Transcript Web Usability - University of South Australia

Web usability
May 2006
Jenny Clift
How usable are University websites?
• Study done by Deakin University on the
prospective student experience
late 2004
http://ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw05/papers/refereed/alexander/
• UniSA website was looked at by 5
international prospective students
• Findings talk more about usability and
accessibility in general
Usability findings
• UniSA website participants successfully
completed 72% of these tasks
– degree/diploma you’re interested in? - 100%
– do you have the qualifications needed to complete this
degree? - 100%
– how much will it cost you? - 60%
– where is it taught from? - 80%
– are scholarships available for it? - 20%
Usability findings
• Overall 5 point Likert scale indications were
– Confidence in information found - 4.4
– User satisfaction – 3.9
In other words pretty good compared to other uni’s
Usability suggestions
• Watch what terminology and jargon is being
used within webpages
• Organise the information architecture for the
user and don’t replicate organisational
structure
• Write contextual link text
• Make the content clear and meaningful
Usability suggestions
• Improve search results
• Be careful with PDF document use within
webpages
• Be aware of links opening new browser
windows
Usability resources
• UniSA Web authoring guide
– www.unisa.edu.au/wag
• Jakob Nielsen’s website
– http://www.useit.com/