and continental newspapers are full of stories about WAP phones that don't work and services that are difficult to use. Many commentators point out the simple fact that since you have a phone in your hand, most tasks are faster to perform by simply placing a voice telephone call than by using WAP.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2000). Articles>Usability>Wireless Web>WAP
#11874
Following a UK field study, 70% of users decided not to continue using WAP. Currently, its services are poorly designed, have insufficient task analysis, and abuse existing non-mobile design guidelines. WAP's killer app is killing time; m-commerce's prospects are dim for the next several years.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2000). Articles>Usability>Wireless Web>WAP
#30828
AJAX, rich Internet UIs, mashups, communities, and user-generated content often add more complexity than they're worth. They also divert design resources and prove (once again) that what's hyped is rarely what's most profitable.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Interface>Ajax
#20852
The Internet doubles every year and has done so ever since it was founded. Currently, the Web grows even faster (doubling every four months or so), though this higher growth rate will have to slow down eventually since the Web is a subset of the Internet and thus cannot outgrow it.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1996). Articles>Web Design>Usability
#13072
Web Research: Believe the Data
We know a good deal about users' behavior on the Web. For example, they demand fast download and are extremely impatient and want immediate support for their own goals. Even so, most websites are slow, internally-driven, and do not focus on solving the users' problems. Do not ignore research: it can improve your site by several hundred percent.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1999). Articles>Usability>Web Design
#26630
Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes
Weblogs are often too internally focused and ignore key usability issues, making it hard for new readers to understand the site and trust the author.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2005). Articles>Web Design>Usability>Blogging
#20862
WebTV achieves a very high level of usability given its design constraints. Unfortunately, the constraints are so severe that even this great design ultimately fails to provide an optimal Web user experience. WebTV's usability engineers have done a good job at making it very easy to install and as easy as possible to use, and WebTV's imaging engineers have done an incredible job at high-quality character rendering in an NTSC video signal. In fact, the screenshots in this column do not look as good as WebTV does when displayed on a good television set: you have to see it to believe that it's possible to achieve WebTV's level of text readability on a television screen.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1996). Design>Web Design>Usability>Web Browsers
#31903
Weekly User Testing: TiVo Did It, You Can, Too
TiVo ran 12 user tests in 12 weeks while designing its new website. As TiVo's experience shows, frequent and regular testing keeps the design usability focused.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Usability>Testing
#24466
When Search Engines Become Answer Engines
The website is becoming a less prominent locus of experience as people use search engines to bring up answers to their current questions. How can sites cope with masses of freeloaders?
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2004). Articles>Usability>Search
#20833
Who Should You Hire to Design Your Web Site?
You need to hire someone to design your Web site. What should you look for before signing on the dotted line?
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1995). Design>Web Design>Interviewing
