Ask Eric: Questions & Answers

Each month Dr. Eric Schaffer answers selected questions on usable interface design.

Ask your question | Archived questions by topic

Here are the most recent questions you asked with Eric's answers.

Question: Is there any website that gives awards for best usability? Like thefwa.com for favorite website award of flash sites.

Eric's response: There are primarily awards for POOR usability. ("Sites that suck" is now a cliché.)

But I do like your idea. The only challenge is that a site should be good ergonomically in the context of a set of business objectives, user profiles, and scenarios. If you just look at a site without this context, then you can't really tell if it's good or not.

We had one financial site where the government forced our client to provide free reports. The business objective did not suggest easy-to-get reports. A "poor" ergonomic design, with lots of steps, would actually be appropriate!

In persuasion design I am constantly finding examples where you may have to design a less efficient interface in order to create specific reactions (like engagement). So how do we handle that???

But the idea of an award might be good... We will think about this :)

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Question: In a high use and heavy data entry screen, where data entry labels and fields are placed in a three-column grid, what alignment would you suggest for the data entry labels. Should they be left-aligned or right-aligned to the data entry field. Thanks in advance.

Eric's response: Left-aligned labels and fields are easier to scan and are generally recommended. It is not a bad thing if the entry fields have two or three left margins. This makes it easier to handle different length labels and also easier to quickly find an item as the different markers provide points of reference.

One exception to this is when you have to translate the labels to a different language (particularly if it is German which often results in a 300% increase in label space requirements). Then it is best to put the label ABOVE the field.

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Question: Websites are obviously important, but what about the alert-style emails and email newsletters (and other email communications) that customers sign up for? Are there published usability recommendations for those? How do you ensure that customers don't regret signing up for these things?

Eric's response: This is a great question. There are obviously usability recommendations around effective wording and layout. But the more core question is persuasion design. How do you use such mailings to get people engaged with your organization?

There are happily many principles of persuasion which can be used. For example, we can use social validation by having customers share their experiences. It is also most critical to have a clear scenario of persuasion objectives that can be defined. What do you want your customer to actually do? These objectives can then be measured and your methods refined.

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Question: In a question posted on January 8, 2008 by Roopa Salagundi of Cary, NC, Roopa is interested in learning about Usability where you replied: "I would tend to suggest getting a Masters degree to start." Masters degree in Usability? I'm in South Africa and the concept of Usability Engineering is still a foreign concept here and finding a course related to the subject is non-existent. I am seriously trying to find out where I can obtain such a degree. The only alternative is to attend HFI's CUA certification program when they are in the country. Any suggestions about the degree type and any correspondence options?

Eric's response: We have the answer from David Bell, one of our intrepid master consultants who has worked extended periods in South Africa.

I haven't seen an HCI Masters programme like we might see in Europe or US, but there are HCI modules that can be taken as part of a postgrad course and I understand there are many opportunities to obtain a Masters degree in HCI by research.

The CHI-SA site has some pointers to universities with HCI interests in SA: Darelle van Greunen or Gary Marsden would be a good start point for Yolandi.

At the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (in Port Elizabeth) where Darelle is based, postgrad students can take a module in HCI and there appears to be ongoing HCI research in the department:

The university of Cape Town offers Masters by research in Computer Science, and the student can make a heavy focus in HCI. According to their website, Gary Marsden is offering some exciting research in HCI.

We teach the HFI CUA courses at the Meraka Institute in Pretoria. Meraka have a large department dedicated to language, and they have a group of researchers focused on human factors aspects.

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Question: As an independent CUA contractor, I've noticed some clients / potential employers are requesting me to perform a "test" of my usability skills. This usually involves time analyzing an existing site and giving recommendations. Oftentimes, after spending several hours in this review, I don't get the project / job. I am probably not alone in this situation. I suspect other CUAs get requests for "free" reviews which don't result in any work. Can you please address how to handle a request for an expert review without looking uncooperative to the client?

Eric's response: "Clients" that push for free advice is a common problem in the consulting business. I would suggest providing VERY limited samples of what you can do. Perhaps make comments on ONE page only. After that respond only with process and principles to show that you understand the issues, but not to do the work for free.

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Question: Can I make a living in usability as a contractor? I'm an expert-level BA in the biz for 20 years. I used to code interactive green and mini screens and enjoy the HCI aspect of it. I notice that more and more companies are forming internal usability groups or are training their Web programmers in it. Are these groups generally effective vs a specialist? Is there still a specialty niche out there if I go the whole nine yards and learn usability from the ground up in all of its facets? What is a typical hourly rate for an independent contractor (southeast US)?

