Intranet v/s E-commerce sites

Design Issues

Agenda – Discuss design issues

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Intranet

Intranet website

E-commerce

E-commerce website

Next..

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Intranet sites

Displaying latest and relevant information

Intranet sites

Document management Sharing access to information databases

Intranet sites

Sharing calendars

Intranet sites

Email

Intranet sites

Accessing employee contact information

E-commerce sites

Browse for product/service prices Find related/compatible products/services

E-commerce sites

Compare a product/service

E-commerce sites

Purchase product/service

E-commerce sites

Track purchased products

E-commerce sites

Easy and comfortable experience for the user

Quick shopping from the comfort of one’s home

Next …

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Intranet users- characteristics

Users: Employees of the organization– Know about its existence– Have domain specific knowledge to use

information– Information based browsing

E-commerce users- characteristics

User: Any person shopping online– Not necessarily aware of, or familiar with the site – Unaware of the content organization– Goal-based browsing

Next …

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Intranet

1. Lots of information – Include different styles of content organization – Inverse pyramid writing style

2. Topics important to employees of the company

– It should answer their specific questions and concerns in detail.

E-commerce

Clarify why people should purchase from the site:– Low prices– Fast shipment– Wider selection– Specialized set (hard to find elsewhere) products

E-commerce

Spell out what the site sells upfront Advertise the company’s uniqueness and

value proposition

Next …

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Intranet & E-commerce

Provide more than one form of navigation

1. based on role

2. based on content organization

3. impulse oriented

Intranet & E-commerce

Include search

(entire site and section-based)

Intranet & E-commerce

For search results– Result titles should be hyperlinked– Include relevant summaries– Organization– Compensation for misspellings

Breadcrumbs

Next …

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Intranet & E-commerce

Establish a standardized look and feel Ability to login & view personalized content Intuitive and easy to use Trustworthy

Personalized Recommendations(E-commerce only)

Different recommendations: New, Sale, Editor’s choice, Rare item, Bestseller

Feedback (rationale of recommendation) Cross-selling (related items) Up-selling Invite customer to

– Select interests– Rate purchased or browsed products

Next …

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Login

Single process for new and returning customers/employees

Minimize personal information required Declare privacy policy Provide a process for forgotten passwords Allow creation of guest accounts Provide a process to update personal

information

Process funnel

Minimize the number of steps Provide a progress bar Remove unnecessary links Make sure the “Back” button works Make action buttons prominent Prevent errors and

In case of errors, provide comprehensible error messages

Checkout (E-commerce only)

Eliminate distractions Recap the order summary Display order confirmation

Checkout contd…

Address deal breakers– Is the product in stock?– When will the order ship?– Shipping options– Shipping cost– Return policy?– Is tax included?– Gift wrapping available?– Ship to multiple addresses?

Finally …

1. Goals of the site

2. Users

3. Content organization

4. Navigation

5. Look and feel

6. Workflows

7. Maintenance

Maintenance

Regular update and maintenance required Intranet

– Current information

E-commerce– Dynamic pricing– Updating Inventory– Personalization and Recommendations

Discussion

What Usability methodologies would you use to test each website and why?

References

The Design of Sites: Patterns, Principles, and Processes for Crafting a Customer-Centered Web Experience

by Douglas K. van Duyne, James A. Landay, Jason I. Hong Screenshots

– E-commerce screenshot - http://www.intranetjournal.com/features/Ecommercetut.html

– Amazon. COM– Intranet Images- Google Image Search

Thank you