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Ask Tog |
When I worked at Apple, Bruce Tognazzini proclaimed himself the user
interface czar, and undertook to make sure that every program issuing from
Cupertino would have the same (good) interface. He published a digest of
his recommendations as Tog on Interface. Even though that was more than
ten years ago, the book will make you laugh out loud.
The issues have
changed since then, but his irreverent attitude still helps dispel the mumbo jumbo of a lot of user interface theory. Ask Tog is an occasional
column and email newsletter that he publishes from the Nielsen Norman
Group, where he now works. (In between, he was at Sun).
Enjoy the writing,
and, once and a while, you'll get an idea of how you could improve your
site, or your own prose.
http://www.asktog.com/ |
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Fucina Web |
Antonio Volpon gives "Idee per forgiare siti accessibili e usabili"
including interviews, guidelines, and articles. Bias: He interviewed us on
web writing, and kindly translated our English into Italian.
http://www.fucinaweb.com/home/mappa.asp |
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IBM Ease of Use |
Given their history, IBM had to prove that they could actually sympathize
with users, and make their software and hardware, well, maybe not
perfectly easy to use, but at least a lot friendlier than before. Good,
business-wise advice, guidelines, tips on user-centered design.
It's very
strange to hear Big Blue saying things like this:
"User Engineering (UE) is a significant evolutionary advancement in
the process of developing offerings that satisfy and delight users, as
well as the stakeholders who invest in bringing them to market."
Of course, the phrase does suggest what IBM used to do: manipulate the
user. But the very idea that IBM would want to delight a user is…I don't
know…a new century. And they're serious. They provide plenty of help aimed
at software developers.
http://www-3.ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf/Publish/558 |
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Nielsen Norman Group |
For the latest usability research, some of which relates directly to text.
The best sections veer off from the home page, to articles by Bruce
Tognazzini and Jakob Nielsen. Don Norman, the other principle, ran
research at Apple for a while; he's written some landmark books on
usability. This consulting group, then, is a kind of Mount Rushmore
of usability.
http://www.nngroup.com |
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Usability First |
This site gives you a complete tour of usability for the web. You get a
good overview on almost every topic, plus comprehensive link lists, and
old-fashioned bibliographies. There are only a few guidelines on writing.
But the writing here is clear, practical, and useful.
Want to find out
what some term like "breakdown analysis" really means? The glossary gives
you more than the definition, showing you where the term fits, in a list
of related terms. The site's hosted by Diamond Bullet Design, but they
offer a real public service, with only a modest About Us page, linking to
their commercial site.
http://www.usabilityfirst.com/index.txl |
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Usability.gov |
Detailed guidelines for making sure that your web pages are usable. Good
focus on accessibility for people with special needs. Most guidelines
include comments, analysis of the evidence behind the guideline, and good
examples. Very usable site! Created by the National Cancer Institute.
http://www.usability.gov/guidelines/index.html |
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Usability Methods Toolbox |
Built in 1997 and 1998, this site is still useful. James Hom put it up as
part of his Masters Program at San Jose State, while he was also working
with the Cisco usability team, one of the best in the business.
You'll get
a complete analysis of each technique, tips on when to use it, and a
bibliography with links to major sources on that topic. I count 40 major
topics, from action research through cognitive walkthroughs to the famous
Think Aloud protocol. Because the focus is on techniques, Hom only
occasionally mentions text. But if you want your own little Masters
Program, browse, print, and study.
http://jthom.best.vwh.net/usability/ |
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Usability Professionals Association |
If you want to learn usability, join up. Great local meetings, a valuable
journal, and useful conferences.
http://www.upassoc.org/ |
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Usable Web |
Keith Instone created this resource, and he swears he will never update
it. So what you get is a collection of what he himself calls "stale"
resources on usability, human factors, user interface, and information
architecture.
Most of the articles are still relevant, despite his
disclaimer. Only one little section on writing. But if you want to learn
more about usability, these links (with reasonable annotation) will get
you started.
http://www.usableweb.com/ |
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Useit.com |
Jakob Nielsen's research on writing for the Web, published originally as a
series of Alertboxes (columns and full-length articles about usability).
For many years, Nielsen studied the reactions of visitors to the Sun site,
drawing conclusions about how to write content for those engineers and
managers. Most of what he says applies to other audiences, but
occasionally you have to say, "Wait a sec, my visitors are totally
different, and they seem to like it when I violate this guideline."
Since quitting Sun, Nielsen has done a lot of in-depth studies as part of
his work with the Nielsen/Norman group. I particularly like his study on
what journalists want from the PR sections of a site, and what makes an
intranet useful. I would say that Nielsen's work is even better these
days, and more applicable on a wide range of ecommerce, entertainment, and
non-profit sites.
After you read these articles, browse the rest of the site, for valuable
insights into the way people think and act when using the Web.
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/ |
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User Interface Engineering |
Jared Spool's group comes up with startling conclusions, in its research
on usability, interface design, content, and ecommerce; you may dispute
their statistical validity, but you can't deny their ideas are intriguing.
Sign up for the newsletter, because among the ads for upcoming events, you
get digests of some of the most eye-opening studies of consumer behavior
on the Web. Treasure the white papers.
http://world.std.com/~uieweb/ |
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Web Word |
John Rhodes' occasional weblog on usability. Thoughtful reviews, fun
rants, and some good thought about text as part of the user experience.
http://www.webword.com/ |
