Design Issues Related to Various User-Interface Components

Research shows that some of the most significant factors in assessing web usability are navigation, download speed, personalization, ease of use, and accessibility. Pearson, J.M., Pearson, A, and Green (2007) conducted a usability study to determine the relative importance of the five web usability criteria.

With the increased development of the World Wide Web, the meaning of HCI and usability has become increasingly important. Researchers suggest that a significant amount of money should be spent on usability testing to guarantee increased sales for e-commerce sites. According to them, websites should be simple enough so the goal-driven customer will accomplish his task painlessly and in minimum time. They also suggest that the website should meet the needs of the customer rather than being attractive and entertaining.

According to Pearson, J.M., Pearson, A. and Green (2007), “The user’s impression of the web site’s usability impacts the user’s impression of the products available at the site” (p.2). In their study Green and Pearson found that elements such as navigation, customization and personalization, download speed, accessibility, and ease of use presented a valid and strong measure of web usability. Users did not consider the content to provide significant value, but rather be part of the overall satisfaction and usefulness.

Navigation of the website is one of the most important elements that ensure satisfaction of the customers. Novice users tend to make twice as many errors and experience cognitive overload when using badly design navigation. An important factor in customer contentment is playing personalization and customization (Pearson, 2007). It can increase customer likelihood of returning to the e-commerce website; however the personalization should not be overdone. Customers only expect high personalization if they have a long time relationship with the web site. In the assessment of customer satisfaction from user-interface design, download speed can enhance their fulfillment. Users can feel anxiety if they need to wait for more than a few seconds for a page to download. With the increase growth in web technology, accessibility can be easily overlooked and underestimated. To ensure positive HCI, websites should always be tested in text-only browsers and be designed with deep understanding of limitations in HCI.

Pearson et al. conducting their research posed a question (2007), “Does gender impact the relative importance of navigation, customization and personalization, download speed, accessibility, and ease of use in assessing Web site usability? (p.5). To answer this question a usability study has been conducted that included a questionnaire, interview and scenario. The results showed that there is a significant difference in male and female approach to navigation and ease of use. For female users these criteria were playing a greater role than for male. According to Pearson et al. (2007), “… the results of this study indicated that females have a stronger preference for web sites that are easy to use and have clear navigation capabilities; this suggests that organizations that have women-centric web sites should emphasize these features in the design of their web site. Organizations have to understand who targeted customers are before moving into the e-commerce arena” (p.9).

Study conducted by Liang, Lai, and Ku (2006-2007) indicated the relationship between personalized content and user satisfaction. According to Liang et al. (2006-2007), “Personalized services can reduce information overload and, hence, increase user satisfaction, but their effects may be moderated by the motivation for information access” (p.45). General web sites whose customers come for quick scanning should not be targeted by the content recommendations. Those should be used in the knowledge management systems where users often look for a specific topic.


References
Liang, T.P., Lai, H.J. and Ku, Y.C. (2006-2007). Personalization content recommendation and user satisfaction: theoretical synthesis and empirical findings. Journal of Management
Information Systems. 23(3), 45-70. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from Business Source Complete database.
Parmanto, B. & Zeng, Q. (2005). Metric for web accessibility evaluations. Journal of Society for Information Science and Technology. 56(13), 1394-404.
Pearson, J.M., Pearson, A,, & Green, D. (2007). Determining the importance of key criteria in web usability. Management Research News. 30(11), 816-828. Retrieved December 6, 2008 from Business Source Complete database.