#19041
Micropayments: Do Users Want Them? 
It used to be a given (amongst those in the know at least) that ‘micropayments’ were the only sustainable business model for those providing content on the web. Micropayments work by charging a tiny amount for access to web content, and are touted as the alternative to giving content away for free (which doesn’t make any money) or charging for subscriptions (which is unlikely to appeal to Internet users now accustomed to freedom of movement online. The theory goes that small amounts to each individual consumer will add up to sufficient funds to keep online publishing firms in business. In recent times, however, any consensus there was surrounding micropayments as ‘the way forward’ has begun to dissolve. There is a growing feeling that the slow introduction of this method of payment is less to do with technical constraints than user requirements. Put simply – micropayments are not emerging as a ‘web standard’ because users dislike them. There are certainly a number of good arguments against their implementation.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2002). Design>Web Design>Pricing>Micropayments
#19305
Nokia are the world's leading maker of mobile phones. Their user-centred approach to developing products has been identified as one crucial factor behind this success. 'Nokia starts its planning from what the consumer actually wants while Ericsson and Motorola tend to be more engineering driven' commented Mark Davies Jones of Schroder Solomon Smith Barney. Anecdotal evidence and our own previous observations suggest that consumers find Nokia's mobile phones easier to use than many of their competitors and often take this into account - either consciously or sub-consciously - when making their purchasing decision. Frontend decided to evaluate the usability of a Nokia phone, the popular 3210, against a competitor, the older Siemens C25. We found that the Nokia is significantly easier to use in a number of areas.
Magennis, Mark. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Usability>Wireless Web
#19316
Most 'usability' practitioners quite rightly put great emphasis on the ease with which sample users can complete pre-selected tasks. After all, it makes sense to ensure that common tasks, identified after research into user needs, should be completed as efficiently as possible. It is when this 'efficiency' is measured that problems can begin.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>Statistics
#19319
Post-Implementation - Most Important
You would be forgiven for thinking that the lifespan of the typical usability project ends with final implementation and a product or website's release into the market. In one sense it does - the user-centred design process is over, and presumably the result is an easy-to-use product or site that is already yielding results. All well and good - but sometimes even the best interfaces cannot meet the changing requirements of the typical workplace. In this case, post-implementation user testing can pick up the difficulties that were not picked up first time around. At this point the client may quite rightly be wondering why these problems weren't spotted before deployment. The reason lies in the way in which the user has developed alongside the product. First impressions, whether favourable or not, may turn out to be misleading after an extended period of use.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Content Management>Web Design
#19311
Pros and Cons of Personalisation
If there is one subject guaranteed to get two web designers arguing, it is almost certainly personalisation. The promise is obvious - a website tailored to each individual who uses it, highlighting items that will be of interest to his or her particular profile, and consequently saving the users time and providing a superior user experience.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Personalization
#19036
Once the information on a web page has been made, strictly speaking, accessible to assistive technologies, the question then becomes whether or not that site is 'easy-to-use' for people with impairments. It is not always enough to retrofit accessibility features to a pre-existing site that was designed without considering the needs of these users.
Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
#19045
Road to Nowhere - Dublin's Road Signs Get Told Where To Go
There are two superlative facts about Dublin City’s traffic situation. The first is that a recent study has shown us to have the second worse traffic congestion problem in the world (my condolences to any readers that have to drive through Calcutta on a Monday morning) and the second is that we are, or rather were, the proud possessors of the shortest lived traffic signage system in the world. The signs lasted a mere 24 hours before the Minister for transport ordered these signs be removed. Why were they removed? The answer is usability, or lack of usability to be more precise. Unsuspecting motorists were unable to figure out what the signs were trying to tell them. There were several usability problems with the signs, and many of these have been covered in the media so I won’t cover that ground again. But for any of you that are unfamiliar with the story, the major complaints levelled at them were: they had too much information on them to read at a glance; the format of the information was unfamiliar to everyone (except the people that designed them); tommon place-names were replaced by a system of numbers and colour coding, requiring users to consult maps to establish where they were and where they were heading; the information was difficult to read – too many graphic elements and poor colour contrast; some of the information was only available in the Irish language (contrary to EU standards) and the reason given was that there was not enough space for the English text, so visiting motorists would have to guess that ‘An Lar’ means ‘City Centre’! Having looked at the signs during their brief career on the streets, I would have to agree with the complaints listed above. But at this juncture, rather than raking over old coals, lets examine what Dublin City Council can do to rectify the situation and what steps can be taken to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated in the new design.
