Top Usability Research Information Sites
Don
Norman's jnd website
"My goal is to humanize technology, to make it disappear from sight,
replaced by a human-centered, activity-based family of information appliances."
http://www.jnd.org/
The
Human-Computer Interaction Bibliography
If anyone can rightfully lay claim to making fundamental contributions
to usability information on the web it is Gary Perlman. He has been a
tireless, if sometimes cranky, advocate of human computer interaction
research data on the web. In our opinion if you have only one site to
bookmark, this is the one. Broad, deep and directly presented information.
http://www.hcibib.org
UsableWeb
Keith Instone's site is an excellent source for quality usability data.
Great data, simply presented. http://www.usableweb.com
WebWord
John S. Rhodes is the unofficial curmudgeon of usability-related information.
His rather informal site is updated frequently with a wide range of interesting
links and related content on usability. John's personal comments lend
an interesting bit of irony to sometimes unnecessarily serious news and
research. http://www.webword.com
Graphics,
Visualization, and Usability Center at Georgia Tech
Another essential site for anyone seriously interested in web usability.
This site, best known for the important GVU/DCOM WWW studies that benchmark
all manner of user web behavior is a tremendous resource for usability
and interaction reports and resources. It is a bit difficult to navigate
and use, however, the data itself is interesting and wide-ranging. This
is a good site to attack when you have an hour or two. Short takes will
be frustrating. http://www.gvu.gatech.edu
The
Federal Government's technology accessibility standards
Much to everyone's amazement President Bush signed into law Section 508
which mandates that all web sites used by or accessed by government employees
must be usable by the handicapped. We are talking about millions of people.
If you want a real wake up call read the technical specification of Section
508. It is the first major federal policy centered on usability. This
is serious stuff if you build web sites for or sell anything on the web
to the federal government. http://www.section508.gov
Usability.gov
The National Cancer Institute's usability initiative on how to make web
sites and other user interfaces more usable. Basically a clean implementation
with good links and related information. Some links are a bit out of date
but most information is easy to find and reliable. Federal funds, well
spent. http://www.usability.gov
Frontend.com
A good, resource for interesting articles that mainly bring a business
perspective to usability. Nice simple interface and good content. Some
material tends to also show up on John Rhodes site and Keith Instone's
site. Worth bookmarking and casual reading. http://infocentre.frontend.com/servlet/Infocentre
Business
2.0's Web Guide on web usability
A good resource for a wide range of high-level articles on web usability
organized by broad topics. Some information tends to be a slightly out
of date. Data is presented inside a tsunami of ads and promotional material
on the Business 2.0 site. However, we give credit to the publication for
gathering basically sound data and links. http://www.business2.com/webguide/0,1660,26399|125|0|0|1|a,
00.html
CIO
Magazine's Cyber Behavior Research Center on human behavior and the web
A clean, highly commercial site with some interesting information culled
from CIO and other leading magazines and web sites. Most information is
in the form of topic articles. Some interesting studies and related analysis
also posted. Like most magazine-based sites data is a bit out of date
but still relevant. Actually the most interesting data on this site is
not in the usability (Cyber Behavior) section but in other business sections.
Poke around, there is some great general business information in this
site. http://www.cio.com/research/behavior/index.html
Andersen's
2001 report on Internet users and web site design
The best part of this site is the Andersen Survey Archive which contains
a file of Andersen sponsored web user research. Even though the reports
are at best thinly disguised marketing tools for Andersen, the data is
focused and relevant. The links in this site are sometimes a bit dicey.
You want to end up in the "Ebusiness Resources" section. The most recent
survey is posted on the "Resources" homepage. The site itself is somewhat
threadbare but data is unique and focused on primary business issues.
http://www.arthurandersen.com
Software
Design Smorgasbord
Do not be deceived by the visual design of Craig Marion's site. A closer
look reveals an excellent cross section of useful links and thoughtful
analysis. This site offers accurate data, summaries, and many links important
for serious usability. http://www.chesco.com/~cmarion
Group
for User Interface Research at UC Berkeley
A small educational site with a series of innovative papers posted in
the "Publications" section. Several recent papers are quite interesting
and worth a quick read. http://guir.berkeley.edu
Most Popular Taskz Articles
Web logs indicate that the following TaskZ content has been widely viewed, linked and propagated over the last quarter.
Gone
in a Flash: Why E-com firms are in flat line mode
This article generated considerable hate mail from out-of-work web interface
designers with options underwater. Corporate executives loved the piece.
Is
a high-priced usability "Guru" a good investment?
This brutally honest take on Guru style usability consulting has been
widely debated in various forums and discussion groups. Not all usability
consulting is "user-friendly."
Usability
and online financial services: Big losses
This paper has been viewed by hundreds of leading financial institutions
and government agencies in the US and around the world.
TaskZ Recommended Reading List
The TaskZ.com reading list has received many page views. Some unusual books and clearly written reviews seem to be behind the interest. www.taskz.com/reading_indepth.htm
To nominate sites for next quarter send an email to editorTZ@taskz.com.
