Questions about usability

@dcclossFeb 04.2007

I am working on a project in my speech class for my web design degree, and I was hoping that you could help me with a short interview. I will be using this information, along with other resources, to talk about web site usability. I appreciate any help that you can provide me. If this is a bad place to post this, or if anyone knows somewhere that would be better, on or off site, I would appreciate the information. And, if you can leave your first name and an email address with your post, or email it to me, I would appreciate that too. (My instructor wants contact info…) Thanks!

How would you define usability?

Do you think usability is an important consideration when planning and implementing a web site? Why or why not?

Do you think that the usability “culture” has gone too far and made the internet stale?

What do you or the company you work in do to make sure your sites are usable? What usability system(s) or method(s) do you have in place?

What are your personal thoughts on the issue of usability versus creativity?

What would you suggest to a person new to the web design field to keep in mind when considering usability and creativity in designing sites?

Who are some of the names to follow in the web design industry? And, in regards to usability?

What are some good online resources to follow to keep up in the industry? And, in regards to usability?

Do you have any last words of advice for a fledgling web designer?

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Full-stack Developer

1 Comments(s) _↴

@toicontienFeb 05.2007 — #[B]1. How would you define usability?[/B]

A. I have a pretty broad definition. Web site usability to me is how easy it is for a user to accomplish his or her goals on a Web site. There are many kinds of users, from those with normal eyesight, mobility and cognitive skills, to those who are stone blind, dyslexic, and paralyzed -- and every combination in between. To complicate matters more, there are several goals to accomplish on any given Web site. To me usability isn't just for screen readers. Using LABEL tags for form inputs is great for screen readers, but great for people who don't need them because LABELs increase the clickable area of a form INPUT that activates that input. Just as an example of usability in one area being positive in another.

[B]2. Do you think usability is an important consideration when planning and implementing a web site? Why or why not?[/B]

A. Absolutely. It's the most important thing. If your site isn't easy to use, the user will move on. You have precious few seconds to attract their attention, and assuming you do that, you have precious few minutes to help them achieve their goals.

[B]3. Do you think that the usability "culture" has gone too far and made the internet stale? [/B]

A. Not at all. The World Wide Web is anything but stale. More and more sites are utilizing content management systems, more JavaScript and AJAX, and many are coupling these technological advances with user generated content. Usability just seeks to make it easier for the end user. If it isn't easier, it isn't good usability.

[B]4. What do you or the company you work in do to make sure your sites are usable? What usability system(s) or method(s) do you have in place?[/B]

A. Testing. Testing. Testing. We make sure our sites work on a technical level in all major browsers. Then we go through the site and actually do the things our users will do, like posting photo albums and such. If something pops up that doesn't seem intuitive, we argue back and forth for a good... oh... 45 minutes on the most mundane details, then fix the problem. :p Though seriously, usability is worth discussing at great length when you run into a problem. It makes or breaks a user's experience on your site.

[B]5. What are your personal thoughts on the issue of usability versus creativity? [/B]

A. They are two totally different things, and they are the same. They are different because usability tends to come from a logical level. Simply ask yourself, "Does this make sense?" It also comes from a technical level. Usability can be driven by the quality of your code. I use CSS for the design. I stick most of my JavaScript in separate files, so I've got four pillars holding up a site: Markup (giving meaning to data), CSS (styling the data), JavaScript (adding client side interactivity) and design (pulling the three previous pillars together to make something that can be used). In my signature is a link to one of my posts where I talk about this. I call it "Web design is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." So creativity can be separated from usability too. Both are layers in the Web design cake, one enhancing the other.

Usability and creativity are the same in a sense too. Colors, font sizes, font types, photos and even shapes can be used to direct the human eye to the most important information. Design can be used to ensure that major navigational elements on a site not only look good, but are plainly recognizable as navigation, main content is recognizable as content, and so on. I can't say that usability is more important than creativity, or creativity is more important than usability. It's like saying health care is more important than life preservers.

[B]6. What would you suggest to a person new to the web design field to keep in mind when considering usability and creativity in designing sites?[/B]

A. Don't think about technical limitations. Design the workflow of the site before you even open Photoshop. Design the major features of your site and nail down the basic navigational elements and where they will appear before you know exactly what they will look like. Graphic design, or creativity, is not the first step. Creating a series of goals that an be achieved and then spelling out how to achieve those goals is the first step. After that, you can make it look pretty.

[B]7. Who are some of the names to follow in the web design industry? And, in regards to usability?[/B]

A. Four words: [url=http://www.w3.org/]World Wide Web Consortium[/url]. All the other names you find reference this group.

[B]8. What are some good online resources to follow to keep up in the industry? And, in regards to usability?[/B]

A. The aforementioned World Wide Web Consortium and [url=http://www.alistapart.com/]A List Apart[/url]. I also frequent [url=http://www.digital-web.com/]Digital Web Magazine[/url].

[B]9. Do you have any last words of advice for a fledgling web designer?[/B]

A. People tend to be one of four kinds in Web dev: HTML, CSS and JavaScript coders, server side programmers, graphic designers, or sales. Which one are you most inclined towards? Find out that one, concentrate on that area, and become very good at a small number of things. With a deep but more narrow skill set, you'll actually have an easier time finding a job. Most companies that I've found don't want a jack of all trades. They want a PHP programmer, a Java programmer, a .NET programmer, DHTML developer, Flash developer, graphic artist, etc. The era of the single web developer is over. You'll most likely be one of a small group of people that work on a site. You'll need a deep but narrow skill set to be of any use.

[B]My Info[/B]

Greg Burghardt

Usability Specialist at [url=http://www.newdigitalgroup.com/]New Digital Group[/url]

Current Projects: Motortopia, Mypembrokeshire, Lincoln Dining Guide, Mygoodfriends

For contact info, please private message me.