Usability

At Frontend we get to work with a lot of cutting-edge technology, recently we got to work on some stuff, so new in fact, that its actually just a great idea bundled into a set of specifications. As its in a formative stage, there are no commercial products to provide an interaction template or paradigm. It's called Remote User Interface (RUI) and it could, if widely adopted, change the way that we interact with consumer electronics by blurring the boundary between computing, audiovisual and mobile technologies. Your next remote control could be your phone.

The benefits of user testing have long been established. It is still important however to try and maximise these benefits. One way in which this can be done is by viewing the user test yourself.

In several recent websites we have user tested, the site designers have placed important task critical links and information on the right hand side (RHS) of three column page layouts. The user testing was conclusive, users ignore any information presented on the RHS. We think this is a similar effect to the well documented banner blindness. It is essential to ensure that import links or information is not positioned on the RHS as they will surely be ignored.

Could a charter of rights for the user of web applications lead to the design of user-centred interfaces, better user experience and avoid causing frustration, irritation and consequently lost business?

Implementing a usability strategy involves certain up-front costs, but the return on investment is significant – estimates vary, but I have seen some as high as 700%. Either way, there are a number of good reasons why introducing usability engineering techniques can save costs in the medium to long term.