Who would you say was the most important person in any website project? the designer, developer, client or the user? Really, when it comes down to any project the most important person is the user. Without users websites are pretty much pointless. Yes, they look pretty and show how great you are at CSS and might be making the client go “oh and ah”. When it comes down to it though as with most things the proof in any website is not the pudding but in use. Therefore, this makes the user the most important person in any website.
Many people will think this is all just common sense, The amount of websites that seem to ignore the user or plainly have not even thought about the user; would seem to point that somewhere in the website process the user is not being considered. I can think of so many examples of bright website ideas that just fail spectacularly when it comes to usability. I am not talking about web standards and accessibility here, yes they contribute most definitely to making a “usable” website; but they are a part of the story. When creating a project you have to do a bit of webby role play, think about the user and what they will want, require and get from the website. I firmly believe this should be part of the process from concept through design and then in testing.
One of the things that help me when thinking about users is to draw on my psychology background. While most focus is given to the usability and web standards aspect of users, not so much is given to the psychological profiling of users. When I am talking about users you in the case of website user groups have to generalise their psychological profiles. This is one area you can make relatively sweeping assumptions about particular group behaviours. You have to think of many aspects of the users from experience, capability, technological knowledge, environment, desires and needs through to perception, culture and interpretation.
Loosely speaking, you can partition off 4 main areas you have to take a user centric approach in:
- Design:
A common part of software engineering and development is the user in sense of actors and their roles in the application. In web design you also have to think about the logic of your design from a user approach. When I start work on a project I always try and nail the “average user” of any website. The user can have an influence on all areas of design from colour, style through to images and layout. The social and psychological aspects of a user really come into play during the design. Thinking about the user in a psychological profile way really helps the design process. - Navigation:
This is an important part of the design, however it also deserves a separate further look at when thinking about users. The ability and experience of users will impact greatly on how they can move around your website. Of course, there are certain aspects of navigation that are just plain common sense. A case for this would be the click rules (how many clicks a user will do before they give up). If you are going to deal with various groups of users or members and non-members you have to also consider the navigation of your website from several user groups perspective. As with the development and structure of a website, I find that working out the navigation in a simplified flow chart is helpful to plot the journey users will go on through the website. - Development and Structure:
The way you develop a site and lay out the structure should also consider the user. By the time you get to this part of any website project the "user" should be a firm concept you are familiar with. What they want comes into play heavily along with their ability. If you are experienced with websites taking a step back and thinking out of your own capability helps. It is easy to assume that everyone knows what RSS is, how to fill out a form, how to use a forum. Often this part of the process will reveal the areas that need written explanation, tool tips, FAQ and assistance to be explained to the user. - Testing:
The last stage before any website launch is the testing and how elaborate a process this is really comes down to the project itself. For me, I find that drawing on a pool of users with different experiences really helps in testing. If you do not have a pool you can draw on of willing friends and work mates, you have to do further role-play here. Think of yourself in terms of the users you have considered through the entire project when testing the website.
Ultimately, a lot of what I have covered does come down to plain common sense. It still amazes me the amount of people who do not consider the user at any part of the process. The user gets lost amongst pushing design barriers, pleasing clients and pushing scripting limits. I see no point in a website that simply does not do the job it is required and that is not pleasing the client, but that is massaging your ego. Taking just a little time to consider the user in the life of a website is key to the success of that site. A user is important in any design process and more so in an interactive one such as the web.
