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Glossary of Usability & Website DesignA list of common terminology collected by the Interpix team A Accessibility Accessibility is a prerequisite to usability. If a person can not access a web page he certainly can not use it. Accessibility refers to the attributes and characteristics of a system that allow people with limited vision, hearing, dexterity, cognition or physical mobility to interact effectively with the system. It is about providing access to information for those who would otherwise lose their opportunity to use the web. W3C provides Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. Affinity Diagram Affinity diagramming is a categorization method where users sort various concepts into several categories. This method is used by a team to organize a large amount of data according to the natural relationships between the items. Basically, you write each concept on a Post-It note and tack them onto a wall. Team members move the notes to groups based on how they feel the concept belongs with other concepts. For more information see: Affinity Diagrams. Affordance The properties of an object that inform people how the object could be used. The term "perceived affordance" applies when the object properties are perceived in a way that differs from the real-world, physical properties, especially when the usage of the object depends on perceived rather than real-world properties. B Blind Voting Blind voting is when everyone participating in a voting session cannot view the votes of other participants, until all votes have been cast. It is a way for groups to vote on issues without the votes influencing others. Blind voting is often implemented as an electronic meeting system. Brainstorming A method for generating ideas, intended to inspire the free-flowing sharing of thoughts of an individual or a group of people, typically while withholding criticism in order to promote uninhibited thinking. Bread crumbs Bread crumbs are a type of web navigation where current location within the website is indicated by a list of pages above the current page in the hierarchy, up to the main page. It not only shows users where they are currently located in the site's architecture, but it also lets them back up levels one at a time. It is a recursive path. C Card Sorting A method for organizing information that involves sorting a series of cards into groups that make sense to the participants. You start with a list of all the items you want sorted. Write down each item on a separate index card. Give your user(s) the stack of cards and have them divide the cards up into piles, telling them that the cards should be grouped the way they (the users) best see fit. Card sorting helps to reveal users' mental models, or patterns that the end users would expect to find. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Style sheets refer to a set of rules that allow you to control how you would like your document to be rendered. It is a mechanism for primarily to separate presentation from content. With the HTML and style sheets approach, structured content goes into the HTML document, and the appearance, or presentation information goes into a style sheet. CSS allow you to control the rendering of elements on a web page without compromising its structure. Prior to CSS, nearly all of the presentational attributes of an HTML document were contained within the HTML code; all font colors, background styles, alignment specification, boxes, borders, and sizes had to be explicitly described, often repeatedly, in the midst of the HTML code. CSS allows web designers to extract this information, resulting in considerably simpler HTML code, supplemented by an auxiliary style sheet written in the language of CSS. The structure and semantic markup is restricted to the HTML code, while the presentational markup is restricted to the CSS code. Chunking Chunking is the way that the brain deals with complexity. By keeping information in smaller pieces, the functional storage capacity of the brain is increased. Information is often presented in a chunked format to facilitate human memory. Familiarly with the information and/or rehearsal of it increases the person's ability to remember the information. "Click here" The phrase "click here" is a bad linking practice. It makes navigating the web difficult for both sighted and unsighted users. Link text should be meaningful enough to make sense when read out of context. For more information see: "Click here" don't use it... Cognitive Walkthrough A cognitive walkthrough is a review technique where you construct task scenarios from a specification and get a user to role play the part of walking through the task. They act as if the interface was actually built and they (in the role of a typical user) was working through the tasks. Each step the user would take is scrutinize. Color Contrast Color contrast refers to how close hues are in value. The human eye requires good contrast for visibility and legibility. Contrast creates visual interest and helps deliver accurate information. It can make a big difference on a web page. Colors that are close in value tend to blur together, and their borders "melt." This can create legibility problems. For example, black text on a dark blue background is difficult to read. Color Deficiency Color deficiency is a lack of the ability to discriminate between colors. Designs that rely totally on color to convey essential information will be inaccessible to a small percentage of women and a larger percentage of men. Color Saturation Color saturation refers to the intensity of a color. Consistency Consistency is the quality of an interface when it behaves in ways users expect. It means that users can apply the knowledge obtained in some previous experience to enhance current performance. Consistency Inspection Consistency inspections ensure consistency across multiple sub-sites from the same development effort. For example, in lower level pages, common functions should look and work the same. Contextual Inquiry Contextual inquiry is a structured field interviewing method. It involves conversation