A Friday afternoon refresher coursein usability principles

all images from failblog.org

christine velen

@cee_vee

Expose the most important content don’t hide it away under complicated navigation

User requirements are requirements for a reason

...and you have to help your users achieve their goals

Don’t develop components in isolation..they have to interact together to work effectively

Consistency and convention in design makes it easier for the user to take information in

If you stray too far from convention, it can damage users likelihood to interact with your website

Spell check

Understand where to find your users and use engaging content to draw them in

Make it simple for users to find content

Community means you don’t have total control over the content...so embrace it

Don’t expect your users to work around your own technical limitations

It’s important to offer up to date content

Check your navigation - have users got a clear way in and around your content ?

Deliver the content you promise

Context is as important as content

Know how to interpret your analytics

Do you really need to capture that much information from your users ?

Good usability should be invisible to your users