Software Usability (HW) - Research Paper Example

A User-Friendly Purpose Introduction No matter how aesthetically-designed a website is, if it only leads a user into the last information he/she needs; or if loading up eats too much of his/her time – hence the site is unusable, it may just be flooding the whole network pointlessly.Usability is not just one key factor to a marketable site. It is perhaps the most important aspect to look at in creating one. Usability refers to how fast and easy a user (with no prior knowledge about the site) can employ a user interface to achieve a certain task (Nielsen, n.d.).

A usable website should get users to the information they want or do the task they need to do minus the hassles. Good usability results to a pleasant man-to-machine interaction while bad usability results to frustration.A Subjective ProcessEvaluating the site usability is a subjective process involving corporate views and user perspectives. The end-users should have to have the last opinion about it. Below could be a set of criteria in assessing site usability: Navigability. First of all, there should be a speedy and easy navigation where a user won’t seem to notice he/she is in fact navigating.

A good ride around the site keeps the user stuck for more and exploring for concerns becomes common sense. At the very least, the user becomes at ease about the organization of the site without necessarily knowing what it is (Lawrence & Tavakol, 2007). Frames, table of contents, “You are here!” flags are just some of the commonplace devices to easy navigation (Spool et al., 1999). Accessibility. If the site is not accessible, it is not usable. Accessibility refers towhether a site is available on different modem speeds, browsers or platforms.

Content Layout. Visuals are just of the essence. The site is made for the users not for the developers or designers who can read through intricate machine languages. However, this is not heavily about aesthetics, though – in fact, not at all. This is where the readable text style and size and appropriate color come into the picture of an acceptable page visibility allocated for a user (Peterson, 2005).User-preference. This may be the most important factor in e-commerce sites. Though it may not be useful to all websites, some people will still actually look for the “Search” button first thing upon getting into the site.

A ClincherWeb experts seem to have come into unparalleled conclusions regarding website usability. One may always find loopholes in every argument another makes. Actually, usability is a simple thing people only likely notice when they don’t get it. To end debates like these, consumer research is key. Consumer psychology is a way to marketability. More so, nobody makes a good conclusion without a good research. It may prove costly but it should drop a bomb. For universality, however, sites should at least be kept simple and conventional.

ConclusionThere would be no purpose to serve if a site is not user-friendly at all, thus fast and easy to use. Not only are usable sites beneficial to users but also especially to the sponsoring corporation. Again, a site is not only about the entertaining factor but importantly the educational factor. By knowing consumer behavior, it should not be hard for creators to know how they should go about engineering and designing their sites. ReferencesLawrence, D., & Tavakol, S. (2007). Balanced website design: Optimizing aesthetics, usability and purpose.

London: Springer-Verlag. Retrieved July 15, 2010, from Google Books: http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=rRuDiF3bc_oC&printsec=frontcover&dq=website+usability&hl=en&ei=xtk-TM_uI4GXcYvAxNIE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=usability&f=falseNielsen, J. (n.d.). Usability 101: Introduction to usability. Retrieved July 15, 2010, fromhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.htmlPeterson, E. (2005). Website measurement hacks. USA: O’Reilly Media.Retrieved July 15, 2010, from Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?

id=v3ebu7RJT3oC&pg=PA218&dq=site+usability&hl=en&ei=C2Y_TPDGBZO8sQOW2KD2CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAg#v=snippet&q=user%20preference&f=falseSpool, J., & et al. (1999). Web site usability: A designers guide. USA: Academic Press. Retrieved July 15, 2010, from Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=zPl8e4W4dvMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=site+usability&hl=en&ei=TVs_TOWEPMjJcbGFxfkE&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false