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Subject: UI Design Update newsletter - December, 1999
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 1999 11:03:48 -0600
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USER INTERFACE DESIGN UPDATE - December, 1999

Insights from Human Factors International, Inc. (HFI)
Providing consulting and training in software ergonomics.
(http://www.humanfactors.com/home/)

Every month HFI reviews the most useful developments in
UI research from major conferences and publications.
__________________________________________________

In this issue Dr. Bob Bailey reviews:

What research-based guidelines are available for designing websites?

In the “User Interface Update -- 1999” class, one of the in-class
exercises was to have students identify the design guidelines that
came from studies that were discussed in the class. The focus was
on using research-based information to improve the user interfaces
of websites. Each of the following guidelines can be related to
a research reference. These guidelines are summarized below.
__________________________________________________

GENERAL DESIGN
DO use ‘parallel design’ methods
DO use multiple tools to design websites
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USERS AND TASKS
DO know clearly the intended use of the website by typical users --
what features do they need (not want)
DO NOT design for ‘first time users’ -- unless that is your primary
audience
DO use ‘frequency of use’ of tasks as a major guide to
appropriate decisions
DO optimize high frequency (high priority) tasks -- use ‘tiering’
DO design for ‘ease of use’ not ‘ease of learning’
DO clearly understand the profile of typical users, and make
appropriate design decisions
DO listen to users on functionality issues, but do not let users
make design decisions -- do not rely on users for good design
decisions -- ask users ‘what’ they do, not ‘how’ best to do it
DO expect that there may be learning required to effectively
use some websites
DO determine whether users are ‘satisfiers’ or ‘performers’
and design accordingly
DO design for ALL users, even those with handicaps (accessibility)
DO design for the system configuration that is used by most
users -- on the Internet it is
	17’ monitors
	800 x 600 pixel resolution
	56 kbps modems
__________________________________________________

PAGE DESIGN -- SPECIFIC
DO design for breadth, not depth -- ideally, require only ‘2 clicks to
the content’
DO NOT use a ‘splash page’ (wastes a click)
DO minimize the use of ‘white space’ in search tasks
DO have a descriptive, concise title for each page (to facilitate
bookmarking)
DO optimize reading speed by using black characters on a white
background
DO put a logo on every page
DO use an area of about 780 x 430 pixels for a 800 x 600 pixel
resolution page
__________________________________________________

PAGE DESIGN -- GENERAL
DO NOT require users to scroll navigation-only pages
DO trade off total consistency for optimal performance
DO limit ‘working memory’ requirements to around 4 items
DO take all appropriate steps to minimize download time
DO use meaningful labels for hyperlinks
DO NOT waste time trying to find better fonts to increase reading
speed or user acceptance -- use commonly used and available fonts
DO use ‘rapid serial visual presentation’ (RSVP) to increase reading
speed of certain information
DO include a ‘shopping list’ (highlighted terms) within pages found
from a search
DO go from ‘more’ items on the first page to ‘fewer’ items on the
second page
DO ‘physical integration,’ not ‘mental integration’ to improve
performance
DO minimize the number of bytes per page (minimize download
time to no more than 10 seconds per page)
DO NOT scroll text horizontally
DO prioritize hyperlinks for users (important vs. less important)
DO enhance the affordances of hyperlinks
DO put the most frequently used hyperlinks toward the top of
the page
__________________________________________________

MULTIMEDIA
DO include appropriate sounds to improve both performance
and preference
DO use multimedia to improve both performance and preference
DO NOT focus on increased ‘sparkle’ rather than good interaction
DO NOT leave colors in graphics that are not used
DO minimize use of extraneous (gratuitous) graphics
DO use animation -- but use it effectively
__________________________________________________

E-COMMERCE
DO have sales in an e-commerce site -- not just ‘everyday low prices’
DO include ‘pictures, descriptive text and navigation buttons’ to
increase sales
DO NOT use banners to advertise -- users tend to have ‘banner
blindness’
DO include a FAQ in an e-commerce application to help deal with
increased ‘traffic’ (there is no relationship with increased ‘sales’)
DO put banner ads close to content (if used)
DO put banner ads near the page with the last navigation decision
__________________________________________________

USABILITY TESTING
DO design for (and usability test with) ‘impatient users’
DO test design decisions on all recent versions (3.0 and newer) of
both major browsers
DO design to minimize ‘time on site’ for each user
DO make design decisions to optimize either user performance or
preference (user acceptance)
DO use ‘performance measures’ when designing for performance
__________________________________________________

NOTE FROM BOB: If there are any references you feel are
important to include in the Annual User Interface Update - 2000,
or in future newsletters, please let us know. They could be either
published articles, conference proceedings, or internal research
papers. Send references to mailto:hfi@humanfactors.com.
__________________________________________________

3-day 1999 Annual User Interface Update Seminar presented by
Dr. Robert Bailey.
http://www.humanfactors.com/training/annualupdate.asp.


Register for UI Update Seminar in Washington, DC - March 8-10, 2000.
https://www.humanfactors.com/training/registration/AUregister1.asp

Register for UI Update Seminar in Boston, MA - May 3-5, 2000.
https://www.humanfactors.com/training/registration/AUregister4.asp

Register for UI Update Seminar in Atlanta, GA - May 16-18, 2000.
https://www.humanfactors.com/training/registration/AUregister3.asp
__________________________________________________

Suggestions, comments, questions?
HFI editors at mailto:hfi@humanfactors.com.

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