Usability Testing and Its Value to E-Commerce
According to renowned usability scholar Dr. Jakob Neilsen (2003) defines the usability of a software application, personal device or appliance as a quality attribute that is comprised of five specific components including the learnability, efficiency, memorability, error handling and recovery, and overall customer satisfaction gained from using the application or device. These five components combine to create the level of usability for a given application. Dr. Neilsen focuses on the utility aspect of designs that include these five components and in much of his work has actively worked on the international standards for suability for web sites, web pages, and software applications. The emergence of international standards to address the need to synchronize website, web page, web-based applications and applications of all types across the five dimensions of usability as defined by Dr. Nielsen and others is constantly tracked by the global standards bodies of International Standards Organization (ISO) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and reporte
Clearly to make these integrations seamless the same usability standards must be used. The Usability Testing of an application is typically done in the first stages of a products' development. Thibodeau (2002) captures another dynamic that is driving the development of usability in all application areas as well, and that is the heightened expectations users have of their applications being easier to work with each successive product generation. In addition major software companies have also actively building their own usability standards, including Apple and Microsoft. The vast majority go through a series of field studies to see how their customers and prospects interact with applications and systems, and continually gather these insights. This focus on taking an evolutionary approach to growing the definition of a new application, whether it is delivered as a web-based one or via traditional software licensing, must be consistent with international usability standards to ensure the applications meet the five core components of usability. This adherence to and building e-commerce applications from internationally agreed on standards has also made it possible for many different e-commerce sites and application developers to integrate their applications together, thereby creating a more fluid exchange of web traffic. Its Value in e-Commerce In the case of e-commerce applications where the workflows for shopping for, comparing pricing and features, then placing and tracking an order all occur within the frame of a web page, the need for usability standards and best practices is clear. Microsoft for example has a complete behavior lab staffed with ergonomic experts, psychologists and psychiatrists who create research teams to study how to make operating systems, applications and PCs more adaptable to how people work. The outcome of the usability testing is the development of an operational usability specification which in turns drives the development cycle, according to Good (1998). This is only affordable as a strategy towards usability by 1% of all companies. The first generation of e-commerce applications, many of which were crude by today's standards, often left the online shopper abandoned in the middle of a purchasing set of steps. Now in its fifth generation of e-commerce applications and platforms, the Internet has evolved to the point of having online shopping and broader e-commerce usability that adheres to global standards. Research from many advisory firms including AMR Research, Forrester, Gartner, and others shows that the higher the level of integration between e-commerce sites, the greater the level of financial performance of all sites interconnected with one another. The bottom line is that the development of usability strategies is an increasingly critical part of any new software application development process.
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