adeleinr · July 26, 2011 19:06
diff --git a/Usability_Tips b/Usability_Tips
 Source http://www.women2.org/10-usability-takeaways-for-web-developers-dont-make-me-think/

 1. Behaviors of Web Users

 We don’t READ, we SCAN.
 We love to muddle through to figure things out.
 We don’t make optimal choices, we love to guess and there’s no penalty when we guessed wrong.
 2. Design Pages like Billboards

 Pages should be designed for scanning, not reading.

 3. Web Users like Mindless Choices

 Mindless clicks are fine, as long as it leads to where the user is going.
 Rule of thumb: 3 mindless unambiguous clicks = 1 click that requires thought (and users don’t like think when they are surfing)
 Helping users to make choices mindlessly is the key to making a site easy to use.

 4. Words – Less is more because we SCAN and not READ

 Remove half of the words on the current site.
 Remove unnecessary words like introductory text and wordy instructions.

 5. Web Users Navigate Sites like They are Shopping in Malls

 We are creatures of habit, how we shop and surf the internet is the same. For example, when we shop at Target looking for ladies PJs, we usually
 (A) walk into target -> go to Ladies department -> go to Sleepwear section or (B) ask a sale associate to show you exactly where the Ladies Sleepwear section is.
 Scenario (A) is coming to a site’s homepage -> main navigation -> sub navigation.
 Scenario (B) is coming to a site and using the search feature immediately.

 6. What Makes Well-Designed Pages?

 View a page at least an arm’s length away to the extend that you are squinting. See if you can identify these:
 Site Logo
 What page are you on? (checking to see if the page title is clear).
 What are the major sections of of this site, e.g. main navigation.
 What are the sub-navigations/sections of this page?
 Can you recognize where you are on this site, e.g. “you are here” indicators?
 How can you search?

 7. What Makes a Well-Designed Homepage?

 Needs a good tagline.
 Is it clear to users what’s the point of this site?
 Is it clear to users where to start.
 8. It’s a MUST to do Usability Testing

 If you want a great site, you must test!
 Testing 1 user is always better than testing none.
 Test early in the project.
 Testing is an iterative process. Test, fix and repeat!

 9. How Many Testers

 3 – 4 testers is ideal.
 Tester don’t need to have domain knowledge about your site content. Anyone should be able to use a well-designed site.

 10. What to Test?

 Test your competitors’ site to see what works and what doesn’t.
 There are 2 types of testing: “Get it” Testing, to test if users understand the purpose of the site, the value proposition and how it works. “Key task” Testing is to get users to perform tasks and see how well they perform.
 Always start testing with the Homepage. Ask users what they think about it and where would they click on first?
 After the homepage, get users to test 4-5 tasks and the entire test session should be less than 45 minutes.
	Source http://www.women2.org/10-usability-takeaways-for-web-developers-dont-make-me-think/

	1. Behaviors of Web Users

	We don’t READ, we SCAN.
	We love to muddle through to figure things out.
	We don’t make optimal choices, we love to guess and there’s no penalty when we guessed wrong.
	2. Design Pages like Billboards

	Pages should be designed for scanning, not reading.

	3. Web Users like Mindless Choices

	Mindless clicks are fine, as long as it leads to where the user is going.
	Rule of thumb: 3 mindless unambiguous clicks = 1 click that requires thought (and users don’t like think when they are surfing)
	Helping users to make choices mindlessly is the key to making a site easy to use.

	4. Words – Less is more because we SCAN and not READ

	Remove half of the words on the current site.
	Remove unnecessary words like introductory text and wordy instructions.

	5. Web Users Navigate Sites like They are Shopping in Malls

	We are creatures of habit, how we shop and surf the internet is the same. For example, when we shop at Target looking for ladies PJs, we usually
	(A) walk into target -> go to Ladies department -> go to Sleepwear section or (B) ask a sale associate to show you exactly where the Ladies Sleepwear section is.
	Scenario (A) is coming to a site’s homepage -> main navigation -> sub navigation.
	Scenario (B) is coming to a site and using the search feature immediately.

	6. What Makes Well-Designed Pages?

	View a page at least an arm’s length away to the extend that you are squinting. See if you can identify these:
	Site Logo
	What page are you on? (checking to see if the page title is clear).
	What are the major sections of of this site, e.g. main navigation.
	What are the sub-navigations/sections of this page?
	Can you recognize where you are on this site, e.g. “you are here” indicators?
	How can you search?

	7. What Makes a Well-Designed Homepage?

	Needs a good tagline.
	Is it clear to users what’s the point of this site?
	Is it clear to users where to start.
	8. It’s a MUST to do Usability Testing

	If you want a great site, you must test!
	Testing 1 user is always better than testing none.
	Test early in the project.
	Testing is an iterative process. Test, fix and repeat!

	9. How Many Testers

	3 – 4 testers is ideal.
	Tester don’t need to have domain knowledge about your site content. Anyone should be able to use a well-designed site.

	10. What to Test?

	Test your competitors’ site to see what works and what doesn’t.
	There are 2 types of testing: “Get it” Testing, to test if users understand the purpose of the site, the value proposition and how it works. “Key task” Testing is to get users to perform tasks and see how well they perform.
	Always start testing with the Homepage. Ask users what they think about it and where would they click on first?
	After the homepage, get users to test 4-5 tasks and the entire test session should be less than 45 minutes.