Category — Remote Usability Tests

In one of my earlier posts I looked at the benefits of using an online wireframe tool, which range from easy access, collaboration and sharing opportunities to absence of maintenance requirements. In this post I will cover potential limitations of a online wireframe tools, how significant they really are and what you can do to handle them.

Many would say that an online wireframe tool’s biggest advantage, its universal availability over the Internet, can pose a threat when the Internet speed is insufficient. That is frequently a reason why web-developers prefer desktop applications: they feel that an online wireframe tool might operate slower than its desktop equivalent. How much of a problem is that in reality? With a bit of research, it is easily determined that the average speed of Internet connection is ever increasing. Only in 2009, for example, South Korea averaged at 14.6 Mbps, being the first, and the US – at 3.9 Mbps, being number 18. A humble 500 Kbps is usually enough to work successfully with an online wireframe tool, which is available practically anywhere in the US and in most other industrialized countries.

Another concern of online wireframe tools’ opponents is that an online wireframe tool is dependent on the Internet connection, and Internet coverage is not universal. According to recent Internet usage statistics data, there are over 2 billion people online in 2011, and in North America alone nearly 80% of the entire population is connected. People can access the Internet from a variety of spots across the globe. Recently years have seen a movement called “travel as a way of life” rise: people can now travel and work anywhere provided they have a laptop. Internet coverage is taken as standard pretty much everywhere. So if you were to go on vacation and had to use your online wireframe tool, you would probably have no difficulty.

Another issue I would like to address is how an online wireframe tool deals with sudden access interruptions. No doubt, at times equipment fails or Internet problems occur. What happens to the results of your work then? One of the ways that some online wireframe tools have chosen to deal with this is that they allow users to continue working until the connection is restored. All the changes are kept in the browser, and as long as the browser is not closed, the project will be saved as soon as the connection is back. Other online wireframe tools have a frequent auto-save function to keep potential loss of work at a minimum. Even if the power went out and the user had had no chance to save the work, it will be stored safely on the server in the same condition present at the moment of last access.

Color plays an integral role in our lives. Literally everything we see and do is painted in color.  Thus, the vitality and importance of color should not be forgotten when you are designing a user interface; in fact, the use of color can help distinguish your user interface from all the rest.  Using color in the right way can brighten up a drab interface design and increase its popularity with users.  Yet, you need to consider it at the right point in time.  In order to use color, it is best to categorize how and why to use it.  This way, you can create a pleasant experience and envelope users in your interface’s ambrosial essence—design is, after all, an art form. As such, it should be added once the functional basics and the overall content strategy of a website or application have been determined and tested with end users.

Natural vs. Unnatural Colors

When thinking about your interface design’s color palette, it is a good idea to decide whether or not you want it to be inspired by natural colors or unnatural colors.  Natural colors are colors that occur in nature: browns, blues, greens etc.  Unnatural colors are colors that could appear in nature (most likely in a tropical rain forest) but are probably man-made or synthetic: fuchsia, hot purple, neon yellow etc.  Put simply, earthen tones vs. bright, bold tones.

•    Natural Colors: Natural colors can provide comfort and familiarity for users.  They can also be used to underscore the theme of your user interface.  For example, if you are designing a travel website that has pages profiling different destinations, you can use natural colors that users will associate with each place: Greens for Ireland, browns for Arizona or the Grand Canyon etc.  Using these color palettes in tandem with images and written content will engage your users and leave your website more memorable.

•    Unnatural Colors: Using bold and bright colors is also a good strategy for distinguishing your user interface from the rest, but be judicious about it.  Too much bold can turn users off or detract their attention from important content.  Bold colors are best used when you are trying to shock users or grab their attention.  For example, if you are designing a new website you may want to have the “breaking news” section in a neon color. Or you may be creating an avant garde art website that uses all vibrant colors because you know that your users will generally be people who are interested in being challenged aesthetically.  But be careful. Unlike natural colors, unnatural colors can affect your user interface as dramatically as their hues—for good and bad.  So tread the unnatural color spectrum carefully.

Understanding how and why to use natural or unnatural colors is an important part of designing a successful user interface.   Colors enable you to craft a pleasant experience and engage users in your interface’s content, but consider usability issues when experimenting with colors—design is, after all, an art form.

