www.amas.ie
Presentation content
• Introduction• Internet today• User-centred universe• Examples – good and bad• What you can do• How you can do it
www.amas.ie
A brief introduction…. Past• Online since 1989• Journalist and editor, The Irish Times• Digital media since 2000
Present• Director, online consultancy AMAS• Extensive work public and private sectors• Emphasis on usability, user-centred and
universal design• Some non-profit roles• Ideas Campaign (2009)
www.amas.ie
Web 2.0 - digital portfolio
Social networks
Content sharing
Syndication
Your website(s)
Email newsletters
Social bookmarks
Blogs
User-generated content
Search engine profile
Multiple channels for communication,
interaction, transaction
www.amas.ie
Online audiences“I don’t have to go out and find news, products or services. I expect them to find me.”
www.amas.ie
• Success online depends on this alignment
• User needs just as vital as your organisation’s goals
• Users not tolerant of gaps between these elements
Align goals and needs
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How to do better
Planning universal online communications
No magic – just doing many small things well
• User-centred thinking
• Accessibility to a standard
• Usability – test and improve
• Think user experience
www.amas.ie
User-centred design toolkit
• Audience mapping• Surveys and focus groups• Persona development• Expert evaluation (heuristic review)
• Accessibility audit• Usability audit
• User testing by representative users
www.amas.ie
Know your users
• Who are your primary audience?• Who are your secondary
audiences?• What are the specific goals of
each audience?• What will draw and hold their
interest online?
Your audiences can include the public, sub-sets such as young people or rural dwellers, interest groups, business, state bodies, academia, NGOs – most likely a mixture of these
www.amas.ie
Personas – your typical users
• Identify your most typical users
• Name them and set out attributes
• Use them as yardsticks to plan design
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eBusiness audit
Evaluation against 200+ best practice checkpoints
customer service
design and
brandingoperations online
marketing
communicate
interact
transact
technology infrastructure
usability and accessibility
legalmetrics
Focus on users
at each level
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Write for the Web - help your users
• Conclusion first• Then supporting
material• Finally – background
Conclusion
Supporting material
Background
Write to be read
• Help people to scan• Break content into chunks• Label and signpost
Write to be found• Search engines are vital
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Accessibility resources, standards
“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”
Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web
www.w3.org/WAI/
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Usability – Jakob Nielsen’s definition
Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design? Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks? Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency? Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors? Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?
www.amas.ie
User-centred success
• Know your users and their needs• Align your goals with user needs• Evaluate and test, with user concerns to the
fore• Build user dimension into structured
approach to online projects• Use proven techniques, such as writing for
the Web• Be guided by established good practice,
including universal and user-centred design principles