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Andy Bray, NEWMOA May 23, 2006

Web Conference: Usability and Information Architecture Best Practices for Online Assistance Resources. Andy Bray, NEWMOA May 23, 2006. What We’ll Cover. Why is usability important? The basics, but still worth mentioning Site navigation – don’t make me think Feedback methods

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Andy Bray, NEWMOA May 23, 2006

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  1. Web Conference:Usability and Information Architecture Best Practices for Online Assistance Resources Andy Bray, NEWMOA May 23, 2006

  2. What We’ll Cover • Why is usability important? • The basics, but still worth mentioning • Site navigation – don’t make me think • Feedback methods • Evaluating usability

  3. Usability Return on Investment ROI • Investment ~ 10% of project budget should spent on usability • varies with project size; some activities cost about the same regardless of project size • Following a usability redesign, websites increase desired metrics by 135% on

  4. Metric Average ImprovementAcross Web Projects Sales / conversion rate 100% Traffic / visitor count 150% User performance / productivity 161% Use of specific (target) features 202% Usability ROI (continued)

  5. Heuristics • adjective • enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves. • proceeding to a solution by trial and error or by rules that are only loosely defined. • noun • the study and use of heuristic techniques. • a heuristic process or method. (source: askoxford.com)

  6. Usability Heuristics • Visibility of system status • Match between system and the real world • User control and freedom • Consistency and standards • Error prevention

  7. Usability Heuristics (continued) • Recognition rather than recall • Flexibility and efficiency of use • Aesthetic and minimalist design • Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors • Help and documentation

  8. Page Basics • Check page load speeds • Let users contact you • Test pages at different screen resolutions • Check page display in multiple browsers

  9. Page Load Speeds • Home page • Target: downloads within 10 seconds • Internal pages • Target: download within 15 seconds • How to test load speeds • Local scripts • Online tools

  10. Test for Different Screen Resolution • 800x600 ~ 14% of users ~ 98% of all users at or above • Good minimum target • 1024x768 ~ 60% of users • 1280X1024 ~ 25%

  11. Test for Different Browsers • Explorer • Netscape • Firefox • AOL • WebTV • Opera

  12. Site Navigation • Clear and simple navigation • Basics – general rules to live by • Navigation Dos and DON’Ts

  13. Clear and Simple Navigation A good navigation system should answer three questions: • Where am I? • Where have I been? • Where can I go? (Jakob Nielsen)

  14. Navigation Basics • Be consistent • Use appropriate text for links • Use CSS to emphasize links • “well, that’s nice to look at, but…” • Always include text links • accessibility

  15. Navigation Basics (continued) • Text-based site map • Include a home page link in main navigation • Link logo to home page • Include a site search box • Custom error pages

  16. Navigation DOs • DOs • Keep site navigation consistent throughout • Separate global navigation from local navigation • Brand site throughout • Link to HOME • Support know item searching and browsing

  17. Navigation DON’Ts • DON’Ts • Excessive text links • Inconsistent page design or navigation scheme • Disabling the browser’s navigational features • Orphans pages • Multiple navigational devices

  18. Clear and Lean Content • Less is more • Writing for the web • Pages are scanned, not read • Don’t save the best for last • Put the most important information above the fold • Every item on a page competes equally with the most important items

  19. Feedback Methods • User satisfaction surveys • Rate this resource • Allow visitors to report broken links • “Contact Us”/feedback on every page • Forms – keep them simple

  20. Evaluating Usability • Methods for evaluating usability • Usability testing misconceptions • Low-cost usability testing

  21. Methods for Evaluating Usability • Usability inspection • Peer walk-through • Heuristic inspection

  22. Usability Testing Misconceptions • Focus groups are not usability tests • Usability tests are trying, not brainstorming • Don’t have the expertise • Don’t have the testing facilities • Testing is expensive

  23. Low-cost Usability Testing Who What Where When How

  24. Andy Bray P2Rx National Program Manager NEWMOA 129 Portland Street, Suite 602 Boston, MA 02114 617-367-8558 ext. 306 abray@newmoa.org http://www.newmoa.org

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