[Web4lib] Blog usability study and usability study in screen readers

[Junus, Ranti]

I encountered a couple of interesting writings on usability study.  Not exactly relate to library sites, but might be worth reading. 

1. Blog Mainstream Market Penetration Likely Limited By Basic Usability Issues
http://www.catalystgroupdesign.com/people/press/blogpress.asp

>From their site:
"Catalyst's conclusions:  broad comprehension is fairly far away - and better design and terminology are essential.  All those tested were optimistic about blogs following the test, with many expressing interest or enthusiasm for what had been a new experience.  However, few felt that the presentation of functionality and navigation was intuitive, and many wondered why more effort had not been put into education. "


2. "In early 2005, an E-commerce site selling hardware and software was evaluated for usability in screen readers."
http://www.joeclark.org/access/webaccess/survey/
(The narratives from the participants are particularly interesting.)

Conclusion from their site:
"It appears that mere standards compliance does not always translate into full accessibility for screen-reader users. First of all, the screen readers themselves fall down on the job of interpreting compliant HTML and CSS. Moreover, some site designs whose interfaces are understandable when viewed in a gestalt do not translate well into sequential viewing. 

Even with the limited cohort base in this study, it is apparent that relatively minor site improvements could remediate most of the problems encountered in the survey."

--
Ranti Junus - Web Services
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 Michigan State University
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