E-Commerce Usability: Tools and Techniques to Perfect the On-Line Experience

Top performing dotcoms share a common feature. It isn't a new software plug-in or a design gadget or any other piece of technology. These sites share a passionate focus on usability. This guide is designed for software developers, project managers, business analysts and user interface designers, and does not require a background in human factors or usability. It presents a practical, structured, customer-centered design method that encourages innovation yet helps you make sure your final design is still easy to use. It assumes that people will always choose a simple way of achieving their goals over a complex way; it therefore focuses on the customers and explains how to design e-commerce sites that ordinary people can use. The book begins by helping identify target customers and expected business benefits, showing how to collect the data needed to define the customer experience. It shows how to use test results to decide when the site is ready to ''go live''. The book provides a detailed description of different customers and the environment in which they access the site. Practical techniques are presented for developing and prototyping site design, starting with paper design and then moving to electronic slide shows or interactive prototypes. The book then discusses methods for usability testing of the designs both by domain experts and representative customers. Finally, it discusses how to maintain the usability edge once the site has been launched.