[thelist] Re: is web design dead?

[Katie Kearns]

At 09:09 AM 7/26/00 -0400, you wrote:
>
>Seems to me that useability testing assumes, at a minimun, that there is
>some basic ability to use.

It all depends on who your audience is.  Whoever you want to read your book 
or see your site or use your software.  In Tolstoy's sake, I don't think 
his audience was people who read Dr. Seuss (and nothing more).  Writers 
write to inspire people, or bring about social change, or win Big Giant Art 
Awards, etc.. And writing down to a 2nd grade level would not be taking 
those audiences into account.

In the case of web developers, they need to take into account who their 
audience is and what those people need. If you're making a site for 
*everyone* it needs to be accessible by everyone (the blind, the newbies, 
the people who use Lynx, etc.). If you're making a site for network admins, 
you can probably make some assumptions about their knowledge -- such as the 
fact that they won't need someone to tell them where they can and can't and 
should click.

Pretty much, once you've defined your audience and their needs, it's pretty 
easy to figure out what you need to do.  A quick usability test of 4 random 
people (from your intended target audience) should point out any flaws in 
your thinking.

My inspiration comes from:
- The Interface Hall of Shame:  http://www.iarchitect.com/mshame.htm
- Ask Tog:  http://www.asktog.com
and
- Technical writing classes


-Katie