1Site CritiquesCopyright (c) 2005Poelman & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved unless otherwise copyrighted..2Site Critique• Summary of site purpose?• Types of users and their goals?– Novice, Practinier, Expert, Guru• Site Type(s)– Brochureware– eCommerce Sites– Web based UIs for apps– Search engines & Webcrawlers– ASP – Application Software Provider– Marketplaces (Aggregators)– Composite Sites - Rebranding and Facades for other site–Portals• Branding– Logo– Slogan– Tag line– Color Scheme– Typefaces– Iconographic Imagery / Symbols• In general–Excellent?– Good?– Bad?– Horrible?Evaluate the site in terms of:• Usability– Are user types taken into account– User goals?– User workflows?• Look & Feel– Layout– Navigation– Navigation Technology• Content–Text– Images– Color– Animation– Audio/Video• Behavior– Functionality– Applications– Downloads• Technology– JavaScript–Flash• User Device Support– Resolution– Browser support– Assitive Tech Support3www.newyorktimes.com4www.newyorktimes.comMasthead – Where you areNavigationConent + LinksConent + LinksSearchConent + Links5Next pageLabel – Where You AreNavigationConent + LinksConent + LinksAdSearch6NY Times site shows• Shows a newspaper layout is applicable to a website• Consistent locations for landmarks, visual hints, navigation and content layout7Information Architecture•News– International – National – Washington – Business – Technology – Science – Health – Sports – New York Region – Education – Weather – Obituaries – NYT Front Page – Corrections• Editorials/Op-Ed • Readers' Opinions• Features–Arts – Books –Movies –Travel – NYC Guide – Dining & Wine – Home & Garden – Fashion & Style – Crossword/Games – Cartoons – Magazine – Week in Review – Multimedia/Photos – College – Learning Network• Services–Archive – Classifieds – Book a Trip – Personals – Theater Tickets – NYT Store – NYT Mobile – E-Cards & More – About NYTDigital– Jobs at NYTDigital– Online Media Kit – Our Advertisers • Member Center– Your Profile – E-Mail Preferences – News Tracker – Premium Account – Site Help – Privacy Policy • Newspaper– Home Delivery – Customer Service – Electronic Edition – Media Kit – Community Affairs8Consistent page layout, landmarks, navigation, …9But then, the masthead changes10Site Critique• Summary of site purpose?• Types of users and their goals?– Novice, Practinier, Expert, Guru• Site Type(s)– Brochureware– eCommerce Sites– Web based UIs for apps– Search engines & Webcrawlers– ASP – Application Software Provider– Marketplaces (Aggregators)– Composite Sites - Rebranding and Facades for other site–Portals• Branding– Logo– Slogan– Tag line– Color Scheme– Typefaces– Iconographic Imagery / Symbols• In general–Excellent?– Good?– Bad?– Horrible?Evaluate the site in terms of:• Usability– Are user types taken into account– User goals?– User workflows?• Look & Feel– Layout– Navigation– Navigation Technology• Content–Text– Images– Color– Animation– Audio/Video• Behavior– Functionality– Applications– Downloads• Technology– JavaScript–Flash• User Device Support– Resolution– Browser support– Assitive Tech Support11www.washingtonpost.com12www.washingtonpost.comMasthead – Where you areNavigationConent + LinksConent + LinksSearchAdNavigation13Information ArchitectureAcross the top•News• OnPolitics• Entertainment• Live Online• Camera Works• Marketplace• JobsDown the left side• Nation•World•Metro• Sports• Business• Technology•Style• Editorial Page• Travel•Health• Real Estate• Home & Garden• Education• Food• Outlook• Magazine• Book World• News Digest•Archives• Site Index• Corrections• Help/Feedback14Site Look (not feel) changes on different tabs15Site Critique• Summary of site purpose?• Types of users and their goals?– Novice, Practinier, Expert, Guru• Site Type(s)– Brochureware– eCommerce Sites– Web based UIs for apps– Search engines & Webcrawlers– ASP – Application Software Provider– Marketplaces (Aggregators)– Composite Sites - Rebranding and Facades for other site–Portals• Branding– Logo– Slogan– Tag line– Color Scheme– Typefaces– Iconographic Imagery / Symbols• In general–Excellent?– Good?– Bad?– Horrible?Evaluate the site in terms of:• Usability– Are user types taken into account– User goals?– User workflows?• Look & Feel– Layout– Navigation– Navigation Technology• Content–Text– Images– Color– Animation– Audio/Video• Behavior– Functionality– Applications– Downloads• Technology– JavaScript–Flash• User Device Support– Resolution– Browser support– Assitive Tech Support16Which site is better?• Supporting user goals?• Learnability?• Scanability?• Predictability?• Aesthetics?• Oh yeah and the content?17The CS Department at CIMS http://cs.nyu.edu18User Perspective on the Site• What are the user types (personas) that would use the site?– Many different users have similar characteristics and they can be thought of as a single persona– What are the general characteristics that define a persona?• What are the goals of each user persona for using the site? Whatare shared? What goals aren’t?• What are the workflow(s) to accomplish a given goal in the site?– Steps, Activities, Decisions and Paths (like flow chart)• What is the usage pattern (frequency, how often, how long, time of day, day of week/month/year) that a given persona would use the site?• What level of expertise is expected of each persona to effective use the site?19User Perspective on the Site (2)• Hardware and software required of the user?• Screen resolution & color depth?• User’s Mental Model of the site?• Navigation model of the site?• The real “information architecture” underlying the site?20Provider perspective of the site• What are the primary goals of the site?• What is the impression that they want to give to visitors? • What is the impression that visitors get?• What the ROI (Return on Investment) for the Provider?• Who is the competition?• What does the competitions site look like?21Other considerations• What users might NOT be able to use the site?• What is