Best Methods for Designing User-Centered Web Systems - Assignment Example

Research Paradigms ICA 2007-8 Submission to Bates Foundation Module leader’s name: Dr Briony J Oates Name: Christopher Dube Masters route: MSc Web Services Development Systematic review: What Are The Best Methods For Designing User-Centered Web Systems? Research Proposal: Designing User-Centered Web System Best Methods For Designing User-Centered Web Systems Author: Christopher Dube Word Count: 1560 Keywords used: user-centered web systems, websites, joint website development, best user-centered websites. Introduction: Digital media has completely revolutionized the way users do work, learn, study and correspond to each other. The digital designs of daily objects are not at all times shrewd and sometimes it leaves users nervous and inept to perform a straightforward task (Norman 1988). User-centred design’ (UCD) is, a broader terminology, used to illustrate design process where users learn to know how to develop a design. Similarly, user-centred design (USD) follows a sequence of distinct methods and processes for analysis, designs, and appraisals of hardware & software, and web interfaces (User-Centered Design Course). This course of action is an iterative course, where design and assessment stages are created in from the initial phase of plans, through functioning. This paper discusses the methods of designing a best user-centered web system – this includes “planning”, “assessment of developing a website specifications”, and finally the “discussions and limitations of a website”. Initial Preparation Preparation on web is a complex and multifaceted process – initially it is to be planned that who’ll be the partner(s) with whom one can develop a website, analysing the requirements and objectives, and work through the overall progress for developing plans ahead (Jessica 1999). And then, creating specifications of a site in a document that gives detailed information about the overall plans to do – that is, what technology and content is required, the deadline of its completion, the expenditures, and the pre-assessment of outcome (Jessica 1999). This process is pretty central in building up a successful user-centered website, as it is both the design for the overall process and criterion of usability to keep the plan cracked down on settled goals and deliverables. Sites are actually built by the people to meet the requirements of end-users. Sorry to say, many projects at web are often met with “technological problems”, and plans are coloured enthusiastically from the start for exacting methods or plug-ins1, but not by real human or business requirements (Abras et al 2004). As every business required, end-users are the key to open success (Abras et al 2004). For building a best user-centred website, content specialists are of particular importance – including authors, information and graphic structural designer, technical specialists, as well as a producer – for the completion of plan (Abras et al 2004). If site is booming it will have to be really constructive to the targeted users, fulfilling their requirements and demands without being trickier. By including real users, communicating with them, testing the designs with them, and keeping the site user-friendly, will let the system be prosperous (Abras et al. 2004). Objectives Two or three objectives should be the legs of user-centred site design; like specific strategies around which the site will be built, planned, its duration of overall progress, and appraisal periods, and qualitative and quantitative steps to the appraisal of the site’s success (Patton 1990). It’s an ongoing process so continuing executive management and technological protection must be enclosed in budget and making plans for the website. With no such objectives, website publication will experience the same luck as many corporate communications plans – an energetic start with no permanent successes (Abras et al 2004). Goals and strategies Mission of Web System. How website support that mission. Outline two or three principal objectives. Primary end-users for the website. User’s perspective on website. Strategies use to achieve these objectives. Assessment of the success of website. Maintenance of the already completed website (Henry & Grossnickle 2004). Who are the end-users? This is an important step to recognize initially the potential users of user-centered website so to meet demands and expectations while designing a structure (Ashley 2001). What is of necessity is the elementary understanding of users, their background, interests, and requirements that vary from person to person – as some users are ‘tentatively novices’ (those who need a well-structured introductory website), and some are ‘powerful users’ (who may scrape at no matter which that comes out to be condescending their hold-up and interruption to get information and other things within the website) (Ashley 2001). Best structured user-centred designs must contain variety of users’ skills and their interests. Appropriate Assessment Design Assessment: It comes so often that every member of development team brought varied objectives, liking and disliking, and expertise to the completion of a project. Agreement on the whole designing process for the Website must be created, once the development team has done with accords on the mission and objectives of the plan (Powell 2000). The objectives at this particular stage are to distinguish possible successful models in other web systems and get going to observe “designing setbacks from the site user’s perspective” – this is imperative as development teams do not even bother to think about the incorporation of members for the end-users (Lazar 2001). And sometimes it might be tricky too for the team members who are not well-experienced designers to run through their exacting likings, apart from there references to active sites (Powell 2000). Assessment is a superb way to discover what makes a web system winning, because each member of the team cracks down on user’s perspectives. Let them to come up with their records of preferred websites to the appraisal, and request them to introduce their sites and remark on the thriving aspects of each design – this is the best way to get varied ideas to swot up the other’s