Being Tops with Your Users and the Search Engines, Part Two

In order to design a fully functioning site that is highly usable by all, it's got to be organized. To make it easier to describe this process I'll use the analogy of producing a play. The way I came to view Quality Assurance User Interface and Usability testing for websites was to visualize each step as if producing a play. There is a plot, set, scenes, characters and audience. Here's how it works.

The Plot - What Your Site Is About
Your plot is the story you want to tell about your business. To create it, take the goals and objectives from your "Business Requirements" document (see Part 1) and write a short paragraph describing what your website is going to be about. Don't be afraid to add some drama to it to make it interesting. Here's an example:

"Health Wise Products Inc., well established in Villageplace, Idaho, launched several products and services for its medical practice clients. Due to BigShot Health Company Inc.'s recent decision to move their headquarters to the same town, Health Wise CEO Marvin Smart introduced a new product line for patients. In an extraordinary move, he also added a pet psychic to provide online therapeutic services for pet owners using online software for purchases."

This plot hints at long-term goals, target market, competition, target area (local vs. global site), reputation and the need to build an intuitive website to fulfill software requirements for online purchasing. All this is in one tidy paragraph! Brainstorming sessions for developing plots is not only fun, but also it helps everyone to start thinking creatively about the project.

The Characters - Developing a User Character
A user character is a person you develop and imagine as someone who is likely to use your web site. These user characters help you determine how usable your site is because they may use it in ways you may not have thought of when being yourself.

Developing user characters is similar to creating the characters for a play. Characters often develop further as the story unfolds. Your user character will also morph, depending on the tasks to be performed.

To come up with a user character you'll need to ask these questions:

• What are the demographics of your user (e.g., gender, age, income)?

• What is their main role in life (e.g., single parent, student, military, PhD, youth, hermit, CEO)?

• Are they computer-literate (e.g., define all expected computer experience levels, including operating systems, browser types, Mac or PC, etc.)?

• What motivates them in life and what will motivate them on your website (e.g., if they're a purchasing agent, what does your site provide to make their online bargain hunting easier)?

• What are the main tasks they will perform on your site?

• What are their goals?

• Do they have special needs?

• Are they more apt to research via search engines or through print? (e.g., are they brand-conscious, can they spell, do they know how to search with keywords to get good results?)

User characters can be highly specific, all the way down to what they had for breakfast, if they missed their train that day and whether they are multi-task oriented or suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder.

If you compile a number of personality types they can actually "tell" you what they need and want from your site if you take a moment to get into their heads.

The Setting - Where It All Takes Place
This is where you decide the look and feel of your website. You may think this is the easiest part, but in fact, this area demands strict attention to detail and draws from many related fields. You'll need search engine optimization, graphics, programming, HTML, marketing and security skills, as well as knowledge of hardware and software, the Internet, design standards, copywriting and even a bit of Internet law.

To review your website's setting, you'll need a checklist of areas to inspect:

• Stickiness: what attracts users and keeps them coming back?

• Content: is it authentic, credible and readable?

• User interface: what are the heuristics, colors, fonts and design elements?

• Customer service: is there a place for feedback? Are there incentives? Are pages printable?

• Security: is the data and the server secure? Is there a privacy policy in place?

• Form design: can international users fill out all form fields?

• Accessibility: can special-needs visitors access all parts of the site?

• CYA (Cover Your Asset): Is the product one that won't crash the users' computers? Is the name trademarked and are patents registered?

Design your test cases based on your "business and functional requirements" to make sure each of them were met.

Scenes - Navigation
Every story has certain shared elements, such as a preface, introduction, climax and conclusion -- with scenes that twist and turn in between. With your website, the story is told by navigational links that take the user to what they need to know and do.

You can create your scenes by designing hubs at the top level, such as "About Us" and "Products and Services." Templates that change depending on the different category themes designate a new "scene" in your layout.

In a play, each scene has acts; so do the hubs of your website. For the "About Us" hub, Act One might be "Press Releases," Act Two might be "White Papers" and so on. The scene doesn't change but the topic switches and your character (the user) is sucked deeper into your story (the website). Diagramming your navigation through storyboards or even just on paper will help you stay organized and focused.

The Audience - Who Is Paying the Bill
The audience includes the owner of the website, the stakeholders, along with competitors, search engines, and other sites that may want to link to yours.

Well-run companies don't proceed on projects until their stakeholders sign off on the business and functional requirements at each stage of the development cycle. If you're a solo designer or small team, try to use that same strict focus on organization, planning and attention to detail -- and you will be rewarded with a dream website that sells!

Here are some free checklists:
Directory submission, homepage elements and website promotion checklists.

User Character (Persona) Checklists:

• Designing for the Multiple Personalities of Users

• Personas: Matching a Design to the Users' Goals

• Perfecting Your Personas by Kim Goodwin, Director of Design

Watch for Part 3 - How and Why You Obtain User Feedback