Can you recommend one book that I can read that will help me to decide if this is for me?

Eric's response: Indeed, there are many companies that are training software specialists in usability issues. But this approach is not the best practice. Usability is a specialty that requires people who are full time professionals. In fact, we are beginning to seriously face SUB-specialization within the usability field.

There was a time when a usability generalist could meet most demands. You would then perhaps need a graphic artist to support the usability person. But today we see the need for specialists in areas like cross cultural design, ethnography, and persuasive strategies. Beyond this we are specializing in specific domains (banking, media websites, etc). We are also specializing in technologies (Web 2.0, mobile).

The field is lucrative, certainly. And there is a market for freelancers. But frankly I think that this is a diminishing area. Companies need industrial strength user experience design. They need process-driven usability operations with methodologies, tool sets, standardized training, and certification. Not just an individual.

In any case, if you are curious about the field, a great book for a light and inspirational introduction is Don Norman's "The Design of Everyday Things".

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Question: I am designing a mobile application and wanted to know what are all the usability points to be considered. I am very new to the subject.

Eric's response: Well I can tell you are a bit new to the subject. I've been working on that question for over 30 years and I don't know all the points to consider. If this is an important application, please seek professional assistance. It does not matter how intelligent and well-meaning you are. It does not matter if you can speed read. It does not even matter if you have degrees in design or psychology. You won't get anywhere close to understanding how to design the user interface aspect of a mobile device in less then a year.

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Question: Is there any convention in displaying the amount on an ecommerce website? Is "only $19" right or is "only $19⁰⁰" right? Does this affect conversion rate?

Eric's response: In commercial settings the population stereotype is to display cents. So use: $19.00.

If the font is large enough to ensure legibility of a superscripted cents, then that is a good thing to do as it helps the user to discriminate between dollars and cents.

In informational contexts the cents may be dropped. In some cases (which can be confusing) thousands or even millions are dropped with appropriate annotation (such as in reporting corporate financial results).

Also note that many countries which have low value currency show only the main currency number. For example, it would be common in India to show only Rupees (at about 40 to the US Dollar) and not show Paise (at 100 to the Rupee).

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Question: Can you please tell me in simple words what is internationalization and localization of websites.

Eric's response: Sure.

Internationalization can mean two things.

1. Make the site easy to convert to local cultures (example, if you have embedded variable words it is hard to translate because different languages use different word order).
2. Avoid things that make trouble because of different cultures (example, if you rely on baseball metaphors, many people will not understand).

Localization is the full adaptation of a site to fit with local language, conventions, practicalities, and cultural context. So an e-commerce site must have local language, local currency, and be adapted to a local buying style. So in China, for example, the site must deliver to local convenience stores.

See also a previous "Ask Eric" on this topic.

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Question: One of the most interesting graphics I have seen for explaining usability as a concept is that of the hungry rodent (Columbia experiment). This experiment is referenced quite a bit in HFI's materials, however I haven't quite got hold of the original experiment anywhere online. Any idea where I can find it online/offline?

Eric's response: You could try looking at "Approach-Avoidance". You will find this in most introductory psychology texts and also on the Web.

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Question: In taking inventory for a site redesign, I found 2 lists: tools & resources. Both contain items that are very similar. After much research, the question is, what is the difference between tools & resources for the Web?

Eric's response: Technically the difference would be that TOOLS are facilities that act on something (for example, calculate an optimal ROI based on given assumptions) while RESOURCES are things you would use (for example, a document with investment advice). But that is the TECHNICAL difference.

In fact, these are common non-specific terms that we should NOT be using. You pretty much could use a label like 'STUFF'. There are many different alternative non-specific terms that are used (I love QUICK LINKS, which I suppose indicates that the other links on the page are slow).

So try organizing the interface to match the user's mental model and terminology. And ALWAYS avoid non-specific options.

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Question: Hi, there seems to be a trend towards using rapid prototyping to drive out requirements. At one employer we used Dreamweaver; at another, we used iRise. I am wondering what tool(s), if any, you recommend for high fidelity prototyping?

Eric's response: First I have to say that rapid prototyping is hardly an optimal way to drive out user requirements. I think rapid prototyping is pretty much only used for very small and non-critical applications.

In user-centered design we do prototypes to support various data gathering and usability testing programs. We have a neat little tool that goes along with PowerPoint™ or Visio™ and we use that for basic wireframe mockups. If we need more interactivity we mock it up in HTML.

But the key thing is definitely NOT the tool that you use to prototype. It is the process that you are using. Rapid prototyping has been around for ages and I don't think I see an uptrend in its use. In fact there have been several short term fads since rapid prototyping was in vogue (e.g., Extream Programming).

