[Sigia-l] Web Developers

[Listera]

Jared M. Spool:

> That's where I would focus my attention if I was sitting down to observe
> users.
 
> Do you disagree?

Hard to say.

We do different things: usability folk usually rectify a problem *after* the
fact; I design stuff so that there won't be much to rectify *to begin with*.

I generally won't comment on specific designs, without knowing something
about context/goals/resources/etc.

Here, I don't know what they are. Finding links may or may not be the
ultimate goal of the site owner.

There are, for example, many Web 2.0-type sites out there whose ultimate
goals don't necessarily appear to be usability, practicality, depth, etc.,
but more aligned with "noticeability among peers." So to that extent their
current designs fulfill the ultimate goal, even as they would fail a number
of usability tests.

For example, the flat-architecture approach as taken at this site where all
first and second level nodes are exposed (a la site map/directory) will most
likely break down as the number of elements grow. (Unless it was secretly a
promotion site for Logitech mice with scroll wheels. :-)

And yet the owner here may not even be expecting a site lifespan further
than a few weeks, after which time hopefully he would have achieved his goal
of "noticeability among peers" and moved on/cashed in.

----
Ziya

Design is doing for a dime what anyone can do for a dollar.