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Newsletters: News You Can Use

Newsletters written by experts in the field that provide research findings, advice, and observations on Web and user interface design.

About This List/Sources/Disclaimer

General Usability Information

  • Making Your Site More Usable (Office.com)
    http://www.office.com/global/0,2724,3-22822,FF.html
    		•  3/2001
  • Security & Human Factors (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001126.html

    • 11/2000

     
  • The Mud-Throwing Theory of Usability (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000402.html

    • 4/2000

     
  • How Usability-focused Companies Think (UIE)
    http://www.world.std.com/~uieweb/focused.htm

    • 1999

  • The Web Usage Paradox: Why Do People Use
    Something This Bad?     (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980809.html

    • 8/1998

     
  • Proper UI Design, Efficient Design (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/august98.asp

    • 4/1998

     
  • Changes in Web Usability Since 1994 (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9712a.html

    • 12/1997

     
  • Tech-Support Tales: Internet Hard to Use for Novice Users (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9704a.html

    • 4/1997

     
  • International Web Usability (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9608.html
    		• 8/1996
    Top of Page

    Collecting User Data

    • User Characteristics

  • Five Paper Prototyping Tips (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/paperproto.htm

    • 4/2000

  • Harnessing the Power of Myth (UIE)
    http://www.world.std.com/~uieweb/myth.htm

    • 1999

  • Handedness and Other Preferences (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/june99.asp

    • 1999

  • Age Considerations (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/oct98.asp

    • 10/1998

    • Web Metrics

  • Usability Metrics (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/2001012    1.html

    • 1/2001

  • Tracking the Growth of a Site (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980222.html

    • 2/1998

  • Do Websites Have Increasing Returns (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9704b.html

    • 4/1997

    • User Feedback

  • Five Paper Prototyping Tips (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/paperproto.htm

    • 12/2000

  • Collecting Feedback From Users of an Archive (Reader Challenge) (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990110.html

    • 1/1999

    Top of Pages

    Usability Testing

  • Five Paper Prototyping Tips (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/paperproto.htm

    • 12/2000

      
  • Usability Labs: Our Take (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/labs.htm

    • 11/2000

      
  • Observing What Didn't Happen (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/observing.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Eight Is More than Enough (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/eight.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Scheduling Hard-to-Find Users (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/schedule.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Six Slick Tests for Docs and Help (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/sixslick.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Usability Testing, Usability Software (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/nov98.asp

    • 11/1998

      
  • What Is Eye Tracking Good For? (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/eyetrack2.htm

    • 10/1998

      
  • Testing Web Sites with Eye-Tracking? (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/eyetrack1.htm

    • 10/1998

      
  • Testing Whether Web Page Templates are Helpful (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/altertbox/980517.html

    • 10/1998

      
  • Cost of User Testing a Website (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980503.html

    • 5/1998

    Top of Page

    Web/User Interface Design

    • Content Design

  • Drop-Down Menus: Use Sparingly (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001112.html

    • 11/2000

      
  • Making Online Information Usable (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/%7Euieweb/online.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Docs in the Real World (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/realdocs.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Prioritize: Good Content Bubbles to the Top (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991017.html

    • 10/1999

      
  • Web Pages Must Live Forever (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981129.html

    • 11/1998

      
  • Impact of Data Quality on the Web User Experience (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980712.html
    		•

    7/1998

      
  • Content Integration (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990627.html

    • 6/1999

    • Site Design

  • Surprises on the Web: Results from Usability Testing (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/%7Euieweb/surprise.htm
    		• 1999 
      
  • Making Tips Work (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/%7Euieweb/tips.htm
    		•  1999  
      
  • Bridging Conceptual Gaps (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/gaps.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Seductive Design for Web Sites (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/seductiv.htm
    		•

    1999

      
  • When Bad Design Elements Become the Standard (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991114.html

    • 11/1999

      
  • Do Interface Standards Stifle Design Creativity? (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990822.html

    • 8/1999

      
  • Breadth vs. Depth (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/mar99.asp

    • 3/1999

      
  • Differences Between Print Design and Web Design (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html

    • 1/1999

      
  • 2D is Better Than 3D (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981115.html

    • 11/1998
      
  • Why Yahoo is Good (But May Get Worse) (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981101.html

    • 11/1998

      
  • Personalization is Over-Rated (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981004.html

    • 10/1998

      
  • Better Than Reality: A Fundamental Internet Principle (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980308.html

    • 3/1998

      
  • Should You Outsource Web Design? (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980628.html

    • 6/1998

      
  • The Increasing Conservatism of Web Users (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980322.html

    • 3/1998

      
  • The Difference Between Web Design and GUI Design (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9705a.html

    • 5/1997

      
  • Who Should You Hire to Design Your Web Site? (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9510.html

    • 10/1995

    • Designing Prototypes

  • Paper Prototypes: Still Our Favorite (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/prototyp.htm

    • 1999

  • Using Paper Prototypes to Manage Risk (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/paper.htm

    • 1996

  • Prototyping (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/dec98.asp

    • 12/1998

    • Heuristics (General Rules for Web Design)