Long, Frank. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>Traveler Information>Geography
#19285
Search engine position is an important element of online marketing. Obviously your company is at a significant advantage if you come top of a search for ‘cheese’ (assuming you are a cheesemonger that is – if you aren’t you have a problem). Not only will this drive traffic to the site, but this traffic is also highly targeted, being people who have already expressed an interest in your product or service. Given that this is the case, a whole industry has developed around ‘optimising’ a site’s position on these search rankings. In the past, most search engines have referred to the HTML itself in order to judge how relevant a site is to any particular search. So our hypothetical cheesemonger would be advised to include the word ‘cheese’ in the Title, meta tags, content and header of his or her homepage, whilst avoiding elements such as frames and splash pages which may confuse the automatic 'spiders' which collect this information.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization
#19293
The Short-Term Benefits of a Usability Strategy
Usability, and professional interface design, is often presented as a long-term strategy for those involved in software development. There is a common perception that as effective as user-centred interface design can be in terms of creating satisfied end-users, brand loyalty, and repeat business, it lacks something of the ‘wow’ factor and will not affect the bottom line in the short term. In our experience, nothing could be further from the truth. Particularly in today’s software market, many of our customers report significant and immediate improvements in terms of product sales. It doesn’t take long to figure out why. The typical software sales process could almost have been designed to favour those products that present a clear, intuitive, attractive and easy-to-use interface to the user.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>Methods
#19281
So What Is User Requirements Gathering?
More than one reader has pointed out that our recent article 'Alternatives To User Requirement Gathering' spent plenty of time illustrating why certain methods were inappropriate for the task of requirement gathering, without actually detailing the correct way to undertake this type of research. In way of compensation, this week we provide some (brief) advice on this absolutely crucial area to successful application or site development.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability>User Centered Design
#19303
Creating navigation systems, and the information structures that underlie them, is obviously a central aspect of the development of any product or web interface. Although some users may prefer not to use navigation systems, or even ignore them entirely, for many they will be an invaluable means of discovering content or functionality. Getting these structures right is an important element in designing a successful interface. Unfortunately, getting them right isn't particularly easy. In some instances it can be, but usually there is no simple way to short-circuit the process of categorisation and presentation that constitutes a navigational system. However, in this short article we do attempt to provide some brief pointers. Although we focus on web navigation, many of these suggestions are equally relevant in software interface design and indeed other technologies.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>User Interface
#19330
Structuring Content for Web Interface Usability
It's a well known fact that many users - both novice and expert - have difficulty finding information on websites even when they know it's there somewhere. What is less clearly understood is why - beyond the obvious fact that there is always a challenge involved in enabling access to a huge variety of information from a single entry point. When addressing this challenge, the initial focus often tends to be on the 'navigational' structures, and how the site is mapped and organised. But in reality, users tend to rely less on these navigational aids than some web designers might imagine. Most users are more concerned with achieving their goal than understanding the logical structure of the application they are using, and tend to gravitate towards the content they are looking for by following 'scent', which can best be thought of as a clear signpost to content 'below' through links and content 'above'.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Web Design>User Interface
#19049
Text-only websites are not suited to all users with impairments. Although they are often ideal for users who are blind and use a screen reader, accessibility goes far beyond this user group.
