“Going all the way to the edge is the only way to jolt the user into noticing what you’ve done. If they notice you, they’re one step closer to talking about you.”

— SETH GODIN

Usability Usability is about the

ease of use of human-made objects. This includes door knobs, spoons, washing machines, and websites too.

Web Usability •  Web usability is about making a website easy to use

§  reducing unpleasantry as much as possible §  It’s not about fancy designs and shiny buttons, but about practical &

efficient design.

•  A good web design should allow the users to get to what they want from the

website as quickly and painlessly as possible.  

Steve Krug, author of  "Don't Make Me Think", the most highly recommended book on Web usability, outlines his first law of Web usability:

"Don't Make Me Think"

The less a user has to think about making a decision, the easier it is for them to use a website.

Coming next in the slides…

Some guiding principles w.r.t Web Usability as outlined by Krug in his book

DON’T MAKE ME THINK First law of web usability

The rule basically boils down to making things self-evident   Examples: if it's a button make it look like one If it's a title, make it short, eloquent and to-the-point. Instead of naming a link Gallery of Photographic Items, call it Photos. Requires less thinking from your user

this maybe a button this looks like a button doesn't look like a button

Affordances To help emphasize the “Don't Make Me Think” rule, try to always think about affordances, which is a quality of an object that gives the user a clue on how it functions or should be used.

If something looks like… …a knob – you could probably turn it …a glass – you could probably break it …and if it looks like a search box – you can type something in it!

HOW WE REALLY USE THE WEB

No. 2

We don’t read. We scan.

§  Our attention spans are not that great §  We're always in a hurry §  We're selective about what we want §  We know what's important to us

We satisfice

When given options we choose the first immediately reasonable option without giving much thought. We don't consider all available options.

We muddle through §  We don't figure out how things work §  We don't usually read all instructions §  We make assumptions – click around, and fill out

boxes without really considering implications or accuracy of our actions or how things really work

Example: Yahoo's search box – a survey revealed that people used to type Web addresses into Yahoo's search box and it took them to their desired location. They never considered that it was wrong or changed how they accessed website because it simply worked. To them, Yahoo was the Internet!

BILLBOARD DESIGN 101 Designing pages for scanning, not reading

Since we have established that people don't read but merely scan pages, click around, and make assumptions, here are some guidelines on designing for usability: Create a clear visual hierarchy

§  Examples: Prominence. Grouping (visual-logical connection). §  Nesting.

Take advantage of conventions §  Don't be too smart

Break pages up into clearly defined areas Make it obvious what's clickable Minimize noise (busy-ness and background noise)

ANIMAL, VEGETABLE OR MINERAL

No. 4

It doesn't matter how many times I have to click, as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice.

•  Number of clicks VS click difficulty •  Three easy clicks equal one difficult click •  Users should not have to read endless instructions in order to find what

they are looking for:

OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS No. 5

Omit needless words

•  Get rid of half of the words on each page, then get rid of half of what's left.

•  Cut down Happy Talk & Instructions! •  Benefits:

–  easier to get to important content –  saves time –  makes the website more organized –  makes the website more approachable

DESIGNING NAVIGATION No. 6

Designing Navigation •  Navigation should be consistent •  Inform the user of where they are •  Inform the user of how they got to where they are •  Define the bounds and what's available on the website in

terms of content.

DESIGNING THE HOMEPAGE No. 7

Designing the homepage Define the identity and purpose of your website •  have a logo •  have a tag line

What the website is about should be immediately obvious to the user.

Important content should always be placed in the home page in a concise manner.

The homepage should provide easy access to all other parts of the website.

THE FARMER AND THE COWMAN SHOULD BE FRIENDS

No. 8

Common Web design team arguments... We're all web users, ergo personal preferences.

•  We tend to think that all Web users are like us. •  Every person on the team has a different opinion on what makes a good

design good, according to their own professional inclinations.

•  Hype culture VS craft culture –  Upper management, business development, etc. VS

programmers and designers. The burden of executing promises provided by the hyper culture falls down to the craft culture.

•  Myth of the average user –  Every person is unique in their behavior.

•  Antidote to debates: testing. –  Asking whether most people like something is not the right

approach to the solution. The question needs to be more contextual and relevant to the problem at hand and the intended target audience.

USABILITY TESTING ON 10 CENTS A DAY

No. 9

Focus groups VS usability tests §  Testing with outsiders is important §  Focus groups are good for getting initial feedback on abstract notions

such as concept and feasibility of the website §   Little testing is better than no testing §  Testing early is better than testing late §  Testing early & often is more important than the type of users §  Testing is about getting informed insight §  Testing is iterative

How to do testing the affordable way §  All that is needed is a PC, a person to conduct the test, a consenting

test subject and some time

Measuring results §  Implement feedback (taken in the form of notes and actual logged

usage) from the users and then perform more tests

USABILITY AS COMMON COURTESY

No. 10

The reservoir of goodwill Every person has a reservoir of goodwill towards a brand - Making sure this reservoir is full is important.

Decreasing goodwill Hiding information, forcing users to your ways, asking for too much information, fake niceties, making the user wait through splashes or intros, looking sloppy and unprofessional. Increasing goodwill Make the things people want to do on your site obvious, be honest and generous with information, make my life easier, put effort, have a FAQ section, make errors recoverable, inform and apologize to the user if you can't help them.

Types of usability testing •  Heuristic Evaluation (inspection)

•  Prototype Testing (testing)

•  Card Sorting  (testing)

•  Usability Testing (testing)

•  Logging Actual Use (inquiry)

•  Focus Groups (inquiry)

...and many more!

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