Preferred language style: English (U.S.) Essay

First, you should read these key documents relating to the definition and expression of usability. As you read, try to define for yourself as specifically as possible how you would assess usability. Remember, usability matters, because time matters — the argument for usability is heavily based on efficiency, not on aesthetics or people’s rights not to be put upon. Jakob Nielsen, Kara Pernice Coyne, and Marie Tahir, Make it Usable. PC Magazine 02. 06. 01. [Available at http://www. pcmag. com/article2/0,4149,33821,00. asp] Jakob Nielsen (2003) Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. Alert box, August 25 http://www. useit. com/alertbox/20030825. html The Web Style Guide (2nd Edition) available at http://www. webstyleguide. com/index. html Usability First [available at http://www. usabilityfirst. com/] Then comes the experiential component of the case. It shouldn’t take you to long and will give you a point of reference for what the debate is all about. Take the Web Usability Quiz — free and online at http://www. humanfactors. com/training/webquiz. asp You might actually want to try the quiz before you do the reading to check your prior knowledge. However, since your score is just between you and the machine, it`s up to you. But you`ll get more out of it if you do take the quiz. Then, in a 3-5 page paper, discuss the following questions: What do you believe are the appropriate criteria for assessing usability? Who should make such judgments? How should disagreements about usability be resolved? Usability plays a very important role in determining the efficiency of a website, and suggests the ability of the customer to use the website (Neilson, 2001). It is a quality component and determines the easiness and the convenience in using the website (Neilson, 2003). The customer should find the website user-friendly and interesting (Neilson, 2001). In this article, the importance of usability to websites is mentioned, but it could be applied to any area. As there are countless number of websites providing relevant information, people have several options. Hence, if a website is badly designed, it would suffer from not being visualized by the customer. The customer has to be involved during the construction stage itself to ensure that the website can be designed in the most appropriate manner. Another fact which should be noted in this regard is that a customer would not return to the website if it is bad, as a negative impression would already have been generated in the mind (Neilson, 2001). Before the website is launched, a sample of the potential customers should provide feedback. Studies have shown that these potential users have provided appropriate feedback which was utilized and helped to improve the quality of the website. Many web-designers have made huge amount of corrections within a very short period of time, and with a little investment after taking advice from the sample of the customers. Usually customers were lost right from the start of the homepage, were a registration of the customer was required (Neilson, 2001). Usability is also required for the website surviving in the market. Customers would leave the website at any given point of time, if it is difficult to use. Any information put in a difficult to read manner would also have the same consequence. It is very important that the website answers the questions of the user promptly (Neilson, 2003). Hence, the information presented should be very relevant and specific. In the industry of web designing, usability suggests that the designers are very efficient at the construction of a website. At the moment about 10 % of the construction of websites costs is spent on determining and improving the usability (Neilson, 2003). It is one of the areas a website production unit would be spending more compared to other quality areas (Neilson, 2003). There are several criteria for assessing usability. These include:- 1. Efficiency – The ability of the user to perform the activities mentioned, once they have learned the website. 2. Learnability – The ability of the user to perform the activities easily, once they are able to enter the website. 3. Satisfaction – The pleasure derived in using the website. 4. Errors – The chances of committing errors on the website, and the extent of these errors along with the ease in which they can be corrected. 5. Utility – The ability to function in an appropriate user-friendly manner, (Neilson, 2003). 6. Accessibility – The customer should be provided with access to appropriate information in the website. This is one of the most important criteria a website should follow (Lynch and Horton, 2002). 7. User-friendly design – The graphics and the texts available on the website should be balanced and prepared in a well-balanced manner. It should encourage good flow of information. The website should provide content and should be user-friendly for only the target audience group. The navigation aids present on the website should be accessible. Sometimes, the user may require additional information, and in such circumstances an access link should be available. This access links should always be functional (Lynch and Horton, 2002). 8. Relevant information – The website should provide relevant and current information. Sometimes, further details about the source from where the information is derived, would also be required. 9. Author’s name and the Credentials of the author – The website should be providing the author’s name and the credentials of the author, so that the customer can also weight the accuracy and genuineness of the information provided. Judgments to improve the usability should be made by the potential customers. They should be called in at the designer’s office. The correction would be occurring in a process, which include:- 1. Determine the objectives and the activities of the representative user – At first, the users should be told the objectives of the website and they should be given sufficient information to proceed on to the next task. Each representative tasks should be written on a separate page, and once the user finishes with one age, he/she could move on to the next page (Neilson, 2001). 2. The people testing the usability of the website should be placed in real-life instances. Their profile should suit that of the relevant audience the website wants to target. To test a particular site, 5 people should be utilized. The time each tester should spend ranges from 20 minutes to about 2 hours (Neilson, 2001). 3. The test sessions should be performed in a serene and a quiet environment. Usually, testing should be performed at one person at a time. However, if one tester cannot observe or disturb the other tester, the process can be done for several individuals at a time (Neilson, 2001). 4. The areas the testers experience certain difficulties should be observed immediately, and efforts should be made to correct them. The feedback and responses supplied by the testers is very important and should be utilized appropriately (Neilson, 2001). 5. Besides actually following the feedback and reactions of the user, several other issues can be sorted out by the designers to ensure that the usability of the website can be improved. Frequently, surveys may not convey precise information, and a lot depends on following the observations of the user. The information provided by a survey may frequently be misleading (Neilson, 2001). 6. During the process of testing, the designers should be quiet and observe what the representative user does or say. Anything said by the designers would affect the outcome of such a procedure (Neilson, 2003). Problems that could arise during testing:- 1. The results obtained from one user may be similar to another user. In such a circumstance, it would be better to conduct the entire procedure individually for each user or place them in rooms where one user cannot disturb another user (Neilson, 2003). 2. Frequently, the outcome of a testing may not be useful if people not belonging to the target group are selected for testing. In such a circumstance, it would be better to select individuals (at least five of them belonging to the target group) (Neilson, 2003). 3. Users should not be told anything during the testing. Instead most of the talking should be done by the user. If too much talking is done by the testers, the users would get influenced, and real-life simulation would not be possible (Neilson, 2003). References: Foraker Design. â€Å"Usability in Website and Software Design. † 2002. Usability First. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. usabilityfirst. com/ Human Factors. â€Å"Web Usability Quiz. † 1996. Human Factors. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. humanfactors. com/training/webquiz. asp Jakob Nielsen, Kara Pernice Coyne, and Marie Tahir, â€Å"Make it Usable. † 2001. PC Magazine. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. pcmag. com/article2/0,4149,33821,00. asp Jakob Nielsen, â€Å"Usability 101: Introduction to Usability. † 2003. Alert box. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. useit. com/alertbox/20030825. html Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton. â€Å"The Web Style Guide, Second Edition. † Web Style Guide. 2 Jun 2007 http://www. webstyleguide. com/index. html