Internet Banking Degree - Assignment Example

The benefits can include faster learning, greater productivity, fewer errors and greater satisfaction. Consistent interfaces also benefit the industry by promoting greater acceptance of products and services. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). Affordance - Provide consistent and predictable responses to user actions within the online service. Make interactions consistent, both throughout the site and with commonly used interaction metaphors used throughout the Web.

For example, similar layout for user interface components is used throughout your site, similar user interface components are labelled with similar terminology, controls that look the same are designed to act the same, operating system, language, or application conventions likely to be familiar to the user have been followed, unusual user interface features or behaviors that are likely to confuse the first-time user are documented. Navigation - Providing responses to user actions is important feedback for the user.

This lets them know that your site is working properly and encourages them to keep interacting. When the user receives an unexpected response, they might think something is wrong or broken. Some people might get so confused they will not be able to use your site. ContControl - Users need to feel secure when doing Internet banking. Sites need to be secure, make security measures visible and explain to users how to use sites in the most secure manner, providing appropriate warnings where necessary.

Are there adequate site maps, navigation bars, menus and so on, to help users find their way around the site (Shneiderman, 1998) Are menus broad and shallow Avoid deep, narrow and hierarchical menu structures that force users to immerse themselves into the depths of the structure (Zaphiris and Mtei, 1997; Larson and Czerwinski, 1998), and thus cannot be easily navigated without practice and route memorisation.Feedback - The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time (Nielsen, 2002, page 1).

The feedback however, must not detract from the perceived or actual security of the Web site. The system should speak the user's language, with words, phrases and concepts familiar to the user, rather than system-oriented terms. Recovery - Users often choose system functions by mistake and will need a clearly marked "emergency exit" to leave the unwanted state without having to go through an extended dialogue. Support undoes and redoes". (Nielsen, 2002, page 1). Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing.

Follow platform conventions" (Nielsen, 2002, page 1) - that is to say, do not just make the site internally consistent, but consistent with the majority of other sites (Nielsen, 1999). Even better than good error messages