as well as observation. Contextual inquiries requires a high degree of skill from the usability specialist, in order to ask appropriate questions without interrupting the participants' work flow or influencing their responses. Sometimes two usability specialists are used for a contextual inquiry project, one to conduct the interview, and one to observe and record participant behavior. You can discover unmet needs and understand existing behaviors in greater depth with this method. Culture The shared set of habits, customs, knowledge, beliefs, language, and behaviors that set one group of people apart from others. This grouping may range from very large to very small groups (such as an office or a business). Culture is invisible to people who are part of it, and often incomprehensible to people who are encountering a specific culture for the first time. The risk of culture for usability is that culture is a deep source of unstated assumptions. These assumptions need to be identified and stated explicitly before they can be incorporated into a usable design. D Deep Linking Deep links are links that go directly to an inner page of a website rather than the homepage. It enables direct linking to highly appropriate and specific content. Device Independence For web content to be device independent, it should be possible for a user to obtain a functional presentation associated with its web page identifier via any access mechanism. Deprecated A deprecated element or attribute is one that has been outdated by newer constructs. Deprecated elements may become obsolete in future versions of HTML. Authors should avoid using deprecated elements and attributes. The W3C recommends in Checkpoint 11.2 that deprecated elements and attributes not be used, mostly because they force styles and design upon a user instead of using style sheets that allow a user to override the default style. A listing of deprecated elements and attributes can be found at: http://www.w3c.org/TR/REC-html40/index/elements.html and http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/index/attributes.html. DOCTYPE (DTD) A DOCTYPE is a means of specifying what syntax a web page uses. Include a document type declaration at the beginning of a document that refers to a published DTD (e.g., the strict HTML 4.0 DTD). The document type declaration should be appropriate to the markup language you are using. It should appear at the very beginning of an HTML document in order to identify the content of the document as conforming to a particular HTML DTD specification. E Effective The attribute of usability that focuses on task completion, guiding the user through all parts of the task and ensuring that the task is properly completed. Efficiency The attribute of usability that focuses on being able to accomplish a task in minimum time with a minimum of effort. Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) This term encompasses any of a number of devices and device types. It is basically any device or technology that uses electronic means to transmit and present information to the user. Examples include Computers, PDAs, cell phones, information kiosks, televisions, and many other devices. Engaging The aspect of usability that focuses on capturing and holding the user's attention and interest. Ethnography The process of gathering information about users and tasks directly from users in their normal work, home or leisure environment. Traditional ethnography focuses on long-term studies spanning weeks, months, or even years. Information may be collected through observation, interviews, audio or video recording, observer logs, artifact collection, diaries and photographs. Ethnography is a valuable source of data for creating personas, scenarios and storyboards. Eyetracking An eyetracking device observes a person's pupil to determine the direction of their gaze. It can aid in learning the relative intensity of a user's attention to various parts of a web page. Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) - See XHML. Extensible Markup Language (XML) -See XML. Extensible Style Language (XSL) - See XSL. F Facilitator A person that works with a person or group to lead a discussion or activity in order to extract feedback and information. A facilitator's goals might include developing an understanding of a situation or objective, help achieve consensus, understand the differences or obstacles that stand in the way of the end goals, and clarify various view points. Key skills for a facilitator include timekeeping, application of behavioral tools to help achieve the desired test or activity goals, listening, asking questions, suggesting alternatives, and moving the test or activity forward and keeping records. A facilitator might preside over various forms of user research. Feature Inspection Feature inspections analyze only the feature set of a site, usually given end user scenarios for the end result to be obtained from the use of the website. For example, a scenario for the training site would be to register for a workshop. The features that would be used are navigating to the workshop site, selecting a class, adding it to their shopping cart, filling out the registration form, and pressing the submit button. Each set of features used to produce the required output (a registration) is analyzed for its availability, understandability, and general usefulness. Fishbone Diagram A graphic that is created to identify cause-and-effect relationships among factors in a given situation. It is made up of a "head" which states a problem and bones along the spine which represent factors and categories of factors. Alternative names for this technique are: cause-and-effect diagram or root cause analysis. The Ishikawa Diagram, developed by Kaoru Ishikawa for industrial quality control, was the first graphic to focus on identifying the causes of an undesired effect. A related technique developed by NASA is called a Fault tree diagram and uses a box and arrow format to display the various possible scenarios for a given event. Fitts' Law The further away a target is, and the smaller its size, the longer it will take for a user to reach