YouTube’s Usability Testing

Developing a seamless web experience is one of the most challenging parts of website design and development. Not only does a website have to be attractive to end-users, but the interface must be intuitive for the users to find what they need or to discover what you, as a content provider, want them to discover.

This key question of “What Goes Where?” is the focus of usability testing. YouTube offered insight to their extensive usability process in the redesign of their “Watch” page (the page you see when viewing an actual video). Youtube’s user research revealed some important findings about the desires of their target audience.

MIT is lucky to have Usability services available to the community for free, and this is a great asset for both existing websites as well as new websites. The members of the MIT Usability Group are colleagues aiming to foster usability practices within the Information Technology community at MIT. The team is composed of human factors professionals, usability experts, accessibility specialists, information architects, and user interface designers. Definitely a great asset to the MIT Community!

More information on YouTube’s Usability Testing
More information on MIT’s Usability Group

Video posted: Web Apps with Jared Spool

The video from our last WebPub meeting is now online at TechTV and iTunes. Due to some technical difficulties the recording starts a few seconds in to Jared’s presentation, however I’m sure you’ll find the content extremely enjoyable! Many thanks to the MIT HyperStudio and IS&T for sponsoring the podcast.

Here’s the summary of the topic covered:

Web Apps: The Collision of Design and Business with Jared Spool
Who has the best practices for web app design and what do they do to make world-class applications? Jared will share the latest research in the techniques and methodologies that can make a huge difference.

WebPub Presents…Web Apps: The Collision of Design and Business with Jared Spool

May 28, 2009

Topic: Web Apps: The Collision of Design and Business

Speaker: Jared Spool, UIE

Time: 12:00p–1:00p

Location: 46-3001

Who has the best practices for web app design and what do they do to make world-class applications? Jared will share the latest research in the techniques and methodologies that can make a huge difference.

Thousands of sites have the same web app: the e-commerce checkout process. They all do essentially the same thing: exchange the site’s products for the customer’s money, simultaneously arranging for delivery and payment. Yet, every single one is different and despite their prevalence, frequently hard to use and frustrating. Why is this?

Creating easy-to-use and delightful applications, such as checkout, while meeting the needs of the organization is one of the most difficult challenges designers face. While many sites struggle, some design teams have learned how to do this especially well.

In this presentation, Jared will share UIE’s latest research on designing successful web-based applications. He’ll describe the techniques and methodologies used by the best designers and the common traps they’ve learned to avoid.

Open to: the general public

Cost: Free

Sponsor(s): WebPub

For more information, contact:
Lisa C. Mayer
617-452-4225
webpub-owner@mit.edu

This event is categorized as: personal development, interest clubs/groups

Surfing on your phone is a “cringeworthy process”

You’ve got to love Jakob Nielsen’s use of the English language. In his Feb 17th Alertbox article “Mobile Web 2009 = Desktop Web 1998” he discusses the similarities he uncovered during a recent usability test of mobile sites:

• Abysmal success rates
• Download times dominate the user experience
• Scrolling causes major usability problems
• Bloated pages hurt users (not physically I hope)
• Unfamiliarity with a browser’s user interface limits the user’s options
• JavaScript crashed and problems with advanced media types (video, flash, etc)
• Reluctant to use websites on mobile devices
• Search dominance
• Old-media design

The article goes on to discuss screen size issues, arguments for separate mobile sites, ideas about mobile web’s future, and where to learn more.

Higher Education Web Symposium at U Penn

U Penn is hosting a conference focused on the unique challenges of web design and development in academia.

The first and only web design conference for IT Professionals working in Higher Education. Join us and meet world renowned experts in the fields of usability, user centered design, CSS, AJAX and many others. Designers, Developers, and Project Managers will all be able to benefit from the content presented over the course of two days.

July 15-16, 2008
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA