01.00.03 As arguably the most influential Web usability consultant internationally, Jakob Nielsen has, through a narrow set of heuristics, succeeded in convincing Web enterprises to base their experience design policies on a single facet of people’s experiential needs.
Dr. Nielsen has derived his heuristics–which are speculative formulations–largely from informal, context-specific Web usability testing. The conclusions drawn from his years of conducting this testing have then been extrapolated by Nielsen and others to apply to all cases. The problem with this approach is that usability testing is geared toward determining the flaws in a specific interface through educated intuition rather than through empirical scientific research.
Nielsen would himself likely be the first to admit that most Web usability testing lacks the rigor of scientific research. This makes the credence given to his Web usability heuristics as scientifically-proven fact all the more puzzling. It’s frustrating for many Web experience designers who are trying to build inspiring online resources when they’re blocked in their efforts by Nielsen’s heuristics–which are accepted as absolute truths, when they’re in fact only based on Nielsen’s observations. The heuristics of Nielsen and others have taken on a glow of sanctified commandments–Thou Shalt Not Use Flash!–rather than being regarded as the potentially helpful but highly subjective design suggestions that they really are.
Usability experts rightly feel that if a person can’t interact with an online resource easily, then that resource has likely failed. However the passionate conviction that makes them good advocates of interface logistics can sometimes blind them to the core purposes of an online resource. The most logistically predictable experience may not be the most engaging or the most persuasive or the most compelling one. Usability needs to support other design considerations, not replace them. A logistically appropriate, "practical" online resource that isn’t at all compelling is just as big a failure as one that’s compelling yet impractical.
Many of the Web design considerations that have traditionally fallen under the moniker of "usability" are important and should be considered when designing online resources. Some of Dr. Nielsen’s own observations can, when appropriately applied in a given situation, be quite helpful. Usability, however, is only one voice in the democracy of experience design, and therefore should only get one vote. There are many other types of observations, both subjective and scientific, that must be taken into account when settling on a particular experience design strategy for a given situation and needs (see Chapter Seven).
01.00.04 Poor usability isn’t the primary reason why Web enterprises have experienced widespread failure.
They’ve experienced failure because the organizations behind these Web enterprises haven’t understood and fulfilled the needs of the people in the online marketplace holistically. By the online market’s rejection of the 1990s crop of dot-coms, people have made it clear that they’re no longer willing to subject themselves to bland, Inc.mprehensible, poorly stylized, marginally valuable, OR difficult-to-use online resources. There are two reasons for this.
The first reason is that other forms of media such as TV, movies, and interactive games have trained people to have increasingly sophisticated expectations in terms of the emotional and aesthetic dynamics of the media that they consume. These media do a really great job of reaching people deeply on social and emotional levels.
The second reason is that conventional sources of needs fulfillment are beginning to combine the inherent social and emotional powers of live people and environments with progressive implementations of technology. The combined benefit in many cases provides a more compelling value proposition than their online competitors can offer.
We’ve reached the point where people expect to be treated as well online as they’re treated in physical consumptive settings. In light of this, we must stop expending all of our resources designing online experiences that, at best, try to be sensitive to navigational frustration and, at worst, ignore the broader body of people’s experiential needs as a whole.
01.00.05 The core of an effective Web experience is NOT user-centered design but person-centered design.
Therefore, we must design every aspect of an online resource to align with a person’s natural human needs and desires. Although one of our human desires is to avoid the frustrations of inefficiency and impediment, we also have very deep and primal needs to maintain a positive social and emotional relationship with our environment. When given a choice, people usually choose options that engender the most positive feeling (Reeves and Nass, The Media Equation).
In light of this fact, it’s essential that in addition to designing our online resources to be efficient, we design them–whether austere or flamboyant–to be compelling as well. In a sense, the role of an experience design team is to pave the way for people to enjoy themselves as they make unimpeded progress in their quest for consumption, meaning, enjoyment, or–whatever. And although people are often most interested in the direct route, it’s important that we don’t barricade the scenic route for those who feel that "half the fun is in getting there."
01.00.06 As consumers of online experiences are becoming more sophisticated and demanding, understanding and applying psychological and sociological principles in the design of online resources is becoming increasingly critical.
Psychologists and sociologists are becoming increasingly interested in why people go online and how they engage emotionally with Web enterprises. Some of the factors that these studies consider are whether people:
- are aroused by an online experience and find it interesting
- feel understood by a Web enterprise
- identify areas of personal interest
- make sense of the content
- remember the ideas being presented
- are invoked to respond to online messages
- find a Web enterprise cumulatively helpful and engaging over time
Online resources that are designed to address these factors will be successful not only in helping people find what they’re looking for, but also in helping them attend to, understand, and relate emotionally to the content that these Web enterprises have to offer. Furthermore, when online resources meet basic human needs for consumptive, social, and emotional relevance, people will be more motivated to interact with them. Helping people be successful in this way will maximize a Web enterprise’s chances of being successful in the online marketplace.