it. The time required to move from a starting point to within the confines of a target area is dependent on a logarithmic relationship between the distance from the point to the target area and the size of the target. Field Observation (Ethnographic Study) Field observation is simply observing users at their work using your website. Observing them in their own environment may help pinpoint problems that you might not think of in your own office or even in a testing lab. However, even though a skilled observer can be subtle, the very nature of the observation process will likely change the way the user works. Focus groups Focus groups are formal, structured events where you directly interact with users, asking them to voice their opinions and experiences regarding a website. For an explanation of how we use this at Interpix, see our page on usability focus groups. Formal Usability Inspection This evaluation method formalizes the review of a specification or early prototype. The basic steps are to assemble a team of four to eight inspectors, assign each a special role in the context of the inspection, distribute the design documents to be inspected and instructions, have the inspectors go off on their own to do their inspection, and convene later in a formal inspection meeting. Defects found are assigned to responsible parties to be fixed, and the cycle continues. Front Door The first page of a website. G Gestalt Principles
Humans visually perceive items not in isolation, but as part of a larger whole. Global Navigation See Primary Navigation.
Graceful Degradation
Granularity Granularity is the extent to which a larger piece of information has been broken down into smaller units. GUI Graphical user interface. It is pronounced "GOOEY". Guideline Checklists Guidelines and checklists help ensure that usability principles will be considered in a design. Usually, checklists are used in conjunction with a usability inspection method: the checklist gives the inspectors a basis by which to compare the product. Usability.gov has a good set of Research Based Web Design and Usability Guidleines. H HCI HCI stands for "Human Computer Interaction." It is the study of how people relate to electronic tools and interfaces. Heuristic A usability guideline for evaluating a user interface, which can be used to identify design problems. Usability heuristics often need to be adjusted depending on the interface and the technology used. There are lists of heuristics that have been compiled by various people and organizations that are commonly used for this method. Heuristic (Expert) Evaluation Heuristic evaluation is where a group of usability experts scrutinize a website and evaluate each element of the site against a list of commonly accepted principles or rules of thumb. They apply their training and experience to conduct independent evaluations. Research shows that such evaluations can identify a majority of the usability problems, with the problem-identification percentage increasing as evaluators are added. The major drawback of heuristic evaluation is that evaluators, regardless of their skill and experience, remain surrogate users (expert evaluators who emulate users) and not necessarily typical users of the product. One of numerous methods we employ; read more about Interpix's services in usability evaluation. Hick's law (Hick-Hyman law) The time it takes to make a decision increases proportionally to the number and complexity of choices. Hick's law is the appropriate model in choosing an alternative from a menu or navigation bar for decision times, rather than Miller's "magic number" of seven plus or minus two. Human Factors The multidisciplinary study of human biological, physical, psychological, and social characteristics in relation to environments, objects and services. The practice of human factors applies to the design, operation, and evaluation of systems to ensure that that they are safe, efficient, comfortable and aesthetically pleasing to humans. Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) A discipline concerned with the design,evaluation and implementation of interactive computing systems for human use and with the study of major phenomena surrounding them. Hierarchy Hierarchy is a top down organizational structure. Horizontal Scrolling Horizontal scrolling is scrolling sideways within a web browser's window. When a site has content that is wider than the browser window, users must scroll horizontally to see it. Horizontal scrolling should be avoided if possible. It's awkward to do and users hate it. Hue Hue is the name of a distinct color of the spectrum (e.g. red, green, yellow, orange, blue). It is the particular wavelength frequency. HyperText Markup Language (HTML) The markup language that is used on most of the World Wide Web to create web pages. The standards for HTML are controlled by the W3C. I Information Architect A person who organizes inherent patterns in data to make complexities clear. He or she uncovers patterns and relationships and then structures content allowing users to find paths to knowledge. Information Architecture The process of organizing information including the structure, design, layout and navigation in a way that is easy for people to find, understand and manage the information. This field studies how to organize information most effectively to help people find and use the information. Also known as user interface architecture Inquiry Inquiry is a broad category of usability evaluation methods. It is part one of the "Usability Evaluation Toolbox". With inquiry methods usability evaluators obtain information about users' likes, dislikes, needs, and understanding of the system by talking to them, observing them using the system in real work (not for the purpose of usability testing), or letting them answer questions verbally or in written form. Numerous methods exist for doing inquiries. For more information see: Inquiry. Inspection Inspection is a broad category of usability evaluation methods. It is part two of the "Usability Evaluation Toolbox". In the inspection approach, usability specialists, users and other professionals examine usability