Web Site Usability

Benefits of planning usability Increased user satisfaction, which translates directly to trust and brand loyalty Increased user productivity, success, and completion (and sales) Reduced long-term development costs (costs incurred from fixing design mistakes) Reduced training and support costs Word of mouth, social media, and other free marketing Positive press coverage A higher rate of repeat customers, which improves your competitiveness

A Model of Pervasive Usability in Website Design 1. Requirements analysis 2. Conceptual design 3. Mockups / prototypes 4. Production 5. Launch and maintenance

1. Requirements Analysis Identify stakeholders, and understand their roles as they pertain to the project. Determine the goals for the website from the perspective of the user and the business. Determine the user needs and target usability requirements. Evaluate existing versions of the site, noting legacy features. Perform a competitive analysis. Perform user interviews and surveys.

Conceptual Design Create a Content Inventory to account for all expected site content. Sketch out a site design and architecture at an abstract level. Build low-fidelity Wireframes for various pages of the website to initiate design discussions, and conduct user testing. Conduct a task analysis to discover critical user needs and preferences. Based on user research analyses, model the user experience and then specify requirements for usability, user experience, functionality, data, the environment, and accessibility.

Mockups/Prototypes Create a Site Map Diagram based on usability requirements to depict the website’s optimal navigation and organization. Choose an HCI design approach (Anthropomorphic, Cognitive, Predictive Modeling, or Empirical) for your prototype. Rapidly create visual representations (mockups) or interactive representations (prototypes) of the site. Evaluate usability through focus groups, user tests, and walkthroughs. Use the evaluation results to create more mockups or improve the prototypes. Repeat this process (design iteration) until the design and usability goals are met.

Production Collaborate with visual designers to develop high fidelity Prototypes and Screen Designs with actual content. Create the final product. Evaluate functionality through testing, quality assurance, usability testing, and field-testing. Use the evaluation results to improve the product. Repeat this process (production iteration) and perform Quality Assurance Testing until all specified requirements have been met, including: business, visual design, usability, user experience, and technical functionality requirements.

Launch and Maintenance Launch the website. Maintain and refine with user feedback. Use the feedback to create new requirements, and begin major design improvements (system iteration).