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![]() BOOK REVIEW
Web Site Usability: A Designer’s Guide
"My recommendation: buy it, read it, re-read it, then go forth and implement sites with improved usability!"
Jared Spool and his teammates at User Interface Engineering have performed a great service to those of us who have had an annoying, empty feeling while listening to one self-proclaimed expert after another expound upon what makes a "cool" web site. Their contribution is simple, yet essential: data. Once the sizzle is gone, most business web users expect to find some steak; that is, they use web sites not for entertainment, but for information. This study provides insight into the success of these information-seekers with various web sites. The book is a report on a ground-breaking study (which has continued and is ongoing) of the usability of nine web sites, using more than 50 subjects who had some familiarity with browser use. They tested the sites for the subjects’ success in finding facts, comparing facts, making judgements, and comparing judgements. The findings are, to put it mildly, interesting. In Spool’s own words, "You may be surprised at some of our findings. We certainly were!" To illustrate some of these surprising findings, consider the following findings about user success:
The study has specific findings and recommendations related to the following web site considerations, among others:
Subjects were given an eight-item questionnaire after each task. Seven items had a seven-point Likert scale; the eighth was a fill-in. After all tasks were complete, the post-test questionnaire given to users consisted of sixteen items, each with a 7-point Likert scale for ratings. To get the numerical success scores, three items from the post-task questionnaire (subjects’ reported frustration level, perception of how long the task took, and confidence in the answer) were used because of the high correlation between subjects’ responses and their success on the site. The total score was then converted to a percentage. For the sites tested, these scores ranged from 13 to 43 out of 100, with a mean of slightly more than 28. Money spent on the site seemed to be unrelated to user success. A recent Info Week article about this study reported that nearly $US10 million was spent to launch the Disney site, which received the lowest success score. Another infusion of cash to make changes resulted in a score increase of only five points, still leaving it at the bottom of the list of sites. On the other hand, the site with the highest usability score was created for only about $10,000. There’s a lot of food for thought in this study. I’ve gotten something else out of it each time I’ve read it. Spool and his team have done a great job of increasing awareness of many opportunities for improvement in the usability of web sites. My recommendation: buy it, read it, re-read it, then go forth and implement sites with improved usability!
© Internet Technical Group Last update: June 1, 1998 URL: http://www.sandia.gov/itg/newsletter/review_spool.html hosted by Sandia National Labs Disclaimer: Neither Sandia Corporation, the United States Government, nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately-owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by Sandia Corporation, the United States Government, or any agency thereof. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of Sandia Corporation, the United States Government or any agency thereof. |