related aspects of a user interface. Numerous methods exist for doing inquiries. Inverted pyramid The inverted pyramid is a type of writing style where conclusions are presented first not last. It begins with a conclusion then moves to the key information followed by background information. Usability studies show that web users want instant gratification. That is why the inverted pyramid style is important. Interaction Design (ID) The creation of behavior and communication tools and processes that facilitate communication between humans and objects, services, and physical or virtual environments, and that allow manipulation of those objects, services, and environments. It is important to study the flow of information and the discourse between the human and the interface including feedback and stimulus-response over a period of time. Interface A view or presentation of an object, service, or environment that a person (or group) interacts with, and the capabilities that provide for interaction across the interface. Internationalization The process of developing a system whose core design works in multiple languages and in the cultural contexts of different locales, without having to be redesigned for each locale. Iterative Design Design methodology involving repeated cycles of design, evaluation, and analysis. Refinements are made for the next cycle based on the analysis and feedback. Iterative design Iterative design is a process where a web site progressively develops in a repeated cycle. Iteration is repeated revisions. J Journaled Sessions Journaled sessions are where users conduct usability tests in remote locations. Users perform several tasks with the prototype, much as in formal usability tests, and their actions are captured with the journalizing software. Actual actual mouse movements or interactions with dialog boxes and menu items are captured. L Labels Labels are the names and terms used throughout a website that identify menu options, site categories or other elements. Learnability A measure of the degree to which a user interface can be learned; an attribute of a usable system. The ease of learning the functionality of a system and gaining proficiency to complete basic and necessary tasks. Factors affecting this measure include the amount of time, training, and support required for the user to learn the system. Legibility Legibility indicates how clear text is visually. Likert scale A likert scale is a type of question where respondents are asked to rate the level at which they agree or disagree with a statement. For instance on a scale from one to five a user can strongly disagree or strongly agree with a statement. With a Likert scale, neither the numerical scores nor the intervals between score values have any intrinsic meaning. Link Rot Link rot is the degeneration of a web page due to the links that become invalid. Localization Customizing an internationalized product for a specific market. When a product has been properly internationalized, the visual design can be preserved when it is adapted for a particular audience, even while the language is translated, formats converted and layout adjusted. Lorem Ipsum Lorem Ipsum or Lipsum is random text. It is a common piece of garble that designers use as mock-content when testing layouts. It has been well established that if you write anything in a sample layout or design, people will spend more time reading the copy than looking at the full concept. "Lorem ipsum dolor" is sufficiently like ordinary text to show "text goes here" but it doesn't distract the reader. Read more at the definitive site on lorem ipsum. Liquid Design A liquid designed web page re-scales to fit different resolutions and different window sizes. Local Navigation Local navigation is a type of navigation where choices lead to subtopics defined by one of the main menu subjects. Look and Feel Look and feel is the visual appearance that identifies a web site. It is comprised of a consistent color scheme, layout, typography, design treatments and graphic elements - all of which should work in harmony. M Markup A textual description of data that provides information about the data type. Moderator A person that works with a group to regulate, but not lead, a discussion. Whereas a facilitator might take charge of a discussion to shepherd it in a specific direction, a moderator remains passive, without explicitly leading the process or driving a desired outcome. A moderator takes the lead from the participants, listening and intervening only when necessary to encourage further discussion or ask for clarity for other participants or audiences. Multimedia Using a computer to present multiple types of media simultaneously, in an integrated manner. These can include sound, graphics, video, text, animation, or any other form of information representation. N Navigation Navigation is the process of finding things in large or complex information spaces, such as on websites. Its purpose is to a help users find the content they want quickly. There are many navigation methods to make a website easy to navigate. Negative Space - See White Space. O One-way mirror One-way mirror is a a piece of glass that is a mirror on one side but can be seen through from the other side. One-way mirrors are sometimes used in usability testing or focus groups so that observers may watch the session without being distracting or disruptive. P Paper prototype A paper prototype is a paper sketch of an interface with just enough detail to make design decisions and usability evaluations relating to the function and flow of the interface, not the look. Persona Fictional person created to model and describe the goals, needs, and characteristics of a specific type or group of users. Does not describe a real, individual user nor an average user. Often includes made-up personal details to make the fictional person more "real". Pluralistic Walkthrough Pluralistic walkthroughs are when groups of users, developers, and usability experts walk through a task scenario. Group walkthroughs have the advantage of providing a diverse range of skills and perspectives to bear on usability problems. As with