Phase 1: Usability Study

Defining the Users
In order to make the best decisions on the design choices for the website, it is important to understand who the users are going to be and what they intend to do once they are at the website.

One of the ways that we can approach this is through a the use of personas. What is the age group of the users and how does that affect the choices that are made in terms of font size and weight, colors used and spacing in the page layout?

Elderly Users
For older readers, there are some specific considerations.
According to one article, there are some key points for readers that are age 65 and above.
(Text Design for Elderly Eyes, http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/TDelderly/)

Here are some of the considerations:

• Larger size fonts between 12 and 14 pt are easier to read
• Spacing and indents increase readability
• Lines that are between 7-8 words are ideal

It's possible, of course, that these findings could apply to the average reader, as well.

Considerations for users with disabilities
For accessibility purposes, some of the guidelines include:

• All the text on the page need to be readable in a logical order without the layout and formatting.
• In the case of forms, the tab order needs to match the labels of the form item apart from the layout.
• Media including video, photos and sound need to have an accompanying alternative. This could be a text-based description or possibly a transcript or captioning.

(Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html)


Youth Culture
The growing use of technology everyday life is an important aspect in reaching this group. The range of devices where e-mail and websites can be accessed include cell phones (mobile devices) and laptops.

Visuals including Icons and graphics that communicate provide the immediacy that this group is accustomed to.
In addition, the convergence of the devices including computers, mobile devices and television make it important to consider the growing and changing ways that these users interact with and use information.

For example, the course management Blackboard that is often used for students to access their courses online, provides students the opportunity to be in contact with classmates using Facebook to form study groups or to discuss assignments using their mobile devices or on their computers.

(Classmates Network, http://www.blackboardsync.com)