Web Usability Handbook

by Pearrow, Mark

• ISBN13: 9781584504696
• ISBN10: 1584504692
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-02
• Publisher: Charles River Media

Summary

Since the first edition of the Web Site Usability Handbook was published in 2000 there have been numerous changes in the technology world. After the Dot-Com bubble burst, corporate training and education budgets were cut severely and investment in new technology businesses slowed down. But today things have turned around again and behind the scenes at technology companies, usability specialists are still quietly working to make the electronic world easier to manage. This second edition provides the new insights and guidance needed to help make usability an effective and enjoyable journey. Every word from the first edition of this book has been revised, or at least heavily reconsidered; and in many cases, whole sections have been removed or rewritten entirely, while other sections are completely new to this edition. The casual and conversational tone of the fi rst edition has also changed because the current wave of usability specialists embodies a much higher degree of training and knowledge of basic science. The goals of the book, however, have not changed: to train those concerned with usability how to understand it as one piece of the large technology puzzle that is affecting and shaping the human and natural worlds. Usability is an art and a science, but it is also an obligation we have to society. Accessibility and usability form the foundation of human-enabling technology; that is, technology that serves us, rather than technology that we serve. Everything from understanding the human factors of design and how to generate user-centered designs to accessibility, usability metrics, heuristic evaluation, and testing are detailed. Whether you are a usability professional seeking methods for transforming data into change or a web designer seeking guidance for making your sites easier to navigate, you'll find information and practical tools you can apply to your own sites today.