Magennis, Mark. Frontend Infocentre (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Universal Usability
#19325
There was a time when graphic design - or how things looked at least - was regarded as the most central part of the web experience. A 'good' website, in the eyes of management at least, involved little more than the company message accompanied by attractive pictures, ideally animated as often as possible. Nowadays, we are beginning to realise that whilst design remains a vital differentiator in terms of web experience, it is for very different reasons. Users are by now accustomed to the very highest levels of graphic design work online. This means that whilst a professional approach is essential for any organisation serious about their online presence, on it's own a 'good looking' site is not sufficient. It is in its impact on usability that graphic design is now particularly significant in the online environment. Graphic design, or visual communication, is about more than looks. The way site content is presented will have a significant effect on how easy-to-use it will be. This not only includes questions of appropriate images and styles, but also choice of colour schemes and the way different interface elements are represented.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Graphic Design>Web Design>Usability
#19287
Three Questions For Your Web Agency
There is no doubt about it – usability is now a mainstream concern of those charged with managing the development of a website. The benefits that accrue from taking a user-centred perspective, and involving those users in the design process itself, have convinced large sectors of the industry that ‘usability’ is something they want. Unsurprisingly, given the demand, usability is also something that on the surface is in plentiful supply. Any web development company who knows the market will be reassuring their customers that they ‘do’ usability – just as two years ago they did video streaming and flash animation. Many of these companies will do a good job, but others are merely jumping on the bandwagon.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Management
#19282
Regular web users will almost certainly be aware of an increasing amount of ‘invasive’ advertising appearing online. A variety of methods are now being used to make online advertising almost unavoidable for the user.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Web Design>Marketing>Usability
#19326
The success of web retailing depends to a large extent on gaining and maintaining the trust of users. 'User experience' certainly includes elements of usability, but it goes beyond this to encompass the entire customer interaction process. When focusing on the online experience, there are certain key recommendations for organisations seeking to improve user experience.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Web Design>E Commerce
#19279
Usability - Out-Sourced or In-House?
Should usability work be provided by external consultancies or provided in-house? This is a question that we often encounter when working with clients, many of whom are keen to establish their own usability departments. Of course there is no short answer – depending on the client’s situation either alternative may be valid. But there are good reasons for thinking carefully before making a decision either way.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2002). Articles>Usability
#19280
As in any downturn, most businesses are examining expenditure and looking to cut back in any areas that may not be deemed essential. For better or worse, spending on usability engineering is often under the spotlight in this environment. There may be a feeling that the company has survived without such flights of fancy in the past, and can no doubt do so in the future – ‘usability’ is a luxury that can be done without.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Usability
#19286
Usability and Online Bookmaking
One industry that seems to be weathering the current online storm – and which has a reputation of being ‘recession proof’ in any case – is bookmaking. A combination of established offline players (William Hill, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power for example) and online-only companies (such as Blue Square) continue to provide plenty of choice to punters. This in itself is hardly surprising, as bookmaking is one industry tailor-made for the Internet environment.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>E Commerce
#19289
Improving ‘brand experience’ online is not normally regarded as the primary goal of a usability strategy. In some circles usability and branding would even be seen as mutually exclusive, based on the assumption that successful branding relies on ever more garish visual design and an extensive use of animation, audio streaming, or whatever the latest cutting-edge technology might happen to be.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Marketing>Usability
#19047
The concept of the 'persona' has interesting implications for software design. It is particularly effective for reminding designers of the importance of designing for an individual, rather than the population at large. Without a concrete impression of who exactly the user is, it is easy for designers to add features continuously because 'the user' demands them. For 'user', read 'marketing department'.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Usability
#19292
Usability in Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
In CRM, user acceptance is a huge issue. End users, who are rarely the same people who choose applications in the first place, can be extraordinarily resourceful when it comes to undermining or working around new products or implementations introduced by manager. All this means that creating applications that are efficient and enjoyable to use is imperative for both ISVs and CRM implementers.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Articles>Web Design>E Commerce>Usability
#19042
Usability in Software Development
Usability does not begin and end with the web. In fact, long before the Internet was a gleam in the Pentagon's eye, computer professionals were already aware of the need for human-computer interaction to be as natural and intuitive as possible. In fact, there are many compelling reasons to suggest that usability is even more critical to successful application design than it is for winning websites.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Software>Programming>Usability
#19278
Usability Issues in Product Design
As usability professionals and user interface designers, our work is mainly contained within the confines of the computer screen - the GUI or web-based software interface. Interaction touch points outside of this window are usually beyond our control. For example, it would not be practical (or advisable) to suggest redesigning the mouse in order to make a software application or website easier to use. We accept the limitations of these devices and we design interfaces to compensate or compliment them. However, as software interfaces migrate from the computer to become embedded in a multitude of everyday products, the scope to consider the hardware interface and the software interface under one unified approach becomes a possibility and a necessity.
Long, Frank. Frontend Infocentre (2002). Design>Usability>Interactive
