[EQAB-list] Web front suggestion

[Fred L Stephens]

I have a simple suggestion to improve our web presence. This involves 
a few repeated steps. This should be done apart from setting up a 
citizen feedback system for green issues.

1. Ask one responsible citizen to visit the city web site to answer 
any and all questions they imagine about EQAB. NO other instructions. 
It is best that one of us or Athanasia is silently watching as they 
do their chore. Note: Only five or ten minutes is needed in the 
beginning. It usually does not take long to see the usability problems.
2. That person reports back their experience. If we are watching we 
record the problems, carefully, fully, and with little judgement.
3. We make improvements.
4. Go back to #1 with the same person.
5. Then we go onto a second and different naive customer/user with #1.

After 3 or 4 people you will have an web interface that is vastly 
improved in usability and available information. Naive users are 
required for testing; EQAB members and IT staff are not qualified.

This is not rocket science. It is a technique that a growing number 
of software companies have begun to implement. For those so inclined 
as to be interested in the history, this goes back to such books as 
Programming As if People Mattered and a few other fun titles.

If we do the above, we will set a positive example for the rest of 
the city web site.

One final note. It is important to get a variety of PC and Macs into 
the testing to make sure technical problems related to different 
browsers are also uncovered. Yet, we should not be too concerned 
about making sure machines with Window 98 or really odd and old 
browsers work. We aim for the 95% of machines.

Fred L Stephens
email: freds7 at dancingcreek.com