Unstated Requirements

1. Unstated Requirements And useability

2. Many UI decisions • End up being made by the technical development/implementation staff • Remember • You are not a typical user! • It doesn’t matter if you like it • It matters if the users like it • What is intuitive to you, is not necessarily intuitive to most users

3. Usability testing • The only way to tell how usable a product really is, is to do usability testing!

7. “What’s the most important thing I should do if I want to make sure my web site is easy to use?”

8. It is not • “Nothing important should ever be more than two clicks away.” • “Speak the user’s language.” • “Be consistent.”

9. Don’t make me think.

11. Web pages should be self-evident • We should be able to “get it” • What it is • How to use it • Without expending any effort thinking about it.

15. Things that make us think

18. “If you point the cursor at it, it’ll change from an arrow to a pointing hand. What’s the big deal?”

19. Every question mark adds to our cognitive workload.

20. As a rule, people don’t like to puzzle over how to use things.

24. The most important principle of web design is to work toward eliminating question marks.

25. However, you cannot make everything self-evident.

26. However, you cannot make everything self-evident. Sometimes you need to settle for self-explanatory.

27. Most people are going to spend less time looking at the pages we design than we think.

28. So why then? • Most people are going to spend less time looking at the pages we design than we think. • If web pages are going to be effective, they have to work most of their magic at a glance.

30. We’re thinking: “Let’s write some ‘great literature’ (or at least ‘product brochure’)”

31. The user’s reality is much closer to: “billboard going by at 60 miles an hour.”

32. Fact of Life • We don’t read pages; we scan them. • We’re usually in a hurry • We don’t need to read everything. • We’re good at it.

34. What one user sees

35. What another user sees

36. Fact of life • We don’t make optimal choices. We satisfice.

37. Fact of life • We don’t make optimal choices. We satisfice. • We don’t choose the best option – we choose the first reasonable option. • As soon as we find a link that seems like it might lead where we want, we click it.

38. Why don’t web users look for the best choice? • We’re usually in a hurry • There’s not much of a penalty for guessing wrong • Weighing options may not improve our chances • Guessing is more fun • Less work • If you’re right it’s faster • Introduces an element of chance - serendipity

39. Fact of life • We don’t figure out how things work. We muddle through ( form a mental model).

40. Many people cannot tell you the difference between Google, a browser, and the internet

41. If people manage to muddle through… …does it really matter whether they get it? • Muddling tends to be inefficient and error-prone • If they get it: • Better chance they’ll find what they’re looking for. • Understand the full range of what your site has to offer • You have a better chance of steering them where you want them to go • They’ll feel smarter and more in control

42. What’s a girl to do? If your audience is going to act like you’re designing billboards, then design great billboards.

48. Bottom line • Don’t make me think • Realize that I will satisfice and muddle through • Don’t offer me a fixed set of options. Include an “other” option to avoid forcing me to do it “your way” • Microwave, cell phone, netflix cd that was returned to them instead of delivered to me • Don’t assume you know all the choices

49. Bottom line • Don’t make me do work you can do • Pre-populate fields • Don’t offer me meaningless choices • Don’t make me confirm happy path choices – make it easy to back out

50. Credits • Don't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug • http://www.slideshare.net/amitnm/dont-make-me-think-by-steve-krug-a-book-summary • http://users.drew.edu/sbradsha/FromIPodsToMySpace/05-DontMakeMeThink.ppt