Online analytics is becoming increasingly important to improve the usability of various user interface designs because it is a quick and professional way to ensure that the right content is being disseminated to the right audience.  Using or implementing fully-integrated and successful online usability testing programs is important because it gives companies a competitive edge in a software world that is evolving to new sophisticated heights.  The easier a company can make it to discern how to best deliver their services to a target group may ensure their survival and success in the future.

If media plays a central role in your technological activities then take note: Finnish-based Dazzboard wants to offer you the opportunity to build a media bridge between your phone and PC. Dazzboard claims to be “the ultimate media webtop, providing users with seamless drag and drop connectivity for photos, music, videos between any device and service on the Internet” (dazzboard.com). Dazzboard enables users to convert media files from their cell phone or other mobile device to their computers. Music, photographs, videos, and other apps can be integrated on various digital user interfaces with Dazzboard as the bridge builder and the internet as the bricks and mortar.  However, there is a catch: Currently Dazzboard services are only accessible via Internet Explorer and Firefox and it is not compatible with any Apple products. So far it’s only supported by PCs, with support extending to Windows 7, Windows Mobile and Android smartphones.  Still, some avid PC users are even touting it as a better, more dynamic version of iTunes.

How the interface design change functions

So how exactly does this new panic button work? The panic button is actually an app called „ClickCEOP“. Users have to add the app to their Facebook interface and then a tab appears in the interface design, which contains a clickable button. The button allows the user to contact authorities when he feels a user is acting suspiciously or inappropriately.
While the panic button is no doubt a helpful feature and a strong indication that Facebook is taking the safety of its users much more seriously (or at least succumbing to user demands much more easily), its addition to the British Facebook user interface design shows that Facebook is willing to move its privacy features from a personal to a more public sphere. And this does not come without complications. For example, the Facebook security user interface has generally been very private. You as a user control who looks at your profile and what that person can see etc. It has been about you controlling your own information. While users have always been able to notify the Facebook powers that be of someone’s „bad behavior“ or had the power to block people, Facebook hasn’t before had such a direct interface with public authorities. There is definite potential for misuse with the introduction of the panic button – kids will be kids after all. Thus it will be interesting to see if there is a rise in reported suspicious activity on Facebook, and it will be even more interesting to see how authorities will respond to panic button clicks of different types. This trend shows that social networking is evolving and it points towards a more public understanding of online communities.

Internet usage and connectivity varies greatly around the world. In Germany, around 72% of all households have internet access. While this may seem high, especially when put into the context of developing countries, it still means nearly one third of all households lack internet access. One of the reasons for this could be age and the age-related habits or requirements of elderly people. In Germany, 60% of adults use the internet whereas 80% of 10-13 year olds use the internet. Statistics from the US reveal that overall 79% of adults use the internet, but on further inspection one can see that the number of 18-29 that use the internet, at 92%, is double the amount of those aged 65 and over, at 42%.

Another reason could be differences in income or social status. On a macro level, the countries with the highest number of computers per people and households with internet tend to be those with the highest GDP. Within those countries, households from a lower socioeconomic background tend to have less internet access. In Britain, this led to the then premier Gordon Brown to start an initiative to provide 270,000 economically disadvantaged families with laptops and free internet connection. China, with 298 million users, has the most internet users in the world, but considering its huge population that only means that 22.4% (below the world average) of their population are using the internet. Africa by contrast has an average internet penetration rate of 8.7%.
Could the reason a third of the population in countries like Germany do not use the internet be due to inadequate interface design and/or usability issues in general? While many popular websites have interface designs that are designed with the best usability principles in mind, they often focus on younger age groups – not only in content and functionality, but in important areas of interface design. These include small to medium font sizes or navigation elements that require good eye-sight, screen layouts that are unfamiliar to people used to print products, complex navigation schemes and a plethora of options to select, as well as terminology and language which often includes modern non-native terms like “Home”, “Account”, “Login”, and the like. All these elements of an interface design pose potential barriers to use by older people.

