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Web Site Evaluation.
Research
shows that people cannot find the information they seek on websites about 60% of the time. This can lead to wasted time, reduced productivity, increased frustration and loss of repeat visits and money. Studies by
Forrester Research estimate several costs of poor site design. The two most striking are "losing approximately 50% of the potential sales from a site as people can't find what they need," and "losing repeat visits
from 40% of the users who do not return to a site when their first visit resulted in a negative experience."
Studies of user behavior on the Web find a low tolerance for difficult designs or slow sites. People
don't want to wait. And, they don't want to learn how to use a home page. There's no such thing as a training class or a manual for a website. "People have to be able to grasp the functioning of the site immediately
after scanning the home page – for a few seconds at most."
Usability engineering is a methodical approach to producing a website or any user interface. It is a
practical and systematic way to deliver a product that works for users. Usability engineering involves several methods, each applied at appropriate times, including gathering requirements, possibly developing and
testing prototypes (or evaluating a current website), evaluating design alternatives, analyzing usability problems, proposing solutions and testing a site (or other interface) with users.
In order to create an information-rich, user-centric website, OTMS facilitates the design and usability
engineering with the client, web design team and programmers in defining goals, evaluating, analyzing and identifying best practices for the successful launch or re-launch of a website. The focus includes assisting
with the following initiatives:
Determine Requirements:
- Identify and prioritize content requirements for the site using existing site
- Analyze Usability Issues/Proposing Solutions
- Understand and categorize user tasks based on importance using data collected from system metrics
(log data files), usability and focus group review on existing site or prototype
- Evaluate Design/Functional Alternatives
- Identify and prioritize functional requirements
for the redesign using existing site
- Review navigational cues,
designed pathways, page density, etc.
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