The SEQ is a new addition which Joe Dumas and I tested two years ago (PDF) and found it to perform very well.  In addition to the usual psychometric properties of being reliable, sensitive and valid, a good questionnaire should also be:

• short
• easy to respond to
• easy to administer
• easy to score

The SEQ is all four. You can administer it on paper, electronically on any web survey service or even verbally.

Źródło: If you could only ask one question, use this one, Jeff Sauro, Measuring Usability Blog

Bardzo ciekawy artykuł (w formacie PDF) z najnowszego, majowo-czerwcowego Journal of Usability Studies, prowadzonego przez Usability Professionals’ Association poświęcony ślepocie na reklamy tekstowe. Zdecydowanie warto przeczytać całość, a nie tylko poniższy fragment:

Text advertising is subject to the same “blindness” effects as banner advertising. Users actively ignore text advertising unless it is required to complete their task or it is perceived as not being advertising. In this study, the style and content of the text advertisements were congruent with the content and style of the website, thus minimizing saliency differences between the text advertisements and the website. Likewise, differences in participant success between the Top Ad target location and Content target location conditions indicate that users differentiate between the types of content based upon more than the formatting appearance of the content.

The only way to mitigate such an effect would be to make the advertising indistinguishable from the content, which would confuse users and potentially cross ethical boundaries (…)

For website operators and advertisers that wish to generate revenue from text advertisements on websites, it is recommended that the ads be placed close to the website content. In a common website configuration, placing text advertising on the right side of the layout appears to be detrimental to the efficacy of the advertising. Users have an expectation that the right side of the page typically includes advertising and therefore ignore this area when exploring the page content when searching for information.

Źródło: Text Advertising Blindness: The New Banner Blindness?, Justin W. Owens, Barbara S. Chaparro, and Evan M. Palmer, Journal of Usability Studies Vol. 6, Issue 3, May 2011

W najświeższym wydaniu Touchpoint 2#3 – Connecting the Dots, czasopiśmie poświęconemu w całości projektowaniu usług (ang. service design), można znaleźć krótki, pozbawiony liczb ale bardzo ciekawy artykuł o zmianach wprowadzanych w Deutsche Banku w celu osiągnięcia ‘efektu wow’ dla klientów. Mi szczególnie utkwił w głowie poniższy fragment:

Therefore, the ‘wow’ effect is not a by-product achieved by accident: it must be carefully planned and implemented in order to reinforce customer loyalty and retention. What are the prerequisites for successfully achieving this? For a start, one must keep an eye on the signs of change and establish a flexible quality-management system that can be adapted to ever-changing customer requirements. Creating the ‘wow’ effect is a constant process of monitoring and redefining the parameters that count in the perception of the customer.

The art of wowing the customer, Stefan Schick, Touchpoint 2#3 – Connecting the Dots

Many brands are looking to social media as a strong digital channel to communicate with these consumers, since it’s where 12- to 17-year-olds are spending so much time. But research shows that it is important to consider more than just consumers’ propensity to use a specific channel: Almost half of 12- to 17-year-olds don’t think brands should have a presence using social tools at all (…)

More than half of 12- to 17-year-olds are using social networks to stay in touch with friends – they’re using this channel as an extension of communication with their offline friends. This explains why only 6% want to be friends with a brand on one of these sites — putting up a Facebook page for your brand is like trying to force yourself into their social circles.

Źródło: Understanding The Intricate Digital Behaviors Of Young, Jacqueline Anderson, Reineke Reitsma, Erica Sorensen, Forrester Research

Users are also often confused or incorrect about the clickability of icons, though beveled icons tested better. We also found the saturation point for acceptable number of status icons appended to a member’s user name. In the context of examining the eBay status icons appended to a member’s user name, results showed a pronounced decrease in user tolerance of more than 3 icons. Lastly, users have a poor memory for icons that they have recently seen.

Using these findings, we created guidelines to ensure that icons are consistent in visual design, interaction and placement across the eBay site. We recommended creating an icon family that differentiates between different icon affordances. We also proposed strict criteria for icon creation to ensure comprehension, to avoid saturation, and to improve the users icon memory.

Źródło: Managing icon abundance on eBay, Maureen Fan, Kathleen Ko, Proceeding of CHI EA ’04 CHI ’04 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, ACM 2004