usability

Modern usability philosophy

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Daft, but demonstrates how easy it is to go from two principles that appear sound (if you dont think too long), through to an application that is, of course, a nonsense (by logic). Welcome to the world of web design usability! Creativity has rules, I’m afraid. Art has a very valid place on the web, but if you want your visitors to engage and for your website, to have a positive influence on your business or web idea then there are certain ways of thinking to design a site from a usability perspective. We can theorise ad infinitum on usability, but the fundamental question has to be… “Is usability a matter of opinion?” And can just following stated guidelines or free online tools, really add up to a site with good quality usability? As is the response to most IT questions, “it depends ….”. Usability requirements can differ from person to person, but there are certain fundamental expectations inherent to the modern web experience. Give any individual long enough to think about it and they will have a whole list of usability issues on a website.

And therein lies a problem, the sites they are criticising are making them think too much, when they shouldn’t have to. For example, the number of clicks necessary for a user to get to a page where they want to be should be minimal. The important contributory factor is not the number of clicks it takes to reach their destination, but how easy it is to reach, how easy it is for the user to see where they want to go. This is one illustation of possible pitfalls when following explicit guidelines … well, explicitly. Quality modern usability testing requires not only the fundamental principles in coding and design, but also understanding of the modern web experience and managing user expectations.

It is important not to make unqualified assumptions as to your users (and future users) - it is a huge recognised stumbling block in any software development project. Make too many assumptions about your users, and their expectations, and you will end up with a site that pleases you, but not necessarily your intended audience. Eliciting this information can be a costly exercise, but just observing common usability principles (without enslaving to them) goes a long way to improve your website quality.

A simple example of of the success of following usability principles, married with common sense, is in the usability approach to search engines. A time-honoured error is trying to apply paper-based and red-tape methods to web application design. It is easier when a person is searching through a bricks ‘n mortar library, when material is divided into alphabetical order of categories, authors, and book title. A search engine does not have awareness of this human solution to that conundrum - it actually contradicts machine logic. A search engine is operating within parameters set in it’s code, and searches by any combinations of tags, taxonomies, databases, and file content to find most relevant material based on keywords entered. It isnt umming and aahhing round the system trying to find “Agatha Christie” in the “Crime” section. What does matter is the way the actual results are presented - the search form should be simple, the search results should contain the results and any number of filtering and presentation options - all clear and visible to the user. If within another (wrong) category section, the search engine should still brings back results from other categories, and points the user to them.

The web can have a TV-effect on the brain, we can all lose our sharpness, so make it easy for your web visitors and users. Why I go to Amazon time and time again, is that I know instinctively its quick and its easy. There may be a better online seller out there, but I cant be bothered to try; not many sites have had that effect in my web-surfing history.

There are other requirements for usability beyond design and coding - the more intangible interactive elements. With the surge of web 2.0 as driving force of web development and interaction evolution towards semantic web, it is important to incorporate other factors into your web site experience. Social networking, increased user control and interaction, are natural evolutions of the web, and more fully realising the communications and networking possibilities.

From experience we have learnt that all companies regard themselves as different, with requirements particular to their company and ethos. This is the same for individuals, and what is important to disemminate in the course of designing and coding a website, is where requirements are the same, but stated in a different way. There is a usability mantra which is if the technology is failing the user, the it’s the technology that must change. This is very similar to the old adage “the customer is always right”. The subtext of both these observations, is that there is middle ground. Sometimes the user/customer doesnt fully know what he/she wants, and it is up to technology/business to articulate that.