any inspection, the more people looking for problems, the higher the probability of finding problems. Also, the interaction between the team during the walkthrough helps to resolve usability issues faster. Primary Navigation Primary navigation is the general menu choices that are repeated on most (if not all) of the pages contained in the site. It is sometimes called the main menu. Primary navigation is sometimes referred to as global navigation or functional navigation. Primary navigation bars provide shortcuts to main sections on a website. Prototype A prototype is a partially completed mockup of your final website. Prototyping allows you to test certain parts of the final website, especially when it is incomplete. With many sites, this model can be as simple as paper-and-pencil drawings or as complex as actual working code. Q Questionnaire Questionnaires are written lists of questions that you distribute to your users. Questionnaires differ from surveys in that they are written lists, not ad hoc interviews, and as such require more effort on the part of your users to fill out the questionnaire. Often, questionnaires are used after sites are launched to assess customer satisfaction with the product. Such questionnaires often identify usability issues that should have been caught before the site goes live. Questionnaires are an inexpensive way of gathering a great deal of information from a large number of users in order to ensure something every online business must value - optimal customer website usability. Most of the cost involved is in designing (or printing, if it's offline) the questionnaire. R Rapid Prototyping Rapid prototyping is the process of quickly generating mock-ups of what a website will look like. Readability A measure of the degree to which an interface can be easily and accurately read; an attribute of a usable system. The level of difficulty of vocabulary and the complexity of sentences in a written text usually ranked by the age or grade level required for a person to readily understand the text. People can more easily perceive a message correctly when the vocabulary and sentences are simple and clear. Relative Sizing Relative sizing is scalable. It is the opposite of absolute sizing. For usability and accessibility it is better to use relative rather than absolute sized units 1. S Scanning Scanning is the process of skimming text and picking out keywords, sentences and paragraphs while skipping over other parts of a web page. People tend to scan web pages rather than read them word by word. Use headlines, bullets, lists and frequent paragraph breaks for items you wish to highlight. These elements will grab a user's attention during a quick scan. Scenario A story which has the key elements of a realistic situation when the user would interact with the system being designed or evaluated. The scenario includes consideration of the user's goals, tasks and interaction. Scenarios can be created for user groups, workflows or tasks to explore, understand and test the different types of needs and goals. Screen Snapshots Snapshots are a method where the user takes screen snapshots at different times during the execution of a task or series of tasks. Like most user testing, you provide the user with the site and have him or her perform various user tasks with on it. In addition, you provide the user with a snapshot program and instructions for when and how to take the screen snapshots. This technique is best used in the early to middle stages of development, when you have some working site to be evaluated but are not to the point of requiring full testing. Snapshots are most often used in conjunction with other remote inquiry methods, such as journaled sessions or self-reporting logs. Self-reporting Logs Self-reporting logs are paper-and-pencil journals in which users are requested to log their actions and observations while interacting with a product. Like journaled sessions, this technique allows you to perform user evaluation at a distance. Site Map A representation of the information that can be found on a Website or of a system. When presented as content on a Website it is typically organized in a hierarchical listing. Alternatively, the same information can be represented with boxes and arrows that visually show the hierarchy of the interface. Storyboard Sequence of illustrations representing a process. Often used to outline the behavior and flow of interaction with a product or system. Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) SGML is a standard for how to specify a document markup language. It is a meta language because it is used to define markup languages. SGML is not in itself a document language, but a description of how to specify one. It is is based on the idea that documents have structural and other semantic elements that can be described without reference to how such elements should be displayed. The actual display of such a document may vary, depending on the output medium and style preferences. Standards Inspection Standards inspections ensure compliance with industry standards. In such inspections, a usability professional with extensive knowledge of the standard analyzes the elements of the product for their use of the industry standard (compliance with University Standards, W3C specifications, etc). Storyboard A storyboard is a sequence of sketches showing major actions or outlining a process, such as the steps of interacting with a computer or website. They are commonly used in television and advertising. They are akin to paper prototyping. They are useful for presentations and for checking that the steps of a process make sense once the details are sketched. Structure The information components within an HTML document. For instance: headings, lists and paragraphs. Style Sheets See Cascading Style Sheets and Extensible Stylesheet Language. Surveys Surveys are ad hoc interviews with users, where a set list of questions is asked and the users' responses recorded. Surveys differ from questionnaires in that they are interactive interviews, although not structured like contextual inquiries nor formally scheduled and organized like