d

Web Ergonomy: The Complete Documentation

• This category contains 7 Papers
• The last paper was added on 2007-03-26 (YYYY-MM-DD)

Applying Writing Guidelines to Web Pages

Published on 1998-01-06, by John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen, ©John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen.

Web users generally prefer writing that is concise, easy to scan, and objective (rather than promotional) in style, research has shown. We incorporated these and other attributes into a redesign of Web content. Doing so required trade-offs and some hard decisions, but the results were positive. The rewritten website scored 159% higher than the original in measured usability. Compared with original-site users, users of the rewritten site reported higher subjective satisfaction and performed better in terms of task time, task errors, and memory. Implications for website writing and design are discussed.

Card sorting

Published on 2003, by UsabilityNet, ©UsabilityNet.

This is a method for discovering the latent structure in an unsorted list of statements or ideas. The investigator writes each statement on a small index card and requests six or more informants to sort these cards into groups or clusters, working on their own. The results of the individual sorts are then combined and if necessary analysed statistically.

Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web

Published on 1997, by John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen, ©John Morkes and Jakob Nielsen.

Studies of how users read on the Web found that they do not actually read: instead, they scan the text. A study of five different writing styles found that a sample Web site scored 58% higher in measured usability when it was written concisely, 47% higher when the text was scannable, and 27% higher when it was written in an objective style instead of the promotional style used in the control condition and many current Web pages. Combining these three changes into a single site that was concise, scannable, and objective at the same time resulted in 124% higher measured usability.

Information design using card sorting

Published on 2001-02-19, by James Robertson, ©Step Two Designs Pty Ltd.

At the beginning of any information design exercise, it is normal to be confronted by a very long list of potential subjects to include. The challenge is to organise this information in a way that is useful and meaningful for the users of the system.

Psychology of Menu Selection: Designing Cognitive Control at the Human/Computer Interface (The)

Published on , by Kent L. Norman, ©Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Menu selection is emerging as an important mode of human/computer interaction. This book, the first entirely devoted to this important form of human/computer interaction, provides detailed theoretical and empirical information of interest to software designers and human/computer interaction specialists and researchers. A new theoretical approach to menu selection is taken by developing a psychological theory of cognitive control by the user. A comprehensive review of empirical research on menu selection is presented in an organized fashion to aid in the design and evaluation of systems. Finally, information is given on how to protype and evaluate menu selection systems using both performance data and user ratings.

What is Card Sorting?

Published on 2003-05-07, by Gerry Gaffney, ©Information & Design.

Card Sorting is a technique for exploring how people group items, so that you can develop structures that maximize the probability of users being able to find items.

Writing for a Web audience

Published on 1 May 2001, by Constance Petersen, ©IBM.

Studies show Web visitors don't read; they skip and scan. Will your Web site accommodate them? Also, solid, well-written, grammatically correct Web content is crucial to gaining the user's trust. Following are 10 tips to help you write for the Web in a way that gains the trust of your readers and supports their style of Web browsing.