The word "usability" refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process. That's precisely what we aim to do with each quarterly service update.
As we push forward to our most recent set of feature updates, aptly called Spring '08, we're once again reaching out to you for your feedback, recommendations and feature requests.
This time, we've put together a brief survey to help us improve Voices.com and there's no opinion more valuable than yours!
Jakob Nielsen defines usability as "a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use".
Usability is defined by five quality components:
Learnability: How easy is it for users to accomplish basic tasks the first time they encounter the design?
Efficiency: Once users have learned the design, how quickly can they perform tasks?
Memorability: When users return to the design after a period of not using it, how easily can they reestablish proficiency?
Errors: How many errors do users make, how severe are these errors, and how easily can they recover from the errors?
Satisfaction: How pleasant is it to use the design?
Why Usability is Important
On the Web, usability is a necessary condition for survival. If a website is difficult to use, people leave. If the homepage fails to clearly state what a company offers and what users can do on the site, people leave. If users get lost on a website, they leave. If a website's information is hard to read or doesn't answer users' key questions, they leave.
There are plenty of other websites available, we understand this. Having you leave is the first line of defense should you encounter a difficulty.
Identifying Usability Issues Early
To identify a design's most important usability problems, putting together a small group of users has worked well for us in the past. Beta testing is a good way to identify usability issues early.
As you know, we're well past beta in terms of software development. Voices.com has been online for several years and generally received positive feedback on the design. However, it's a good practice to revisit the basics of usability.
Now, it's time to reach out to the entire community to ensure that you aren't running into issues. If you are, let us know.
How Changes Are Made at Voices.com
You may have noticed that from time to time, a link changes here, or a graphic there. This approach is known as "iterative design", and generally accepted as the best way to increase the quality of user experience.
Understand that we value your feedback, so please take a moment to complete the survey. Our team will work hard to apply your suggestions.
Thanks in advance!
Just taking a quick look at your site before the Seminar tomorrow on Getting Your Business Online.
The layout is very nice, clean and crisp. Good use of colour. Most important info at the top. Overall a very good experience.
Good luck on your continued success.
Bruce Knight
Hi David,
I'm really looking forward to going through the survey responses and have had the opportunity to review a number of submissions. We're getting some really great feedback and suggestions and I hope that anyone and everyone who visits our site will take a few moments to complete our survey.
Laurynda Pasma
Product Development Manager
Voices.com