Sunday, August 1, 2010

How to Use Eye Tracking Software to Test Your Website's Usability


Using eye tracking to understand the usability of user interfaces is something that's been around for a few years now, but it is still being understood by researchers. Through specialized eye tracking software, you can better see how users visually "enter" a website (or any graphical user interface), navigate the page, and where they focus. First I want to discuss the research and significance for eye-tracking software, then I want to discuss each of these elements in turn.

Research on eye tracking dates back to research on how people read pages in general. Early researchers found that--as common sense would imply--readers are attracted to certain visual stimuli, like bright colors or certain shapes and orientations. This isn't too hard to imagine, as we all know our eyes tend to naturally float towards highlighted areas on a page. However, these researchers also found that readers both see an entire page without really looking at it, and they also enter and visually navigate a page according to how they think the page should be laid out.

Seeing the entire page without really looking at it is important. It means that readers will get meta-information first and then begin to narrow down their visual selections according to that meta-information. Meta-information simply means that when users open a web page, without really even reading it, they will know where advertisements are located, where images and visuals are located, and where information and items relating to each other can be found.

As for the second part, users already have some idea of what a page should look like as soon as they open it. They've been trained on certain things. For example, they usually know to find menus on the left or the top. They usually know that there will be an advertisement located along one or both of the sides of the page (as on this one).

The combination of these two things means that you should design a page so that it meets the user's expectations, and so that they quickly see what you want them to see. Now how do you find out what they're seeing?

Eye tracking applications, such as GazeTracker in association with ERICA (Eye-Gaze Response Computer Aid), EyeLink 2000, or faceLab produce a log of where a user's gaze either moves or is sustained on a page. To understand what a user is fixating on, you need to understand where the user's gaze is sustained for a brief period of time. Those locations display what user's are paying attention to--reading or spending a moment to understand--on the page. Further, understanding the path of their gaze will help you understand how they are visually traveling on a page.

Once you've conducted these tests (using task-based testing) you can use the results to orient information you want your user's to see. All in all, eye-tracking studies are one of the best measurements used for determining the usability of a website.

Clinton R. Lanier is a professor of Web Design and Technical Communication in Las Cruces, NM. An expert in web design, usability, interface design and technical communication, he regularly consults as a web designer and communication consultant.


By Clinton Lanier
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Clinton_Lanier

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Seven Barriers to Business Growth



When you set up a business, there are lots of things you don't know.

o What the market will buy

o What price to charge for your products and services

o How to deal with government regulation

o How to manage your cash

o How to start selling to larger companies

But most of all you probably don't have a clear roadmap of the way forward. What changes you have to make as you develop from tiny acorn to mighty oak. What are the key crisis points that nearly everyone goes through. How you get formality into the business to deal with Government and large customers without losing the agility and freedom of action that attracted you into business in the first place.

These barriers are well defined - there's plenty of research on it. Most advice you will get will be specialist. Your job as a business owner your main job is to pull it together - to integrate vision with delivery, customers with products, and values with people and process.

So here are the barriers to growth that have to be overcome

1) The company's vision is out of sync with the market

2) When the product range needs re-inventing

3) When the business processes and systems need upgrading - this will happen at least twice

4) When the founder can no longer sell enough himself and needs to take on a salesman

5) When more people need to be taken on

6) Changing premises - (remote /flexible working can postpone this)

7) When the business needs to start trading with larger partners.

1) The company's vision is out of sync with the market.

Building a successful company is about convincing the customers that you are the right person for them to work with. This means building an emotional rapport with them - and constructing a story to connect you to them - and a set of products and services that fit into that story. If you don't get this right the business will never buzz.

2) When the product range needs re-inventing

Successful companies develop ways to systematically extend their product range. It's much easier to find new products to sell to your existing customers who know you and feel good about you than it is to try and take what you have to new customers. Best approach is to pick 5 new customers, 5 loyal customers and 5 unusual customers and go and talk to them about what they need. Then figure out how to do it without going bust.

3) When the business processes and systems need upgrading.

This happens several times - companies don't grow in a straight line - they grow in jumps. A difficult transition is the dawn of formality. Once you have half a dozen people you need to start having HR and IT systems to back up what you do - to make sure that things happen reliably and that your customers get the feeling that they've chosen the right company to deal with. Your reputation and brand depend absolutely on how good your delivery is so it's worth spending the time to get that right.

Once you've dominated your niche in the UK, you need to start playing on a world stage. You need an entry level enterprise IT system at that point - research shows that there's a peak in IT spend in companies with about 40-50 employees. So be aware that this is somewhere in your future - should you wish to really go for world domination you will need to plan for it.

4) When the founder can no longer sell it all himself and needs a salesman

This can be a killer - because as an owner you get used to relying on your own integrity, knowledge, enthusiasm and attention to detail to carry the day. You can't get this from a salesman - you need a system to hold him accountable. The only way you'll get this is to follow one yourself for 6 months. I can give you the system but you need an office dragon to hold YOU to account. Once you know your own ratios and patterns you can hold the sales guy to account.

If you don't you'll end up employing a string of affable blokes in suits and ties who'll just cost you money and may cost you the business. How do I know this? How do you think?

5) When you need to take on staff.

They need to be managed properly. I've just finished a project on developing the workforce in the Horticultural industry and the bottom line is about putting in place good basic HR systems. You don't have to get bureaucratic - you just have to do it. And if you want to grow you have to have a management team in place.

If it's just you you'll start to run into the sand at about the 8-9 employee level. The number of companies in the UK that go from employing less than 10 to more than 10 in a year is only about 1600 - that's not very many is it?. The reason is that if you do it on your own each new person adds another layer of relationships - by the time you're up to about 12 or 13 it takes all your time to keep the friction down - and you lose that all important strategic thinking time.

I've observed that companies that grow quickly normally start with a management team of 3 or 4 which will allow them to punch through these early transitions quickly.

6) Changing Premises

This can be a nightmare because all your systems have to be disassembled and reassembled - and there are often bits missing or left over. We moved our business 4 years ago and it meant new IT, new couriers, and 15 rounds with BT out of business Broadband etc.

The important point is it forces you to really hone your systems and to get rid of excess baggage. Many companies struggle and if they lose their data most never recover. It's a good indicator of a company that's going somewhere that it's successfully carried out a move.

7) Trading with larger companies

Your company comes of age when it starts to gain contracts with larger organisations that can provide the baseload of business that your organisation needs. To secure these in both government and corporate sectors you must demonstrate evidence of doing things properly. These are KPIs that cover financial stability, health and safety, quality and sustainability considerations.

So it's a good idea to choose a suitable accreditation - either a general one like ISO 14001, a company accreditation like Rolls Royce or and industry one like the Soil Association.

This is a big step to take, but it will force you to have the systems in place that will let you grow.

I've talked a lot about systems here - because systems thinking is critical to being able to operate in today's knowledge economy at any scale. It's true that as a specialist that stays small you can get a long way with ad hoc collaboration using the tools of the Cloud. However at a certain point you have to raise your game and that's what we've been talking about here.

The skills of systems thinking are set out in Peter Senge's book the Fifth Discipline. They are

· Personal Mastery - having a passion for getting it right yourself

· Mental Models - knowing how to construct them

· Shared Vision - making sure that the whole team buy into them

· Team Learning - that people are going on a journey to the future together

You need these in place to unleash the creativity in your colleagues that will take you through these barriers. It all depends on having the right narrative in place to motivate customers and staff alike. So we've completed the circle and have returned to the beginning. "Getting the narrative in Sync."

Our company specialises in helping companies get beyond the barriers that hold them back as they grow.

In our experience these barriers can be overcome by combining good people management with advanced technology to develop, promote and deliver goods and services that people actually want to buy. A compelling company story is a good starting point.

These ideas are taken further at www.howtodobusiness.com and www.communicationinbusiness.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Rae

Facebook Ad Power Review - A How-To For Facebook Marketing

Facebook Ad Power is the newest Facebook marketing product, put together by Ryan Deiss. It was bred out of the need to find traffic sources other than Google AdWords for Internet marketing, but the strategies can be applied to any marketing campaign, no matter the industry or niche.

Facebook serves more than 38 billion ad impressions each and every month, and that number is only going up. The traffic itself is extremely high quality - oftentimes better than what can be found on Google itself. The difficult thing with Facebook Advertising has always been getting ad creative and landing pages approved. Facebook has always enforced terms of service that were exceptionally stringent, and that can be a big issue with people trying to get started.

At the start, Facebook wasn't very easy to use for marketers. The ads performed poorly and there wasn't much of a return on investment. Sure, the clicks were cheap, but they didn't perform. That tide has changed though. Now, with Internet marketers and big companies alike, Facebook marketing is the new buzzword phrase. And that's what Facebook Ad Power is all about.

Facebook Ad Power was built for one reason, to get you up and running fast. Normally, when you tackle a new ad platform, there are weeks spent testing campaigns and thousands of dollars wasted before you know what you're doing. Ryan is letting us sidestep all that. He's gone in and tested what works and what doesn't. From ad text to landing pages to demographic targeting. Let me tell you, all I had to do was log in to Facebook, create my campaigns and start tracking profits. It really is that simple if you take Ryan's course.

One of my favorite parts about Facebook Ad Power is the monthly question and answer calls. He does this to update all of us on changes to Facebook's algorithm in regards to advertising. In all actuality, the calls have saved me quite a bit of money because I know about changes before they happen, rather than logging in and having to adjust my campaigns after the fact. Facebook is a progressive company and they will be making changes for a long time, so this kind of insider information is crucial!

In summary, if you're serious about tapping into Facebook's users, make sure you check out Facebook Ad Power. The training will get you up and running fast, without wasting thousands of dollars in testing. Quite simply, it'll give you the edge over your competition, no matter what market you're in.

Get free instant access to Jason's free Internet marketing blueprint that'll walk you through some secret strategies he uses to crush it in niche markets and for top paying clients. Also, make sure you visit his Facebook Ad Power post for more information on Facebook marketing and to get the bonus he's offering!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Drohn

Jason Drohn - EzineArticles Expert Author