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Web Sites That Work For Users: Designing with Scent in Mind. Darlene Fichter University of Saskatchewan. May 6, 2006. Designing for Scent. Research at Palo Alto Research Center How to design for scent Pitfalls of loosing scent. Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC). - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Web Sites That Work For Users:Designing with Scent in Mind
Darlene FichterUniversity of Saskatchewan
May 6, 2006
Designing for Scent
Research at Palo Alto Research Center How to design for scentPitfalls of loosing scent
Palo Alto Research Center (Xerox PARC)
Stuart Card, Ed Chi and Peter Pirolli and others have developed a theory to explain and predict how people navigate online
They developed an “information foraging theory” drawing upon ecological methods to predict food-gathering behaviour
Information Foraging – Peter Pirolli and Stuart K. Cardhttp://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/uir/pubs/items/UIR-1999-05-Pirolli-
Report-InfoForaging.pdf
Information Foraging & Scent
Using mathematical formulas, they are able to look at the way people estimate their success in hunting for information based on “cues” they pick up that they are getting closer to their “lunch”
These cues are called “information scent”
Information Scent AssumptionsPeople expect the scent to
become stronger and stronger
Expect it to progress rapidly
Photo Credit: The Triskaidekagrammatron
How Do People Choose Where to Click?*
Make decisions based on:1. What gain can I expect from the information? 2. What is the likely cost to discover and
consume that information? Usually time and effort Visitors are ruthless, lazy, impatient and quick
*I don’t think, I click!
*Information Foraging: Why Google Makes People Leave Your Site Faster - Jakob
Nielsen's Alertbox http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030630.html
*I Don’t Think I Click: A Protocol Analysis Study of Use of a Library Online Catalog in the Internet Age –
Eric Novotny http://www.ala.org/ACRLtemplate.cfm?Section=november&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&ContentFileID=34962
‘Satisficing” is a fact
If visitors are ruthless, lazy, impatient and quick, what should we do?
In this world, convenience will always trump quality. It's our job as librarians to make quality convenient.
Bruce Newell, Montana ,Talking with Talis Series
Designing for Scent
Most obvious way to design for scent is to ensure that links and categories clearly describe what they lead to
Plain language works bestAs the user drills down, the site must give feedback
that they are getting closer to their goal
Factors That Effect The Hunt*Big rabbits aren’t always betterThe fox wants a nutritious meal but also an
easy catchPeople like to get the maximum benefit for
the minimum benefit
*Information Foraging: Why Google Makes People Leave Your Site Faster - Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030630.html
Nutritious Bite Sized Snacks
Minimize marketing style welcome pagesShow up front that you’re “nutritious”
– Have some real nuggets of information on the home page, for example, news bites that reveal what’s inside
Have excellent categories that resonate with usersDesign your whole site for strong pathsDesign your whole site for snacking
Choosing the Best Patch
On the web, it’s very easy to find another patch
You must win over your audience to keep their attention
You must make it easy to find good stuff or they’ll look for an easier patch
Three Click Rule is Dead*
Work on designing for scent has clearly demonstrated that 3 click rule is not valid
Users will happily click through several screens as long as the navigational path has a strong scent and is becoming increasing specific
*Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information,User Interface Engineering : 2004
Scent Works When
Designs communicate "scent" via linksLinks need to have a strong scent by containing
"trigger words" that relate to the content that lies beyond
Jared M. Spool. The Right Trigger Words. http://www.uie.com/articles/trigger_words/
Example of Trigger Words Failing
Longer LinksLinks between 7-12 words long produce the best
resultsWhy?
– Very specific and descriptive“what you read is what you get”
– Distinguish between choices, avoid false trails– More words, the more likely you have trigger words
Compare These Three Links
ResourcesSociology ResourcesRecommended Sociology
Articles, Books, and Web Sites
Questions: Concept of “Scent”
Scent Blocking Actions
1. No trigger words2. Camouflaged links3. Iceberg syndrome4. Banner blindness5. Missing words6. Information masking7. Too many trails
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
No Trigger Words
Vague general links and headings– “General Information”
Lists of terms library users don’t understand
Jargon is alive and well on library web pages
Library Terms That Users Can Understand – John Kupersmith http://www.jkup.net/terms.html
Iceberg SyndromeYou can place links beneath the
fold, provided that the page doesn't look like it stops
What’s above the fold must be interesting and relevant. If there’s marketing fluff above the fold, people to believe that what is below is more of the same
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Photo Credit: kathryn aaker
Camouflaged Links
Links need to look like links. If you have a secondary navigational menu, make sure it looks clickable
Mystery Meat Navigation http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/mysterymeatnavigation.html,
Banner Blindness
Top 60 pixels of home pages – Users typically ignore information in this area
Banner Blindness, Human Cognition and Web Design, March 1999http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/Banner_Blindness.html
Disappearing Scent - Missing Words
Scent drops offWords that were leading you closer to your goal
disappear
Information Masking
Users have an expectation about what part of the screen will change, and look at that section of the page
If the page changes somewhere, they will usually miss relevant links in other areas
Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004Spool, Perfetti and Brittan. Designing the Scent of Information, 2004
Too Many Trails
Visitors may also leave if there are too many trails that have scent and they are confused
"People are overwhelmed by choices and abandon the site, even if the information they're looking for is right there.“
Dr. Ed Chi
Angel Gonzalez. Hot on the Scent of Information information. Wired News. Jun.
08, 2001 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,44321,00.html
Links and Headings
Competing Headings– Two regions look likely
Competing links in a regionConfusable links
Questions: Scent Blockers
Apply What You’ve Learned About Scent
1. Find the hours of the library closest to you2. Look up due dates3. Find articles on “home schooling”4. Get a library card
Find the Hours of a Library …
Closest Branch
Hours
Academic Library
http://www.lib.umich.edu/
Find a “Book” – “Catalog”
Find Your Due Dates
“My Account” – “Due Dates”
My Account
Questions
Advanced Concepts “Appetizer” Style
Pages that help with “scent”
#1. Use of the “back” button
Just one of use of the back button dropped the average success rate on sites from 45% to 18%
The back button is the button of “DOOM”The user has lost the scent
#2 Pogo sticking
Ever see someone clicking on search results one by one trying to find an article that “fits”
Search (unless it’s known item)
Hit the null results page (no scent)Hit back usually no new scent
www.frogreview.com
