In web design agencies across Britain, builders are being called in. Walls are being erected, carpet laid, sofas and comfy chairs lugged in, and televisions and PCs parked on coffee tables.
As a finishing touch, large two-way mirrors are being installed, with closed-circuit television cameras covering every angle of the rooms.
In premises posing as Joe Blogg's lounge, "every-day" surfers of the internet are being given tasks to accomplish on the web. And like lab rats being observed by scientists, these surfers are being scrutinised by designers and consultants trying to understand and pinpoint just where people stumble when they surf the Net.
"Usability is being talked about a lot more by clients and the agencies," says Mike Bloxham, CEO and founder of Net Poll, the digital media research and consultancy firm that has a booming usability division. "Investors and companies are demanding accountability and they expect usability to help them find that."
How serious a problem is usability? Jakob Nielsen, a former Sun Microsystems engineer who has been leading the rant against poor usability, says 90 per cent of commercial websites are badly designed.
Zona Research, a San Francisco-based internet research firm, says 62 per cent of shoppers gave up looking for an item they wanted to purchase online. The figure for abandoned online shopping carts is 75 per cent, says the research firm Shelley Taylor & Associates.
In the US, several companies have even sued their web agencies claiming poor design. Last July, Iam.com, a casting site for discovering unknown actors, sued its agency, Razorfish, for what it believed were "grave technical and navigational problems" on its website. Iam.com argued that its business had been hindered by the design. Razorfish countersued the website for breach of contract, claiming that Iam's "financial difficulties" were the true reason the website didn't want to pay the company. Razorfish eventually won the lawsuit.
- INDEPENDENT
Usability is the next challenge for the Net
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