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usability
2005 June 20 • design, usability, writingMeasuring Your Site's Content Pages
article: How can you be confident your content pages are understandable to users? A simple usability testing technique can help design teams quickly measure how a content page performs with users. We call it the 5-Second Test.
2005 May 7 • design, resources, usabilityWhen Things Go Wrong
whitepaper: Guidelines for helping people when things go wrong, lists 20 rules for improving contingency design - design for when things go wrong.
[credit: GUUUI]
Usability Glossary
glossary: Usability First has a very nice online dictionary, where you can find short and concise definitions of - at present - 1032 terms used in the usability community.
2005 February 20 • process, usabilityUsability Testing Mistakes
article: Seven common usability testing mistakes:
- Do You Know Why You're Testing?
- Not Bringing the Team Together
- Not Recruiting the Right Participants
- Not Designing the Right Tasks
- Not Facilitating the Test Effectively
- Not Planning How You'll Disseminate the Results
- Not Iterating to Test Potential Solutions
[credit: Column Two] 2005 February 6 • process, usability
Successful Usability Tests
article: Six Tips to Ensure a Successful Usability Test. If you wait until the end to do usability testing you are almost certain to find serious problems in the product. And then you have the frustration of neither time nor resources to fix the problems.
[credit: reachcustomersonline]
Super Easy Usability Testing
article: The absolute easiest introduction to usability testing you could possibly find anywhere.
2004 December 9 • tools, usabilityUsability Guidelines From MIT
tool: The MIT Information Services and Technologies office provides an excellent starting point for anyone needing to test, evaluate, analyze or assess the effective usability/accessibility of a Web site.
[credit: Testing]
Accessible and Usable Forms
guidelines: A set of guidelines and examples that help you create Accessible & usable forms. [credit: 456 Berea Street]
2004 November 23 • usabilityPlanning a Usable Website
article: Three key steps:
- Work out your site visitors' immediate needs
- Create an information flow
- Usability testing
Achieving greater simplicity
article: Don't ask what people need. Find out what they don't need. [credit: LucDesk]
2004 November 14 • design, usabilityEnd of the usability culture
article: Web projects demand a healthy respect for how varied disciplines interrelate, and the courage and focus to push for solutions that not only meet the quantitative metrics but also strive to innovate, differentiate and delight. [credit: Column Two]
2004 November 5 • process, usabilityFunctionality Is Dead
article: "The Issue: The name of the game in the 1990s was functionality and technology. The new game is ease of use and accessibility." [credit: UI Designer]
2004 November 5 • process, usabilityUser Experience Diagrams
article: "In the spirit of convergence, the user experience diagram rationalization brings together the goals, processes, and disciplines that are responsible for great products. It also draws on the diagrammatic work of two information architects, one experience designer, and a cantankerous visionary." [credit: UI Designer]
2004 November 4 • process, usabilityMeeting a User's Emotional Needs
article: "How to meet all of a user's needs and satisfy the goals of the business at the same time."
2004 November 4 • usabilityWhat is usability?
article: In-depth article about the role of usability in design. [credit: elearningpost]
2004 November 4 • process, usabilityQuantifying the User Experience
article: Measuring intangible elements such as branding, usability, functionality, and content. Offers some good quick techniques to help improve your web site's user experience. [credit: Digital Web Magazine]
2004 September 28 • design, usabilityCheckboxes vs. Radio Buttons
article: Excellent advice on the use of checkboxes and radio buttons. Forms would be so much easier to use if everybody would follow the simple guidelines in this article. [credit: 456 Berea Street]
2004 September 24 • process, usabilityTesting for Findability
article: Usability tests are often based on known items. We know this exists on the site, now let us watch you try to find it. Well, what happens once the person finds it?
[credit: Digital Web Magazine]
User Experience Resources
resources: A huge list of UX resources from articles to discussions, from case studies to research. [credit: Digital Web Magazine]
2004 September 19 • design, usabilityThe Need for Web Design Standards
article: "Users expect 77% of the simpler Web design elements to behave in a certain way. Unfortunately, confusion reigns for many higher-level design issues."