WebWord.com Newsletter Issue #63

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ISSUE #63

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                WebWord.com Newsletter
           "Industrial Strength Usability"
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                 Newsletter Editor
                   John S. Rhodes 
                     John@webword.com
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October 28, 2001                    Newsletter #63
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Table of Contents


1.  New WebWord Service: Web Site Quality Testing
2.  A Business Case for Usability
3.  The Face of Information Architecture
4.  Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 
5.  Investigations in Systems Design: Structure, 
    Context, Failure and Usability 
6.  Representations and Perceived Information 
    Architecture (PIA)
7.  Driving, Death, and Usability
8.  The Austin Chapter of the UPA
9.  What Can You Find at WebWord.com?


       
        4962 subscribers (almost 5,000!)

        Tell a friend. Pass this along to 
        a colleague. Recommend WebWord now!


        Need Help? WebWord Usability Services!!
        --> http://webword.com/services/index.html



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ITEM #1

New WebWord Service: Web Site Quality Testing

We are launching a new service. Effective immediately,
WebWord will be offering web site quality testing to
our clients. 

Quality testing is different from usability testing.
Our quality testing service will help you identify
the technical problems with your site. For example:

* Broken links
* Broken applications
* Missing images
* Page loading problems
* Browser incompatibility
* Broken applications
* More...!

Why not outsource some, or all, of your quality 
testing? By using a 3rd party service, you avoid all
the politics associated with in-house testing. You
also can save money by getting only the testing you
need, when you need it.

WebWord has a track record of excellent service and
support. We do excellent research and we catch the
important details. 

If you want to know more about WebWord's Web Site 
Quality Testing, please send us a note:

>> QT@webword.com

Cheers,

- John

p.s. Thanks for letting me throw this advertisement
at you. Remember, paying customers make WebWord
possible. (I'm also *very* excited about our new
service. It is going to help a lot of companies!)
Everything else below is pure content. No more
advertisements or promotions. Enjoy!!

John S. Rhodes
WebWord.com -- Industrial Strength Usability
http://webword.com
john@webword.com




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ITEM #2

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/businesscase.html


"A Business Case for Usability"

This is a business case for usability in an 
organization. It is based on academic research, 
industrial research, case studies, consulting 
experience, and common knowledge found in the 
usability community. 

Note: The article is long and full of excellent 
information. There are also several references
at the end.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/businesscase.html



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ITEM #3

A new WebWord.com interview is now online:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/wodtke.html


"The Face of Information Architecture"

This is an interview with Christina Wodtke, the force
behind Elegant Hack. Here are some of the questions
that I asked:

* Why is there a need to architect information? That 
is, why does everyone assume that information needs 
to be structured and categorized and formatted? Are 
there any problems with this core assumption?

* Exactly how does information architecture apply to 
web application design, versus doing information 
architecture on the content of a site? What are the 
important things to keep in mind? 

* What is the best example of information architecture
you have ever seen? Think broadly, beyond the web. 
Now, why did you choose this example? What is the key
lesson? 


You can read the new interview here:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/wodtke.html



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ITEM #4

A new WebWord.com interview is now online:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/bau.html


"Dave's Quick Search Deskbar "

This is an interview with Dave Bau. Here are some of 
the questions that I asked:

* What is Dave's Quick Search Deskbar?

* You decided to use the GNU General Public License 
for Dave's Quick Search Deskbar. How does that license
work? Why did you choose it? 

* Dave's Quick Search Deskbar is pretty simple and 
easy to use. Did you deliberately focus on usability 
when you built it? Did you test this tool with people 
before you launched it? 


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/bau.html



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ITEM #5

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/rhodes0001.html


"Investigations in Systems Design: Structure, Context, 
Failure and Usability"

The purpose of this paper is to briefly review and 
discuss three books related to systems design. The 
first book is Design Paradigms: Case Histories of 
Error and Judgment in Engineering (Petroski, 1994), 
the second book is The Mythical Man-Month, Anniversary
Edition: Essays on Software Engineering (Brooks, 1995), 
and the third book is Notes on the Synthesis of Form 
(Alexander, 1964). In this paper, an emphasis is 
placed on describing the core ideas of the books. 
Brief discussions of structure, context, failure, and
usability engineering are included to highlight 
several themes found throughout the trio of books.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/rhodes0001.html



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ITEM #6

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/representations.html


"Representations and Perceived Information 
 Architecture (PIA)"

This article discusses two key ideas. First, it 
briefly outlines four ways to represent the same 
information. Second, it provides a high level overview
of Perceived Information Architecture.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/representations.html




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ITEM #7

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/turnsignals.html


"Driving, Death, and Usability"

This article discusses turn signals and how they are 
used. Turn signals improve safety because they give 
people time to react and they reduce driving ambiguity. 
However, they are only effective when people actually
use them. Several lessons are applied to web usability.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/turnsignals.html



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ITEM #8

A new WebWord.com interview is now online:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/green.html


"The Austin Chapter of the UPA"

This is an interview with Kerrie Green, the President
of the Austin chapter of the Usability Professionals' 
Association. Here are some of the questions that I 
asked:


* What is the Austin UPA? Please give us some details!

* Describe the members please. Who are they? What do 
they do? How many members are there?

* What are the hot topics right now? What is on the 
agenda?


You can read the new interview here:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/green.html



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ITEM #9
    
What Can You Find at WebWord.com?


WebWord.com Services
>> http://webword.com/services/index.html

Articles (Moving WebWord)
>> http://webword.com/moving/

Expert Interviews 
>> http://webword.com/interviews/

Career Center
>> http://careers.webword.com/

Recommended Books
>> http://webword.com/books/booksindex.html

Newsletter Archive
>> http://webword.com/archive

Weblog Archive
>> http://www.webword.com/weblog

Usability Reports 
>> http://webword.com/reports

Recommended Web Sites
>> http://webword.com/hotsites.html



----- End of WebWord.com Usability Newsletter #63 -----

      (c)2001 by WebWord.com and John S. Rhodes. 
                 All rights reserved.

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