focus group. T Tag Soup Tag soup is improper use of HTML, header tags, blockquotes, overlapping constructs. It is markup that looks like SGML markup but the creator didn't know or respect SGML rules for the HTML vocabulary. In effect a soupy collection of text and markup. Presentational markup like <font> <i> <b> are visual styles and therefore not semantic. They are ingredients in tag soup. <i> <b> disappear in XHTML 2.0. They are deprecated. A more semantic tag and CSS should replace any physical style tag that has no semantic meaning. Task The procedures that include goals, steps, skills, start state, inputs, end state, and outputs required to accomplish an activity. They can be organized into larger tasks such as driving to work and sub-tasks such as opening the car door. Taxonomy A scheme for classifying a body of knowledge and defining the relationships among the pieces. Sometimes referred to as a controlled vocabulary, a taxonomy is often used to classify content to aid in the creation of information architecture. Testing (usability testing) Usability testing is the process of validating that a system meets pre-specified objectives. These objectives should be task-based, and should tie directly to product requirements, including results from analytic tools such as personas, scenarios, and task analysis. Testing may validate a number of objective and subjective characteristics, including task completion, time on task, error rates, and user satisfaction. Testing may be formal or informal, may be local (with testers physically present at same location as users) or remote, and may result in qualitative or quantitative data. Testing may occur at any point in the development cycle, from early analysis through product delivery and beyond. Testing may be based on paper designs, models, or display mock-ups, as well as on products in development and completed products. Think-aloud protocol A direct observation method of user testing that involves asking users to think out loud as they are performing a task. Users are asked to say whatever they are looking at, thinking, doing, and feeling at each moment. Thinking aloud gives insight into cognitive processes. Typography Typography is the balance and interplay of letterforms on a web page. It helps the user understand the form and absorb the substance of the page content. It is important in both visual and verbal communication. U Universal Access The idea that all things (on the Internet) should be accessible by the largest audience possible, regardless of disability, location, device, or speed of connection to the Internet. It is the ability of everyone, regardless of age, nationality, disability, or any other factor, to access and take advantage of a website. Universal Design Designing for the largest audience possible regardless of disability or ability to speak the native language. This is a process rather than an end in itself. Usability A measure of the degree to which a product can be used by specified users or groups to achieve specific goals of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use. Factors affecting this measure include learnability, readability, aesthetics, safety and error frequency. Another significant factor is keeping cost-effectiveness within acceptable levels for human cost measured in terms of tiredness, discomfort, embarrassment, frustration and personal effort. Keeping cost-effectiveness within acceptable levels increases user satisfaction, which in turn causes continued and enhanced usage of the system. Usability Engineering (Human Factors Engineer) The disciplined application of usability practices to assess the needs and abilities of users, in conjunction with the business requirements, practices, and processes of an organization. These are combined to develop an effective user experience, and to integrate that experience into a product or service. Usability engineering also encompasses the business and interpersonal skills to work effectively with the business and development organizations to integrate usability practices and goals within the overall development, marketing, support, training, and quality assurance processes of the product group. Usability Lab A usability lab is a facility specifically for user testing. It can be portable or fixed and may vary widely in how it is equipped. It is usually a quiet room with computer equipment and a place for an observer to sit, along with a special observation area (possibly behind a one-way mirror), and equipment for videotaping. Computers in a usability lab are also often set up with logging software to capture user keystrokes and mouse movements and with scan converters, used to videotape computer screens. Usability Testing Usability testing is the process of carrying out experiments to find out specific information about a design. It is part three of the "Usability Evaluation Toolbox". In usability testing, representative users work on typical tasks using the website (or a prototype) and the evaluators use the results to see how the user interface supports the users in doing their tasks. Interpix has extensive experience and practice in various usability testing methods User agent Software to access web content, including desktop graphical browsers, text browsers, voice browsers, mobile phones, multimedia players, plug-ins, and some software assistive technologies used in conjunction with browsers such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, and voice recognition software. User Centered Design (UCD) An approach or philosophy that places the user at the center of the design rather than the object to be designed. It emphasizes early and continuous involvement of users in the design and evaluation process. Also known as user interface design. User Experience (UE) Every aspect of the user's interaction with a product, service, or company that make up the user's perceptions of the whole. User experience design as a discipline is concerned with all the elements that together make up that interface, including layout, visual design, text, brand, sound, and interaction. UE works to coordinate these elements to allow for the best possible