Aside from other reasons for the lack of 100% internet access at home – such as people not feeling the necessity perhaps having (free) internet access at work, school, wireless access at their favorite cafe, or even from their mobile phone – usability and interface design issues may help explain part of the large portion of the population that still doesn’t use the internet. This shows that in order to improve and facilitate internet use for certain groups in the population, such as the growing group of elderly people in developed nations, their special requirements in terms of usability and interface design will have to be catered to. This may well open new market opportunities, such as accessible internet and others. Yet, there needs to be more, perhaps even special arrangements by providers taking into consideration the needs relating to content and layout of interface designs with special settings or access options for certain population groups.

While internet access is a good indicator of internet use, statistics on this indicator do not tell the full story. Consider these facts: The mobile phone application market is expected to grow to $15 billion by 2013. In places like Africa the leapfrogging aspect of mobile phones means that it is easier and cheaper to access the web via a phone than to have internet access at home, leading to a large percentage of internet users not accounted for by internet access statistics. In addition, it is worth noting that internet use can never be 100% of the population considering that some people, like those in prisons, are often not allowed to use the internet.

Better co-operation can solve hardware and user interface design compatibility problems

As technology continues to evolve, hardware designers are packing more and more processing power into smaller devices.  The convenience factor of a small portable phone or laptop is clear, but are they now becoming so small that it is becoming progressively more difficult for users to interact with the actual interface? In the case of the iPhone 4G,  it is anticipated that the small and sleek design will force the interface design to adapt, i.e. force the controls to be packed closely together, potentially making it difficult for users with large hands or fingers.  This would obviously frustrate users and lower the iPhone’s overall usability. Perhaps it seems like a picky point (maybe not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things), but the bottom line is that interface designers need to be thinking about the constraints of the hardware that serves as vessel for their apps or websites.  Thus, there should be a clear line of communication between the interface and hardware design teams.   This can only help create smooth and streamlined interaction between the two mutually dependent parts – the hardware and the user interface.  Apple’s recent reported and anticipated iPhone 4G problems aren’t really all that horrible or astonishing—but they do provide fruit for thought and bring to light the importance of hardware and user interface design working together.

What are some things that smartphone OSes can learn from each other?

Any of the would-be challengers (here’s looking at you MeeGo, WebOS and Bada) wishing to gain a sizable chunk of the smartphone pie is going to have to try and emulate these aforementioned strengths in their respective OSes. The iPhone still remains the OS to beat proving that a great user interface design, solid usability and positive user experience will be a winner with consumers. While the bare-bones Android’s interface design is not the most pleasing (Motorola Droid/ Milestone users can attest to that) it can be tweaked as shown by HTC’s Sense User Interface design (which is based on the TouchFLO 3D user interface design) to enhance  user experience. The iPhone would also do good to pick up some of Android’s tricks such as allowing tethering effectively turning the phone into a WiFi modem. The iPhone also needs to improve cloud functionality to match Android as, for example, if you download apps for the iPhone on your desktop the only way to transfer them is through a pesky cable.

Facebook’s staggering rise to prominence (if it were a country it would be one of the most populated) has seen its privacy settings shortcomings becoming truly globally contentious issues. The backlash has even lead to the creation of Quit Facebook Day, which is effectively a call for alternatives to sprout up and teach Facebook a lesson in consumer power in a world of perceived corporate hegemony! Taking on Facebook is a David vs. Goliath situation. For starters Facebook is just oh so convenient. There are nearly 500 million people on there making the chances of connecting with your friends and family much higher, and thus the value users get from using Facebook ever greater – a phenomenon known as network effect. Facebook Connect also allows all these users to use their accounts to login to, ‘like’ and share content and many other websites. This automatically makes users more dependent on the service as they can centralized a large chunk of their online lives and interactions with a singular account rather than constantly having to register for a gazillion websites for added features and functionality. Facebook’s interface design and usability, for the most part, is also great. People new to the website can register all in one step with very little information required thus creating a low barrier of entry.

How does portability enhance user experience?

It is also worth noting that the web apps, being built with standard web tools, would function on any web browser supporting these technologies. What will set Chrome apart from other browsers is the ability to easily find and create convenient shortcuts to access these apps. According to Glen Murphy, a Chrome user interface design team developer, another important UI design principle of Chrome is “cutting Chrome back to absolutely nothing… moving towards this simpler, high performance approach”. This approach is going to open many opportunities for web developers and interface designers to create enriching apps that will make browsers even more ubiquitous and useful, at least as far as the desktop is concerned.