Assignments:
Strategic analysis
Choose a site for a nonprofit group that must balance advocacy with fundraising. Do a comparative analysis of their mission, goals, and fundraising structure as manifested in their website.
Content analysis and site map
Analyze the content of the site for the Center for Plain Language. Pay attention to the relationship between the Center's site and the plainlanguage.gov site. For your content analysis, include information about the format, document type, source, subject, location (within the current site), and targeted user group for all content. Include a site map of the current site.
Heuristic analysis
Concept: The site’s conceptual framework matches the best guess regarding users’ mental model and typical usage. The value proposition is clear and compelling.
Content: Text and graphics match users’ domain knowledge or background.
Consistency: Page layout, labels (links, buttons), field formats, window and page titles, terminology, and the like are consistent both among windows within the site and with the conventions of the larger Web.
Simplicity: Make sure all elements of the design support the site and user goals; avoid the potential cognitive burden of extraneous design features.
Feedback: Visual or other feedback to user actions is provided within a reasonable time.
Error Handling: Prevent errors where possible, and if errors occur make them easy to recognize and recover from.
Navigation: Users can find tasks and information, link labels are effective, the breadth versus depth is appropriate, and the BACK button is not the only means of returning to a page.
Terminology: No technical or domain jargon is employed unless it’s appropriate for users.
Visibility: The visual display of information, chunking, grouping, sequencing, format, and alignment of text/graphics are clear, and icons are recognizable.
Recognition, not recall: Users do not have to remember information from one part of a process to another.
Organization, labeling, navigation analysis assignment
Each analysis assignment begins with selecting a website. Analyze its information architecture from the perspective of its organization, labeling, and navigation.
The purpose of these assignments is to learn through peer demonstration. For each assignment you will prepare a report to be handed in at the end of class and a class presentation (ppt).
Access to the Internet will be provided in class for presentations. Each report (5 pages) must answer the following questions:
- How are the appropriate principles for organization, labeling, and navigation applied in the website?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses?
- How do they affect the user's ability to access information or use website functionality?
- How can the organization, labeling, and navigation be improved for
this website?
Search Assignment:
Select two websites. Compare the sites from the perspective of their meta data, controlled vocabulary, and search facility.
Prepare a report to be handed in at the end of class and a class presentation (ppt).
Access to the Internet will be provided in class for presentations. Each report (5 pages) must answer the following questions:
- How are the appropriate principles for meta data, controlled vocabulary, and search applied in the website?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses?
- How do they affect the user's ability to access information or use website functionality?
- How can the meta data, controlled vocabulary, and search be improved for this website?