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Question: I understand that print advertising is geared toward people at a 5th grade reading level (in general). UCD includes a persona profile exercise which should help you understand your user types. But what about the content on the pages? Is there research that shows what the reading level of Internet users should be? Sometimes it's a no-brainer if your users all have the same educational background (say doctors or lawyers for example) but obviously that's not always the case. Please let me know if you have any research on this, or can point me in the right direction.

Eric's response: So your confusion is probably because you are thinking that you will write content for the average user.

Imagine you are building a doorway. The AVERAGE person (including children) might be 4 feet tall. So can you design the door to be 4 feet tall? NO! By definition about half the people will bang their heads on it. This is the same thing with writing. If you write for the average user, half the people will bang their heads on it. We write for the 5th percentile user (roughly). So if your average person reads at 11th grade level, you would probably be writing for 5th grade level to accommodate 95 percent of the population.

It is important to have some idea of the user population's reading grade level. This will vary depending on the type of site. A site for physicians will be different then a site for consumers.

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Question: Hello Dr. Eric. I hope I'm in the right place. I'm not a developer, but an IT business analyst and I'm managing a major software rollout that will be a big change to the status quo process for all of our users. We've purchased a CRM package that allows us to do some custom development but we're at a place where we need to decide whether to develop for certain requirements from within the CRM application's framework or develop outside of it (perhaps .Net) and integrate. We're 51/49 in favor of doing it outside because of flexibility but I want to make sure all of the bases are covered.

My question is this: What are the types of questions I need to ask in order to make the most educated and objective recommendation possible and get everyone involved?

Things like comparing the development time of the two options and integration issues and perhaps cost are some of the questions that come to mind. What am I missing here?

Please forgive me if this question does not apply to usable interface design.

Eric's response: Sure, this is the right place.

There are, as you point out, issues of cost and development time. All things equal COTS (commercial off the shelf) software is faster and cheaper to install. But the usability issue is the other side of the issue.

The real question is to see what the users actually need. If you define this FIRST, then you can consider the best way to get it implemented. Otherwise you are just guessing. SO we recommend STARTING with an analysis of the user needs. Then the decision about method of implementation can be properly informed.

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Question: I'm a java developer and have an experience about 3 years in this field. Lately I started hearing about "User Experience" and have an interest in learning it. I'm completely new to this so can you please guide me what I should begin with, what tools I should know about and what books I should refer to. Thanks.

Eric's response: First I want to say that Usability is a full profession. You statement is a bit like saying "I have been flying planes for three years and have noticed that the maps are very interesting, what do I do to enter the cartography field?" The answer is you are talking about starting from scratch in a big field that requires lots of education and training. I would tend to suggest getting a Masters degree to start.

If you are INTERESTED in the field, and want to be entertained a bit or sensitized, I like to start people with Don Norman's wonderful book, The Design of Everyday Things.

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Question: Is there any research or articles about bound and unbound picklists?

We have an instance where we'd like to provide common values for a field but also allow users to key data. If the field appears as a picklist with data, I'm not sure our users would know they could also key into the field – we've seen this problem on other occasions.

An alternative is to offer "other" in the picklist and then provide a separate field for data entry but I was looking for other ideas or research on users in general knowing about unbound picklists.

Eric's response: Such "Combo boxes" were very common in GUI applications. Because of the limited (bi-synchronous) capability of the early Web, they become less frequently used. This will change as Web 2.0 capabilities make combo boxes again feasible.

In terms of design they are a slightly advanced control. So for novice users you might indeed use "other". They will also be unexpected in the Web environment. However, the combo box has a pretty good affordance for entry, as the cursor appears in the typing area. I am certain this control will stage a comeback as the technology allows easy coding.

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Question: The British Standards Institution and the Disability Rights Commission has made PAS78 freely available to the public. Within the scope of these guidelines there is a recommendation of involving disabled persons in the development process of Web sites (i.e. in the earliest stages). Has this been done anywhere? If yes, has it proven to be more effective than other methods?

Eric's response: Involving users is very important. Research has repeatedly shown that MULTIPLE CYCLES of user involvement is a key to project success. But the problem is in the word "involvement." This should NOT mean "bring the users in and ask them what to design." Users are NOT designers. It should mean using data gathering methods that define user needs and challenges. If a user tells you a design that they want, it is a SYMPTOM. It is not a design decision that should necessarily be acted upon. As designs evolve having users try to use a prototype in a user test is useful for evaluating and fine tuning the design.

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