Archive for the ‘Usability’ Category

The person behind that user session

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Recently, Greystone.Net was helping a client hospital with a business plan for its Web site. As part of the arrangement, we designed, launched and managed a web satisfaction study for them. This is something that we are doing more and more these days, as organizations seek to add customer input into their redesign efforts. My background is in research, so I am usually heavily involved with these engagements.

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“They went and made a better idiot”

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009

You’ve probably heard the old adage that as soon as you make your Web site “idiot proof” they’ll go and make a better idiot. No offense intended to any user of any Web site, but people do the most amazing things. I’m in the midst of user testing for a client, and again I’m seeing people do things that I never would have expected.

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What Are You Wishing For Next Year?

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

I recently helped my 3-yr old daughter prepare her wish list for Santa. What I thought would be a simple task proved to be a significant challenge, as she wanted virtually every single toy in the catalogue! I tried my best to explain to her that even though she has been very good this year, it is Santa’s job to pick out a few toys that she would like best.

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Search or navigation? That is the question.

Friday, October 31st, 2008

I was part of a presentation recently where one of the speakers made this statement: “When you go to a Web site, what do you do? You search, right?  That’s how everybody finds what they are looking for.”

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Is consistency really the hobgoblin of little minds?

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008

Ralph Waldo Emerson said that it was, but on the Web, I’m not so sure.  I’ve always advocated consistency in design and navigation for three reasons:

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Is the user always right?

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

Those of us who hold dear the notion that the user of our Web sites is king are perplexed when that user does something that doesn’t make sense. Here’s a great example:

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