1 An introduction to usability and User-Centred Design for Information Professionals Sarah Agarwal Consultant Project Manager Internet Development group (ID)

2 What Im going to cover: what is User-Centred Design / usability? what is its proven value? how can Information Professional build user-centred activities into their projects / services? What I wont be covering: info about techniques

3 What is poor usability? To end-users.. I cant find what Im looking for Cant it be more like Google? I find it a bit frustrating I dont think it seems trustworthy Its very fancy, but its not very useful I really like it, but I dont use it much It doesnt do what I need it to do

4 Value of User-Centred Design? Web managers view of user involvement I havent really thought about it I know what my users need It would be nice to do more work with users but I dont have the time / budget My managers are happy with my stats, so thats job done Customers are central to my service

5 Value of User-Centred Design? The Standish CHAOS report (1994):Standish Red = success Green = completed, over-budget/time, under-functional Yellow = cancelled

6 Value of User-Centred Design? The Standish report (1994):Standish Quarter of all projects: cost overrun by % time overrun of %

7 Value of User-Centred Design? The Standish report (1994):Standish Project Success Factors % of Responses 1. User Involvement 15.9% 2. Executive Management Support13.9% 3. Clear Statement of Requirements13.0% 4. Proper Planning 9.6% 5. Realistic Expectations 8.2% 6. Smaller Project Milestones 7.7% Etc.

8 Trust The Web Credibility Research Project Stanford University Findings: 46% of people base credibility judgements onoverall visual design of a site, including layout, typography, font size and color schemes Less than 10% referred to the identity of the site

9 Engendering trust 10 research-based guidelines from Stanford University, inc: Design your site so it looks professional (or is appropriate for your purpose). Make your site easy to use -- and useful. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem.

10 Involving users in existing web services Some dipping your toe in ideas: Accost and ask users informally – free! Ask consultants for some ideas about what user involvement would be useful for your site – free! Heuristic review – cheap Surveys – cheapish to average User testing – average

11 Involving users in development projects Projects developed in-house: Seek user involvement early –understand their requirements –graphic design development –information architecture and interaction design –technical environment –content type, format, level Build-in time and budget for this (bearing CHAOS in mind!)

12 Involving users in development projects Partnership projects Development methods –DSDM –User-Centred Design Clients need to give time and effort, be involved and assist consultants in seeking user input. Make planning the priority

13 About us - ILRT digital libraries e-learning digital imaging Internet Development (ID) semantic web

14 About us - ID Consultancy arm Open-source web application development: –Content Management Systems, portals, booking systems, online survey technology Websites Graphic design UCD and usability Develop e-learning environments and functionality

15 Sources: Mostly in proceedings Information Studies: the discipline of the future Andrew Dillon. School of Information, University of Texas at Austin. CHAOS report (1994). The Standish Group. The Web Credibility Project, Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab. Contact: