This caused a lot of controversy as it places the usability of the users interaction before security considerations and challenges an established convention.  However, as he points out, many people are accessing sites in situations where they are not over looked and making it more difficult to enter passwords may causes users to choose simpleless secure passwords. This is particularly true with mobile devices where users often enter shorter passwords to make it easier as they have a numeric keypad.  He also argues that obscuring the password does little to protect the password anyway since if someone wants to work out your password they could always look at the keyboard.  However, if the password is on screen it is certainly easier to see from a distance if for example you are working in a open plan office.

His objection may be correct, many people will be entering a password in a situation where they are not overlooked and making it difficult for these users just because some people are does not necessarily make sense.  However, failing to mask password characters may have wider implications.  As the site does not mask the password it may create the perception that the user does not need to safe guard this information resulting in more careless behaviour.

Jakob is aware displaying the password may not be ideal in all situations and suggests that a control could be provided allowing users to select to hide their password.  This approach is currently used within windows network settings and some WiFi software.  In a recent article on list apart Lyle Mullican explores this approach in more detail.  However, theapproach places the responsibility for managing whether the password is displayed with the user and adds complexity.  It is also a modal control (the user selects either to display asterisks or actual characters) which can cause usability issues.  For instance, the user may start typing the password without realizing it is being displayed revealing it to those around them.

IE 8 password entry dialogue allows the user to select whether the password is shown.

Chris Coyier in his article Better Password Inputs, iPhone Style suggests doing something similar to what is done on the ipod touch/ iphone interface where only the last letter is displayed on screen. This is fine for a mobile device where the user can take steps to ensure no one is looking at the screen while they input the details but may be an issue when displayed on a monitor.  Users may also fail to notice mistakes when they press another key immediately after they mistyped.

An alternative approach which addresses many of the issues is to hide the password by default but provide a button that when held down reveals the password.  Although the user doesn’t receive immediate feedback they have the option to check their password before submitting and the user could hold the button down while typing if required.  This approach highlights the importance of keeping the password secret and only shows it when the user expressly indicates it is safe to do so.  It also removes the chance of users accidentally revealing their password.  This is not necessarily an ideal solution in every case and there will be instances where it is best to display the password in full by default.  However, assuming thew user is entering a password in a private office or passing all responsibility for safe guarding secrecy to the user are not ideal whatever the usability issues.

The researchers have suggested that this difference may be a result of differences in the way men and women use the web, with men using it for information gathering and women using it for social relationships. However, it is unclear whether this expressed preference will actually have a bearing on behaviour. Just because women say it is less important does not mean they are necessarily more likely to remain on a site with large delays. Neither does it indicate what men and women consider a slow download speed.

Usability Study: Men Need Speed

Some sampling bias is likely with any user research since they will only include people willing to take part in research (self selection). Incentives can be used to encourage participation, however it is important to select the correct incentive since it will make it more likely that you recruit those that find the incentive of value. A degree of sampling bias is not necessarily a problem as long steps are taken to ensure the sample is representative of the target audience and the sampling method is considered at the time of analysis.

Before implementing the findings of research it is important to evaluate them against the needs of the wider target audience and the business, whether changes will impact other parts of the site and whether the respondents are your key audience. No research should be taken at face value blindly implementing users opinions. User research is an important tool informing us of our audiences needs, opinions and behaviour but we need to look at it critically and in the context in which it was conducted.

For those that don’t know, ergonomics is a mixture of engineering, psychology, physiology and design. It is concerned with the study of human interaction when performing tasks. It seeks to make experiences easier, more efficient and more pleasurable. Essentially it is ‘usability’ extended to cover not only human computer interaction but any interaction with the environment and yes this does include putting suitcases into a car boot.

Most Returned Products Work Fine, Study Says

The user has to look at the content around the link to identify what it does. This is fine if the user has been reading the proceeding paragraph, however very often users will scan the page for links if they are trying to navigate to content that will fulfill their goals. In a well designed site links should standout from body text allowing users to easily identify them. If links are not descriptive the user will need to then identify what content they are likely to link to.

This issue is worse for those that use speach browsers. These browsers have a facility that allows users just to hear the links within the page so they do not have to listen to the full page when they are trying to locate something. However, if links are labelled more it will do little to inform them where the link would go and they may end up listening to several more links in a row unable to distinguish them.

I’ve heard it suggested that the title tag could be used to distinguish more links for speach browsers. This is true, although the user will still need to listen to a meaningless label first. However, how much simpler is it to provide a descriptive link or make the title the link.

Having said this ‘more’ can be used effectively in links when teamed with other words to provided a description of the content, such as ‘more categories’ or ‘more news articles’. It is when it is used on its own as a generic term for this is a link. The only thing worse is the use of the term click here. I apprechiate people may want you to access a certain piece of content, but honestly what else are you suppose to do with links.

Too frequently within the on-line environment the target audience for campaigns and promotional sites is ignored.

Often on-line promotions are little more than a translation of something developed for another medium. In the worst cases a campaign is transferred directly. This ignores much of the research and consideration that went into the original campaign and transfers the limitations of one media to another. It ignores the strengths of the Internet and highlights its limitations.

Customers interact with television or print in a different manner to the Internet. Television allows little interaction beyond selecting which channel to watch. The Internet allows users to provide information and respond to messages to gain more appropriate solutions and meet goals. It provides customers with a chance to deal with a company early in the relationship. Ignoring this results in solutions that fail to fully capitalise on the medium.

Interaction provides an opportunity to reinforce brand pillars, but brings with it risks that are often ignored. If it is poorly thought out, inconsistent, misleading or error prone it will affect users’ perception of the brand. A site wishing to promote a car as a pleasurable, comfortable experience will fail if it does not exhibit these qualities.

The reason greater consideration is not given to the target audience may be reluctance to spend money on a medium that was hyped then failed to live up to expectations. However, the on-line population continues to grow and offers opportunities not present in other mediums.

Promotion on the Internet often fails to learn from marketing in other mediums. Market research of customers needs, attitudes and behaviour has been used for years. There are still examples of companies buying banner or promotional space without considering the audience and whether there may be a more effective alternative. Market research provides a good basis, however, it usually does not go far enough, ignoring the interactive nature of the medium.

Internet promotion needs to take into account context, when it is encountered and what the user is doing. The use of splash screens is a key example. The user has already made the decision to visit a site yet before they can achieve anything they must view an animation promoting the company. This is the equivalent of your local green grocer refusing to serve you until they have told you they are the biggest and most profitable grocers in the area.

The use of sponsored items on search engines is a good example of how promotion can be effectively integrated with the user’s goals. The sponsors relate directly to the topic for which the user has searched producing benefits for both parties. This is not the only way this can be achieved. Rich media banners can provide immediate value to the customer and even traditional banners can support users’ goals if presented in a timely manner.

Any promotional offering on the web needs to consider the full life cycle of the users interaction. Very often drive to site and how best to maintain interaction with the brand are considered independently. Many promotional sites seek short-term solutions, relying on a single interaction to promote the benefits of a brand. They seek to generate awareness as quickly as possible rather than initiating a relationship.

If the Internet is to truly meet its full potential as a marketing tool it needs to be approached as a unique space but draw on previous learning within marketing, human factors and software development. It needs to take account of the target audience their goals, abilities and the tasks they wish to perform in context. In short a customer centric approach.