Media: PC World reports on Nielsen-Norman Findings

"Web-User Satisfaction on the Upswing" is PC World's report of the Nielsen-Norman UsabilityWeek conference as it reaches San Francisco.

The article leads on the news that two in three website visits leave users happy with the outcome, compared to seven years ago when your odds of a successful visit were only two in five.

There are a few interesting points raised: 'people are spending less time on each page they open, so designers have less time to snag them. When they landed on a site from a search engine, the less experienced group spent an average of 35 seconds on the home page, and 1 minute on an interior page, while the more experienced visitors were on the pages for only 25 and 45 seconds, respectively.'

And 'One area in need of improvement, according to Nielsen, is site search. While 56 percent of the searches conducted by survey participants on a popular search engine were successful, only 33 percent of searches done using a specific site's search tool succeeded.'

Of course, reading this is not the same as signing up for the seminars but it does give the headlines.

Associated Link: PC World: Web-User Satisfaction on the Upswing

Poor Shopping Basket Usability will hinder Christmas Rush
Source: UN, 20 November 2008
 
A new study from eDigitalResearch identifies customer service and online shopping basket usability as the two key areas where online retailers need to improve.

Future Phones to Read Your Voice, Gestures
Source: Wired, 19 November 2008
 
Five years from now, it is likely that the mobile phone you will be holding will be a smooth, sleek brick — a piece of metal and plastic with a few grooves in it and little more.

Why Digital Research is important in tough Financial Times
Source: Financial Times, 18 November 2008
 
With the banking sector moving towards consolidation, it is crucial that customers are understood, reacted to and rewarded for their loyalty.

Get Ready for 'Ergobamanomics'
Source: AssemblyBlog via ergonomics in the news , 17 November 2008
 
Is President Elect, Barack Obama, a secret ergonomics and usability enthusiast?

The Most Dreaded Keyword Phrase
Source: SearchEngineLand, 15 November 2008
 
In website usability, one of the hardest obstacles to overcome is the mentality of “This is what I would do.”

User Experience Standards Missing from Web 2.0 Designs
Source: UN, 14 November 2008
 
Usability professionals should be more involved with the development of Web 2.0 tools.

New technology showcased at World Usability Day
Source: User Vision, 13 November 2008
 
Today is World Usability Day!

Review: 16 User Interface Prototyping Tools
Source: Dexo Design, 12 November 2008
 
People constantly ask me what the best prototyping or mockup tool is, so I decided to do a review of all the tools I’m aware of.

Radio 4's PM show announces Winner of 'Show Us a Better Way'
Source: BBC, 11 November 2008
 
Ever been frustrated that you can't find out something that ought to be easy to find? Ever been baffled by league tables or 'performance indicators'?

Cisco Systems extends Product Usability Research
Source: Catalyst Resources, 10 November 2008
 
Cisco is conducting extensive usability research with Catalyst Resources, into complex new technologies.