The Usability SIG Newsletter

August 2001 - Web Usability

VA Site Offers Alternate Route
by Basic White

Many US federal Web pages seem to prefer automation over creativity to a fault, ignoring opportunities to create useful Web content. More...

Equality of Access: Putting the Content of the Internet within the Grasp of the Disabled
by Kim Weathersby

Imagine you are viewing a Web site that uses lots of cool graphics and image maps, and that these graphics help you understand and navigate the site. Or that you are viewing a software demonstration with video and audio. Or that you are in a hurry looking for information on a Web site and that you use your mouse to quickly click through the necessary links and make your selections. More...

Up Close with Tharon Howard: Architect of the Online Usability Community
by David Dick

Tharon Howard teaches in the Master of Arts in Professional Communication at Clemson University. When Tharon is not mentoring students, he manages an online usability community called UTEST. More...

NCI Announces New Research-Based Web Design Guidelines for Improving Health Information Web Sites
by James Mathews

Last month, in an ongoing effort to substantially improve the effectiveness and efficiency of federal government health information on the World Wide Web, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) developed a comprehensive set of Web-design guidelines based on research studies in the field. The Research-Based Web Design and Usability Guidelines represent a year of intense effort by NCI to identify Web design-related research and compile a practical set of guidelines. The guidelines, located on NCI's Usability.gov Web site (http://usability.gov/guidelines), will be used primarily by Web masters and designers throughout the government to improve online services.More...

Student Perspectives on Selected Human Factors Graduate Programs
by Jennifer Trich Kremer

Thinking about pursuing a Graduate degree in Human Factors or a related field? Your first move should be to identify schools that offer programs of interest, and Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) web sites are a good place to start: More...

Pulse of the Usability SIG
by Whitney Quesenbery

Every Conference is a chance to take the pulse of the SIG and measure the progress of usability and user-centered design within STC. This year was no exception. Here are a few pleasant surprises from Chicago. More...