Table of Contents

Preface	xvii
Acknowledgments	xix
Introduction to Usability	1	(28)
Usability and the World Wide Web	5	(7)
The Growth of Usability	8	(3)
Surfing, Known-Item Searching, and Task-Oriented Interaction	11	(1)
What Usability Is Not	12	(3)
Usability Is Not Accessibility	12	(1)
Usability Is Not Marketing Research	13	(1)
Usability Is Not About ``Crafting the User Experience''	14	(1)
A Bit of Jargon	15	(4)
Human Factors	15	(1)
Human/Computer Interaction	16	(1)
User-Centered Design	17	(2)
Why Usability?	19	(2)
How Things End Up Unusable	20	(1)
What You Need to Get Started in Web Site Usability	21	(4)
Checklist for Getting Started	22	(3)
Educating Others About Usability	25	(1)
Case Studies	26	(1)
Public and Private Seminars	26	(1)
Summary	27	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	27	(1)
Discussion Topics	28	(1)
Human Factors	29	(30)
What Is Human Factors Psychology?	29	(1)
A Brief History of Human Factors Psychology	30	(1)
What Do Human Factors Specialists Do?	31	(23)
Sensation and Perception	32	(2)
Vision	34	(10)
Hearing and Speech	44	(2)
Sensory Adaptation	46	(2)
Memory	48	(5)
Cultural Factors	53	(1)
Implications for Design	54	(1)
Summary	55	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	56	(1)
Discussion Topics	57	(2)
User-Centered Design (UCD)	59	(32)
What Is User-Centered Design?	59	(3)
UCD Standards	62	(1)
The Process of UCD	63	(24)
Capturing User Input	65	(7)
The Usability Life Cycle	72	(1)
On Impartiality	73	(1)
The Moderator's Frame	74	(1)
The Disease of Familiarity	75	(1)
Population versus Sample	76	(1)
The Participant	76	(4)
Ethics of Testing	80	(1)
Ethics in the Workplace	81	(1)
``Knowing'' the Users	82	(1)
What Is the Site's Purpose?	83	(2)
Recruiting Participants	85	(2)
Summary	87	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	88	(1)
Discussion Topics	88	(3)
Usability Aware Design	91	(26)
The Cycle of Design and Evaluation	91	(1)
Usability and Accessibility	92	(1)
A Framework for Usability Guidelines	93	(1)
Developing an Organizational Usability Standard	94	(5)
Guidelines and Heuristics	95	(4)
Sample Usability Guidelines	99	(16)
Summary	115	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	115	(1)
Discussion Topics	116	(1)
Accessibility	117	(32)
What Is Accessibility?	117	(2)
Principles, Guidelines, and Recommendations	119	(10)
Accessibility Examples	129	(14)
Example 1: Using CSS Properly	129	(2)
Example 2: Providing Alternate Form for Information Conveyed by Color or Images	131	(5)
Example 3: Not Overriding User Control and Freedom with Automatic Pop Ups	136	(1)
Example 4: Using CSS to Add Decorative Elements to a Page	137	(1)
Example 5: Adding a Link at the Top of Each Page that Goes Directly to the Main Content Area	138	(2)
Example 6: Create Captions for Multimedia	140	(1)
Example 7: Using ALT Attributes on Images Used as Submit Buttons	141	(1)
Example 8: Using Label Elements to Associate Text Labels with Form Controls	142	(1)
Example 9: Using Semantic Markup to Mark Emphasized or Special Text	143	(1)
Other Considerations	143	(3)
Assistive Techology	143	(2)
Mobile Computing and Accessibility	145	(1)
Accessibility ≠ Unaesthetic	146	(1)
Summary	146	(1)
Hand-On Exercises	147	(1)
Discussion Topics	147	(2)
Understanding Your Users and Goals	149	(26)
Organizational Goals	150	(22)
Strategic versus Tactical Planning	150	(3)
User Profiles	153	(2)
Types of User Information	155	(17)
Summary	172	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	173	(1)
Discussion Topics	173	(2)
Usability Metrics	175	(18)
The Four Common Metrics	176	(2)
ANSI NCITS 354-2001	178	(8)
Is Information Scent Measurable?	185	(1)
Usability Metrics for the Masses	186	(4)
Usability and Six Sigma	187	(1)
Single Usability Measurement (SUM)	188	(1)
Usability Magnitude Estimation and Master Usability Scaling	189	(1)
Summary	190	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	190	(1)
Discussion Questions	191	(2)
Heuristic Evaluation	193	(36)
What Is a Heuristic?	194	(1)
10 Usability Heuristics	194	(22)
Heuristic #1: Visibility of System Status	195	(1)
Heuristic #2: Match the System to the Real World	196	(4)
Heuristic #3: User Control and Freedom	200	(3)
Heuristic #4: Consistency and Standards	203	(1)
Heuristic #5: Error Prevention	204	(3)
Heuristic #6: Recognition Rather Than Recall	207	(2)
Heuristic #7: Flexibility and Efficiency of Use	209	(1)
Heuristic #8: Aesthetic and Minimalist Design	210	(1)
Heuristic #9: Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors	211	(4)
Heuristic #10: Help and Documentation	215	(1)
Additional Heuristics for the Web	216	(1)
Heuristic Evaluation Methodology	217	(8)
The Environment	217	(1)
The Process	218	(1)
Heuristic Evaluation Metrics	219	(2)
Debriefing	221	(1)
Assembling Data	222	(1)
Quantitative Measures	222	(3)
Summary	225	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	226	(1)
Discussion Topics	227	(2)
Usability Testing	229	(30)
Usability Lab	230	(7)
Simple Lab Setup	231	(2)
Simple Lab Setup with Video	233	(2)
Modified Lab with Video Control/Observation Room	235	(1)
Reducing Lab Anxiety	236	(1)
Why Usability Testing?	237	(3)
Usability and Experimental Design	238	(1)
Supplemental Equipment	239	(1)
Writing the Test Plan	240	(8)
Section 1: Purpose	241	(1)
Section 2: Problem Statements	242	(1)
Section 3: User Profiles	242	(1)
Section 4: Methodology	243	(1)
Section 5: Test Environment and Equipment Requirements	243	(1)
Section 6: Testing Crew	244	(1)
Section 7: Evaluation Measures	245	(1)
Section 8: Task List	245	(1)
Section 9: Results	246	(1)
Section 10: Discussion	247	(1)
Section 11: Recommendations for Change	247	(1)
Appendixes: Paperwork and Attachments	247	(1)
Designing Usability Tasks	248	(8)
Purpose	249	(1)
Test Tasks	249	(1)
Potential Problems with Tasks	250	(2)
Executing the Plan	252	(1)
The Orientation Script	253	(1)
Performing Usability Tasks	254	(1)
Debriefing	255	(1)
Summary	256	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	257	(1)
Discussion Topics	258	(1)
Other Tools and Techniques	259	(28)
The Big Picture: Usability Plan	260	(2)
The Card Sort	262	(4)
When to Use the Card Sort	263	(3)
The Interview	266	(3)
When to Use the Interview	267	(1)
Methodology for the Interview	267	(2)
The Survey	269	(1)
When to Use the Survey	269	(1)
Methodology for the Survey	269	(1)
Prototyping	270	(3)
When to Use Prototyping	271	(1)
Methodology for Prototyping	271	(1)
Horizontal versus Vertical Prototypes	272	(1)
The Field Study	273	(2)
When to Use the Field Study	274	(1)
Methodology for the Field Study	275	(1)
The Automated Session	275	(2)
When to Use the Automated Session	276	(1)
Methodology for the Automated Session	276	(1)
The Focus Group	277	(1)
When to Use the Focus Group	278	(1)
Methodology for the Focus Group	278	(1)
Thinking Aloud	278	(1)
When to Use Thinking Aloud	279	(1)
Methodology for Thinking Aloud	279	(1)
The Walk-Up Kiosk	279	(2)
When to Use the Walk-Up Kiosk	280	(1)
Methodology for the Walk-Up Kiosk	281	(1)
Opinion Polls	281	(1)
When to Use Opinion Polls	281	(1)
Methodology for Opinion Polls	282	(1)
Contests	282	(1)
Alternate Viewing Tools	282	(3)
When to Use Alternate Viewing Tools	284	(1)
Methodology for Alternate Viewing Tools	285	(1)
Summary	285	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	285	(1)
Discussion Topics	286	(1)
Transforming Data into Change	287	(24)
Summarizing the World	288	(2)
Nominal Data	289	(1)
Ordinal Data	289	(1)
Interval Data	290	(1)
Ratio Data	290	(1)
Measures of Central Tendencies	290	(3)
The Mean	291	(1)
The Median	292	(1)
The Mode	292	(1)
The Normal Distribution	293	(1)
Calculating the Mean and the Standard Deviation	294	(3)
Comparing Between Sessions	297	(5)
The Null Hypothesis and the Alternative Hypothesis	298	(4)
Calculating Process Sigma	302	(2)
Method 1: Discrete Data	302	(1)
Method 2: Continuous Data	303	(1)
SUM, or Single Usability Measurement	304	(3)
Combining the Z-Scores	306	(1)
Research Designs	307	(2)
Independent and Dependent Variables	307	(1)
The Lemon Pledge Design	307	(1)
One Group Pre-Test/Post-Test Design	308	(1)
Nonequivalent Groups Design	308	(1)
Summary	309	(1)
Hands-On Exercises	309	(1)
Discussion Topics	309	(2)
References	311	(16)
Index	327