SCN: Web design

[Steve]

x-no-archive: yes   

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(Jakob Nielsen, Alertbox, excerpts)---Too frequently, I hear about 
companies basing their designs on user input obtained through 
misguided methods. 

A typical example? Create a few alternative designs, show them to a 
group of users, and ask which one they prefer. Wrong. If the users 
have not actually tried to use the designs, they'll base their 
comments on surface features. Such input often contrasts strongly 
with feedback based on real use. 

To discover which designs work best, watch users as they attempt 
to perform tasks with the user interface. This method is so simple 
that many people overlook it, assuming that there must be 
something more to usability testing. 

Of course, there are many ways to watch and many tricks to running 
an optimal user test or field study. But ultimately, the way to get 
user data boils down to the basic rules of usability:    

...Watch what people actually do. 

...Do not believe what people say they do. 

...Definitely don't believe what people predict they may do in the 
future. 

In speculative surveys, people are simply guessing how they might 
act or which features they'll like; it doesn't mean they'll actually use 
or like them in real life. 

When should you collect preference data from users? Only after 
they have used a design and have a real feeling for how well it 
supports them. The more a design supports users in easily and 
efficiently doing what they want to do, the more they like the design. 
Very understandable. 

However, when collecting preference data, you must take human 
nature into account. When talking about past behavior, users' self-
reported data is typically three steps removed from the truth:    

...In answering questions (particularly in a focus group), people bend 
the truth to be closer to what they think you want to hear or what's 
socially acceptable. 

...In telling you what they do, people are really telling you what they 
remember doing. Human memory is very fallible, especially 
regarding the small details that are crucial for interface design. 
Users cannot remember some details at all, such as interface 
elements that they didn't see. 

...In reporting what they do remember, people rationalize their 
behavior. Countless times I have heard statements like "I would 
have seen the button if it had been bigger." Maybe. All we know is 
that the user didn't see the button. 

Finally, you must consider how and when to solicit feedback. 
Although it might be tempting to simply post a survey online, you're 
unlikely to get reliable input (if you get any at all). Users who see 
the survey and fill it out before they've used the site will offer 
irrelevant answers. Users who see the survey after they've used the 
site will most likely leave without answering the questions. 

One question that does work well in a website survey is "Why are 
you visiting our site today?" This question goes to users' motivation 
and they can answer it as soon as they arrive. 

Your best bet in soliciting reliable feedback is to have a captive 
audience: Conduct formal testing and ask users to fill out a survey 
at the end. With techniques like paper prototyping, you can test 
designs and question users without implementing a thing.







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