LATEST ALERT from usability guru Jakob Nielsen: A list of 10 usability violations that are both particularly egregious (conspicuously bad or offensive) and often seen in a wide variety of applications:
Non-Standard GUI Controls
1.a. Looking Like a GUI Control Without Being One
Inconsistency
No Perceived Affordance
3.a. Tiny Click Targets
No Feedback
4.a. Out to Lunch Without a Progress Indicator
Bad Error Messages
Asking for the Same Info Twice
No Default Values
Dumping Users into the App
Not Indicating How Info Will Be Used
System-Centric Feature
Useful note: “Application usability is enhanced when users know how to operate the UI and it guides them through the workflow. Violating common guidelines prevents both… Usually, applications fail because they (a) solve the wrong problem, (b) have the wrong features for the right problem, or (c) make the right features too complicated for users to understand.”
DO YOU HATE PUBLIC SPEAKING? Whether your answer is “Yes” or “No”, I think you would enjoy this cute video as much as I do. Read the rest of this entry »
