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Web Sites That Work For Users: Designing with Scent in Mind

Web Sites That Work For Users: Designing with Scent in Mind. Darlene Fichter University of Saskatchewan. May 6, 2006. Designing for Scent. Research at Palo Alto Research Center How to design for scent Pitfalls of loosing scent. Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC).

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Web Sites That Work For Users: Designing with Scent in Mind

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  1. Web Sites That Work For Users:Designing with Scent in Mind Darlene Fichter University of Saskatchewan May 6, 2006

  2. Designing for Scent • Research at Palo Alto Research Center • How to design for scent • Pitfalls of loosing scent

  3. Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC) • Stuart Card, Ed Chi and Peter Pirolli and others have developed a theory to explain and predict how people navigate online • They developed an “information foraging theory” drawing upon ecological methods to predict food-gathering behaviour Information Foraging – Peter Pirolli and Stuart K. Cardhttp://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/uir/pubs/items/UIR-1999-05-Pirolli-Report-InfoForaging.pdf

  4. Information Foraging & Scent • Using mathematical formulas, they are able to look at the way people estimate their success in hunting for information based on “cues” they pick up that they are getting closer to their “lunch” • These cues are called “information scent”

  5. Information Scent Assumptions • People expect the scent to become stronger and stronger • Expect it to progress rapidly Photo Credit: The Triskaidekagrammatron

  6. How Do People Choose Where to Click?* • Make decisions based on: • What gain can I expectfrom the information? • What is the likely cost to discover and consume that information? • Usually time and effort • Visitors are ruthless, lazy, impatient and quick *I don’t think, I click! *I Don’t Think I Click: A Protocol Analysis Study of Use of a Library Online Catalog in the Internet Age – Eric Novotny http://www.ala.org/ACRLtemplate.cfm?Section=november&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=34962 • *Information Foraging: Why Google Makes People Leave Your Site Faster - Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030630.html

  7. ‘Satisficing” is a fact • If visitors are ruthless, lazy, impatient and quick, what should we do? In this world, convenience will always trump quality. It's our job as librarians to make quality convenient. Bruce Newell, Montana ,Talking with Talis Series

  8. Designing for Scent • Most obvious way to design for scent is to ensure that links and categories clearly describe what they lead to • Plain language works best • As the user drills down, the site must give feedback that they are getting closer to their goal

  9. Factors That Effect The Hunt* • Big rabbits aren’t always better • The fox wants a nutritious meal but also an easy catch • People like to get the maximum benefit for the minimum benefit • *Information Foraging: Why Google Makes People Leave Your Site Faster - Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030630.html

  10. Nutritious Bite Sized Snacks • Minimize marketing style welcome pages • Show up front that you’re “nutritious” • Have some real nuggets of information on the home page, for example, news bites that reveal what’s inside • Have excellent categories that resonate with users • Design your whole site for strong paths • Design your whole site for snacking

  11. Choosing the Best Patch • On the web, it’s very easy to find another patch • You must win over your audience to keep their attention • You must make it easy to find good stuff or they’ll look for an easier patch

  12. Three Click Rule is Dead* • Work on designing for scent has clearly demonstrated that 3 click rule is not valid • Users will happily click through several screens as long as the navigational path has a strong scent and is becoming increasing specific *Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information,User Interface Engineering : 2004

  13. Scent Works When • Designs communicate "scent" via links • Links need to have a strong scent by containing "trigger words" that relate to the content that lies beyond Jared M. Spool. The Right Trigger Words. http://www.uie.com/articles/trigger_words/

  14. Example of Trigger Words Failing

  15. Longer Links • Links between 7-12 words long produce the best results • Why? • Very specific and descriptive • “what you read is what you get” • Distinguish between choices, avoid false trails • More words, the more likely you have trigger words

  16. Compare These Three Links • Resources • Sociology Resources • Recommended Sociology Articles, Books, and Web Sites

  17. Questions: Concept of “Scent”

  18. Scent Blocking Actions • No trigger words • Camouflaged links • Iceberg syndrome • Banner blindness • Missing words • Information masking • Too many trails Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004

  19. No Trigger Words • Vague general links and headings • “General Information” • Lists of terms library users don’t understand • Jargon is alive and well on library web pages Library Terms That Users Can Understand – John Kupersmith http://www.jkup.net/terms.html

  20. Iceberg Syndrome • You can place links beneath the fold, provided that the page doesn't look like it stops • What’s above the fold must be interesting and relevant. If there’s marketing fluff above the fold, people to believe that what is below is more of the same Photo Credit: kathryn aaker Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004

  21. Camouflaged Links • Links need to look like links. If you have a secondary navigational menu, make sure it looks clickable Mystery Meat Navigation http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/mysterymeatnavigation.html,

  22. Banner Blindness • Top 60 pixels of home pages • Users typically ignore information in this area Banner Blindness, Human Cognition and Web Design, March 1999http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/Banner_Blindness.html

  23. Disappearing Scent - Missing Words • Scent drops off • Words that were leading you closer to your goal disappear

  24. Information Masking • Users have an expectation about what part of the screen will change, and look at that section of the page • If the page changes somewhere, they will usually miss relevant links in other areas Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004 Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004

  25. Too Many Trails • Visitors may also leave if there are too many trails that have scent and they are confused "People are overwhelmed by choices and abandon the site, even if the information they're looking for is right there.“ Dr. Ed Chi Angel Gonzalez. Hot on the Scent of Information information. Wired News. Jun. 08, 2001 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,44321,00.html

  26. Links and Headings • Competing Headings • Two regions look likely • Competing links in a region • Confusable links

  27. Questions: Scent Blockers

  28. Apply What You’ve Learned About Scent • Find the hours of the library closest to you • Look up due dates • Find articles on “home schooling” • Get a library card

  29. How Well Does Scent Work? http://www.chipublib.org

  30. Find the Hours of a Library …

  31. Closest Branch

  32. Hours

  33. Academic Library http://www.lib.umich.edu/

  34. Find a “Book” – “Catalog”

  35. Find Your Due Dates

  36. “My Account” – “Due Dates”

  37. My Account

  38. Questions

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