The usability factor: Improving the quality of E-Content

Abstract

E-Business and E-Content continue to be one of the key drivers for innovation throughout Europe. According to EITO (2004, p 3), the ICT market in Western Europe will grow by 4% in 2005. Providers of software and content are willing to make huge investments that will have to pay off in terms of market share and revenues. However, the basic lessons have been learned: Nowadays everyone can get connectivity, publish on the web and start a new online shop with a few mouse clicks. Software and programming skills no longer make a difference, and coding continues to be outsourced to countries with lower labour costs. Moreover, the wealth of information available means that there is a shift of power within the communication process. Recipients may choose between a huge range of broadcast channels, corporate publishing products, websites, E-Mail newsletters, and mobile services. As a consequence, attention tends to become a rare commodity in the information society (Goldhaber 1997; Franck 1998). And this is not only a question of attractive content and packaging, but also of accessibility and ease of use. Therefore, the "ability to build practical, useful, useable, and satisfying applications and websites" (Schaffer 2004, p xvii) remains one of the key differentiators in the E-Content business. Usability, defined as "the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction with which specified users achieve specified goals in particular environments" (ISO 9241) has to be a key part of any strategy dealing with websites, mobile applications and online games. Successful media ventures need both a philosophy and a management system that rather place the user and his or her needs in the centre than the engineer or the designer. This chapter explores the state of the emerging discussion within academia and practice. We will look into economic and social drivers, discuss methods of usability engineering, and outline the most important areas of application. © Springer Berlin - Heidelberg 2005.