responsiveness and start to make agreement on the understanding that end-users will have when they browse the completed website (Lazar 2001). Content Assessment: If done with the overall ‘make-up’ of website and its operation, it is good to start assessing the content for best understanding of plans. While creating a user-centered web, required contents will force to concentrate on the available content resources and to build a comprehensive outline of requirements (David 1997). And ‘lack of concentration’ on content shortages will be risky, so concentration is necessary, and a clutch of requirements will also help build up a practical plan and resources for the plan. The assessment of content might be trickier, most lengthy and spun-out for designing of sites so starting with an available plan before time will help guarantee that it won’t be jammed later on with a best structured user-centered web system (Lazar 2001). Assessment of Site Specification: It’s basically a brief account of central objectives, principles, and intention, to provide the crucial strategy way for the whole lot that comes ahead. For judging the effectivity of general development process, a well-written plan or specification of site is surely a strong and effective tool – as it provides the developers with a scope to let the development process concentrating on the critical information of the website (Vanderheiden and Henry 2003). And then it becomes an everyday reference point to resolve problems in the maintenance of a web system, and to evaluate the possible effectiveness of new reflections as they crop up, to gauge movement, and to keep the developers determined on the final objectives (Vanderheiden and Henry 2003). At least, a high-quality site specification should classify the content range, accounts, agenda, and methodological aspects of the Web system (Vanderheiden and Henry 2003). The most excellent web site specifications are extremely short and concise, and are often just summarizing the main design or technical features planned (Vanderheiden and Henry 2003). The completed site specification should include the objectives statement from the initial (preparation) stage, and the structural niceties of the user-centered web site (Vanderheiden and Henry 2003). Discussion and Limitations A number of pages in the website and what are the greatest acceptability count under this plan? What particular technical or useful prerequisites are required? What is the plan for the website? What is the development agenda for the website, including intermediate objectives and durations? Who are the developers and what are their tasks? (Henry & Grossnickle 2004) These are very important questions, and the theoretical issues are too frequently dismissed as teams drive toward beginning the “genuine work” of designing and creating a user-centered website (Henry & Grossnickle 2004). However, if these questions will not be answered confidently, then no development effort can assure a constructive end result. Every significant Web system poses only one of its own kind challenges, but on the whole the process of developing a multifaceted website in general follows six major stages: The Definition of website and preparation Information structural design Website Design Website building Marketing of website Tracking, assessment, and maintenance of website (Henry & Grossnickle 2004) Building huge websites is a process that might contain “extensive budgetary”, “human resources and “media manipulation” results for a company – all through the making of a website and long after its successful use (Dicks 2002). There are too many websites start their lives as unplanned efforts, built by small lobbies working separately somewhere else in the firm and without systematically contemplating the website’s objectives with the context of the firm’s overall operation and targets (Dicks 2002). The consequences of badly designed, rushed development endeavours often are “stray websites”, have no resources and consideration (Dicks 2002). Consideration of each stage in this process is essential, and its impact on building up website specification plan. Thinking before acting is required, and backing up enough support, budget, and human resources that are needed to make the development of user-centred web system a success. References Abras, C., Maloney-Krichmar, D., Preece, J 2004, “User-Centered Design”. In Bainbridge, W. Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publication. Burdman, Jessica R 1999, Joint Website development: Plans and best practices for Web developers. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. Dicks, R. S 2002, “Misusability: on the use and misuse of usability testing”. Annual ACM Conference on Systems Documentation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Friedlein, Ashley 2001, Web project management: Delivering flourishing profitable Websites. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann. Henry, S.L. and Grossnickle, M 2004, Ease of use in the User-centred design Process. Atlanta, Georgia, USA: Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Inc. Lazar, J 2001, User-centered Website development. Boston: Jones and Bartlett Computer Science. Musciano, Chuck, and Bill Kennedy 2000, HTML and XHTML: The ultimate guidebook. Sebastopol, Calif.: O'Reilly. Norman, D 1988, The design of daily objects. New York: Doubleday Patton, MQ 1990, Qualitative Appraisal and Research methodology, 2nd edition. Newbury Park, Calf: Sage. Powell, Thomas A 2000, Website design: The entire references. Berkeley, Calif.: Osborne / McGraw-Hill. Siegel, David 1997, Secrets of winning websites: Project management on the World Wide Web. Indianapolis, Ind.: Hayden Books. Veen, Jeffrey 2001, The art and science of Web designing. Indianapolis, Ind.: New Riders, viewed 14 April, 2008, http://cla.calpoly.edu/cla/tech/ws/Win-2001/editors.html Vanderheiden, G. and Henry, S.L 2003, Designing flexible, accessible interfaces that are more usable by everyone. Proceedings of the Computer Human Interaction Conference, viewed 14 April, 2008, http://www.sigchi.org/chi2003/docs/t10.pdf User-Centered design resources. Links to articles about the user-centered design development, viewed 14 April, 2008, http://www.msu.edu/%7Ethorpjus/w3cwai/ucdres.html Read More