Summary:
In this week's reading, Krug discusses many of the problems that web teams face, and explains that the majority of them stem from personal and professional opinions, strongly held and immovable. For example, a developer may believe that average users like a high degree of interactivity, as that is what they personally enjoy and is their professional expertise, while a designer may believe an aesthetically-pleasing site is more essential for the same reasons. He also dispels the myth that there is an "average user", explaining that all web users seem to browse sites uniquely and idiosyncratically. He concludes that the best way to avoid these issues is to focus more on what elements are best for the specific site, and to confirm them through testing.
Testing, he explains, is vital to successful web design and development. Contrary to commonly held beliefs, he says, testing doesn't have to be expensive or time-consuming. He recommends testing early in the process more than later, and doing so with anyone who agrees to participate, finding the attempt to seek "ideal users" to be futile. Three or four people, also, seems to be the best number for testing at each step of the process. He lays out the simple test taking process, stating that you should allow the user to browse the site and ask them to think aloud as they do so, voicing their problems as they occur. You should then take this information and set about to fixing major problems, while keeping in mind the effect changes will make to the site as a whole.
Links:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html
A site that contrarily suggests five users as the "magic number", with explanations why.
http://www.webpagecontent.com/arc_archive/124/5/
A reference of recommended testing procedures.
http://www.uiaccess.com/accessucd/ut_checklist.html
Summarized testing checklist from the book "Just Ask: Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design".
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