interaction by users. User Interface Markup Language (UIML) Unlike many markup languages, UMIL is not used to describe documents, rather it is used to describe elements on the page such as buttons, menu lists, and other page elements generally used in graphical user interfaces. It is used to define their placement on the page, and the actions to be taken when certain events such as mouse clicks, or keystrokes occur. V Valid HTML A web page or HTML document is considered valid when it complies with World Wide Web Consortium HTML recommendations. To verify that a HTML document validates to formal published grammars and meets the standard use the W3C HTML Validator . A document type declaration at the beginning of a document that refers to a published DTD is required as well as only the use of elements defined in that DTD. W W3C Recommendation A standard agreed upon by the web industry and community represented in the World Wide Web Consortium. Wayfinding How people orient themselves and navigate in a built environment, both physical and virtual. Wayfinding devices Wayfinding devices are more than signs. They facilitate journeying from point A to point B. They are cues, flows, affordances etc. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Started by W3C and its members in 1997, this initiative addresses web accessibility issues. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) These are the guidelines built by the W3C/WAI to address issues in building accessible web pages. Visit the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 site and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 site for more information. Website A website is a related group of web pages published on the World Wide Web. Web Standards The term Web Standards refers to the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) specifications and guidelines. Complying with web standards is using technologies like valid XHTML and CSS according to W3C specifications. It is the only way to know that code won't fail as the syntax develops.The validation to web standards allows for future web compatibility. Most assistive and adaptive technologies are based on W3C standards. Error-free, well-formed, standards-compliant HTML is the foundation of an accessible Web site. Standards compliance is an essential ingredient for a higher level of accessibility, portability platform independence, conversion to XML, reusablity and forward compatibility. However, be aware that in itself valid XHTML and CSS, does not guarantee that a page is semantically meaningful, structurally sound, or accessible. Valid XHTML and CSS is the base to start from. Semantically rich, well structured, accessible documents that validate are the goal. Following standards, especially in terms of creating structured, valid markup and removing presentational elements and attributes makes a document inherently more accessible. The future of the web as laid out by the World Wide Web Consortium is based on two underlying concepts. These two concepts are the heart of Web Standards. They are:
For more information visit The Web Standards Project's Frequently Asked Questions. White Space White space, also known as negative space, is the open space between visual elements on a web page. The term describes the unused areas. White space gives the eye rest. Cluttered designs hinder clarity and tire the eye. Judicial placement of white space can emphasis page elements and help to direct the eye. Wireframe Rough outline of navigation and content elements that make up a user interface. Typically visual design and precise layout are not addressed. A wireframe is a skeleton version of a website that depicts navigational concepts and page content. It is is a set of cross-linked pages that acts like a functional prototype of the final website without the graphics. It is often with only sketchy text content. It is often accompanied by a tree diagram or flowchart of the website. It doesn't take into account visual design or page layout. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) A specification that allows users to access information via wireless handheld devices. These devices usually have small screens. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) An international consortium of companies and organizations involved with the Internet and the World Wide Web, responsible for maintaining web technology standards, such as HTML and CSS. Visit the W3C site for more information. Wizard of Oz A user testing method where a user interacts with a prototype or model without necessarily knowing that a human, not a computer, is generating the responses. This technique is especially useful for testing an interface before the system is fully functional. X Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML) This is a reformation of HTML as an XML vocabulary. This is a good idea, as it eliminates a lot of the problems that arose from the existence of proprietary or badly coded HTML, because it must now follow the strict rules of XML. The ultimate goal of using XHTML is to separate display/presentation tags from the document data/structure and to use the elements as they were meant to be used. The key change to make, is separating presentation from content. Extensible Markup Language (XML) A language specification from the W3C that allows users to develop their own markup languages (often called vocabularies), and format their documents using stylesheets to be presented on a browser if desired. XML has a very strict set of rules that must be adhered to, allowing lots of control over document format. XML is most useful, however, as a completely language and platform agnostic data format. Extensible Style Language (XSL) XSL is a W3C specification that contains 3 parts. Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT) for changing the formatting and structure of markup according to a set of rules, Extensible Stylesheet Language Formatting Objects (XSL-FO) for applying a strong set of rules to a document to ensure reliable formatting when printed, and XPath to select the elements required by an XSLT.
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