Viewable with Any Browser: Accessible Site Design Guide. Below are some useful tips and links that can help to make your site accessible by all browsers, and better in general. This is not meant to be a complete guide to HTML, just a look at web design from an accessibility point of view. I have tried whenever possible to provide links to sites with more indepth information than what is here- please let me know of any sites that would enhance the usefulness of any of the sections below, or if I have missed any important topics in accessibility. Remember when reading this page that the advice provided is as general and thorough as possible to make it the most useful to the most readers. When enhancing the accesibility of your site, make sure to consider any special needs of your site, as well as the intended audience and available time and skill. The more you do to make your site accessible, the better, but if you can't follow all the recommendations, at least do what you can to follow those that make sense to your needs.
Contents Key Terms. Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines. HCI Bibliography : Human-Computer Interaction / User Interface U. Atom Interface. User Centered - by Usability Forum. UPA - The Usability Professionals' Association. Usability 101: Fundamentals and Definition - What, Why, How (Jak. This is the article to give to your boss or anyone else who doesn't have much time, but needs to know the basic usability facts. What — Definition of Usability Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
Usability is defined by 5 quality components: 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? There are many other important quality attributes. Usability and utility are equally important and together determine whether something is useful: It matters little that something is easy if it's not what you want. Definition of Utility = whether it provides the features you need.Definition of Usability = how easy & pleasant these features are to use.Definition of Useful = usability + utility. Why Usability Is Important. Don Norman's jnd.org / recommended reading. Brendan Vance, a game developer and blogger, has written a very nice critique of modern games that he calls "The cult of the peacock.
" But I do disagree with his complaint about the lack of manuals. Few people ever read manuals -- as is well illustrated in Vance's discussion about them. This is true whether it is a manual for an automobile, a new cooking device a TV set, a computer program or app, or a game. therefore, to me, the important point is to develop devices that are self-explaining, that do not require manuals. In the new edition of Design of Everyday Things I call this property "discoverable. " I believe it is possible to design game controls and other features in ways that do not require manuals, especially for experienced game players. Attract screens (remember them?)
In this valuable traversal of human cognition, Jeff Johnson illuminates its operation and exposes everyday fallacies and misunderstandings through example and explanations. Cool Tools is a cool book. What if Jakob Nielsen had a blog?