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• Whats the most important thing I should do if I
  want to make sure my web site is easy to use?

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It is not

• Nothing important should ever be more than two
  clicks away.
• Speak the users language.
• Be consistent.

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Dont make me think.

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Web pages should be self-evident

• We should be able to get it
• What it is
• How to use it
• Without expending any effort thinking about it.

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Things that make us think
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If you point the cursor at it, itll change from
an arrow to a pointing hand. Whats the big deal?
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Every question mark adds to our cognitive
workload.
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As a rule, people dont like to puzzle over how
to use things.
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The most important principle of web design is to
work toward eliminating question marks.
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• However, you cannot make everything
  self-evident.

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• However, you cannot make everything
  self-evident. Sometimes you need to settle for
  self-explanatory.

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Ive waited ten minutes for this bus already, so
I may as well hang in there a little longer.
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So why then?

• Most people are going to spend less time looking
  at the pages we design than we think.

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So why then?

• Most people are going to spend less time looking
  at the pages we design than we think.
• If web pages are going to be effective, they have
  to work most of their magic at a glance.

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Were thinking Lets write some great
literature (or at least product brochure)
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The users reality is much closer to billboard
going by at 60 miles an hour.
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Fact of Life 1

• We dont read pages we scan them.
• Were usually in a hurry
• We dont need to read everything.
• Were good at it.

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What one user sees
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What another user sees
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Fact of life 2

• We dont make optimal choices. We satisfice.

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Fact of life 2

• We dont make optimal choices. We satisfice.
• We dont choose the best option we choose the
  first reasonable option.
• As soon as we find a link that seems like it
  might lead where we want, we click it.

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• Gary Klein Sources of Power How People Make
  Decisions

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Why dont web users look for the best choice?

• Were usually in a hurry
• Theres not much of a penalty for guessing wrong
• Weighing options may not improve our chances
• Guessing is more fun
• Less work
• If youre right its faster
• Introduces an element of chance - serendipity

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Fact of life 3

• We dont figure out how things work. We muddle
  through ( form a mental model).

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If people manage to muddle through

• does it really matter whether they get it?
• Muddling tends to be inefficient and error-prone
• If they get it
• Better chance theyll find what theyre looking
  for.
• Understand the full range of what your site has
  to offer
• You have a better chance of steering them where
  you want them to go
• Theyll feel smarter and more in control

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Whats a girl to do?

• If your audience is going to act like youre
  designing billboards, then design great
  billboards.

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• http//users.drew.edu/sbradsha