  • Heuristic Evaluations (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/may99.asp

    • 5/1999

    • Display

  • Screen Fonts, Speed Reading (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/feb99.asp

    • 2/1999

  • Displaying Information, The Best Way to Learn (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/july98.asp

    • 7/1998

    • Design Mistakes

  • The Top Ten New Mistakes of Web Design (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990530.html

    • 5/1999

  • Who Commits The "Top Ten Mistakes" of Web Design? (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990516.html

    • 5/1999

  • "Top Ten Mistakes" Revisited Three Years Later (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990502.html

    • 5/1999

  • Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html

    • 5/1996

    • Links

  • Link Affordance (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/oct00.asp

    • 10/2000

      
  • Fighting Linkrot (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980614.html

    • 6/1998

      
  • Using Link Titles to Help Users Predict Where They Are Going (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980111.html

    • 1/1998

    • Forms Design

  • Reset and Cancel Buttons (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000416.html

    • 4/2000

    • Wizards

  • When to Develop a Wizard (UIE)
    world.std.com/~uieweb/wiz_art.htm

    • 1999

    • On-Site Searching

  • Why On-Site Searching Stinks (UIE)
    world.std.com/~uieweb/searchar.htm

    • 1999

  • Search and You May Find (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9707b.html

    • 7/1997

    • Scrolling

  • As the Page Scrolls (UIE)
    world.std.com/~uieweb/scrollin.htm

    • 1999

  • Paging vs. Scrolling (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/apr99.asp

    • 4/1999

    • Tabbing

  • Tabbed Dialogs: Semantic Minefields (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/tabbed.htm

    • 1999

    Top of Pages

    Writing for the Web/Web Publishing

  • Reading Speed and Comprehension - Then and Now (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/jan99.asp
    		•  1/1999 
      
  • Electronic Books - A Bad Idea (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980726.html
    		• 7/1998  
      
  • Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980906.html

    • 9/1998

      
  • How Users Read on the Web (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

    • 10/1997

      
     
  • Effective Use of Style Sheets (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9707a.html
    		• 7/1997 
      
     
  • Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web) (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
    		• 3/1997 
      
     
  • Slate Magazine - An Early Review (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9607.html
    		• 7/1996 
      
  • Inverted Pyramids in Cyberspace (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9606.html
    		• 6/1996
      
     
  • Directions for Online Publishing (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9508.html
    		• 8/1995  

    Top of Page

    Accessibility

  • Imagine: You Complete Your Site and Then Discover.... You Forgot Accessibility (HFI)
    http://www.everyone.net/main/html/wmnl_2_8c1.html
    		• 2/2001
      
  • Disabled Accessibility: The Pragmatic Approach (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990613.html
    		• 6/1999  

    Top of Page

    Web Marketing/Branding

    • Marketing

  • Profit Maximization vs. User Loyalty (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000305.html

    • 3/2000

  • Branding and Usability (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/branding.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Reputation Managers are Happening (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990905.html

    • 9/1999

      
  • URL as UI (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990321.html

    • 3/1999

      
  • Trust or Bust: Communicating Trustworthiness in Web Design (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990307.html

    • 3/1999

      
  • Loyalty on the Web (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9708a.html

    • 8/1997

    • Web Management Mistakes

  • Top Ten Mistakes of Web Management (Nielsen)
    http://www/useit.com/alertbox/9706b.html
    		•

    6/1997

    Top of Page

    Research

  • Stanford Persuasive Technology Update
    http://captology.stanford.edu/Newsletter/newsletter.html
    		•  10/2002
  • Details in Study Methodology Can Give Misleading Results (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990221.htm    l

    • 2/1999

  • Website Identity -- The Logo Tells Where You Are  (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/aug99.asp
    		• 8/1999
     
  • What Is Eye Tracking Good For? (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/eyetrack2.htm
    		• 10/1998
      
  • Testing Web Sites with Eye-Tracking (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/eyetrack1.htm

    • 10/1998

    • Bibliographies

  • User Interface Design Bibliography (UIE)
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/biblio.htm

    • 1999

    Top of Page

    Web Growth/Trends

  • User-Supportive Internet Architecture (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990919.html

    • 9/1999

      
  • Metcalfe�s Law in Reverse (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990725.html

    • 7/1999

      
  • Trends for the Web in 1997 (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9701.html

    • 1/1997

      
  • The Need for Speed (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703a.html

    • 3/1997

      
  • How Much Bandwidth is Enough? A Tbps! (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9511.html

    • 11/1995

      
  • Generations of Online Services (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/servicegenerations.html

    • 8/1995

    Top of Page

    Intranets

  • Intranet Portals: The Corporate Information Infrastructure (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990404.html

    • 4/1999

      
  • The Difference Between Intranet and Internet Design (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9709b.html

    • 9/1997

    Top of Page

    New Media

  • Video and Streaming Media (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990808.html

    • 8/1999

      
  • The End of Legacy Media (Newspapers, Magazines, Books, TV Networks) (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980823.html

    • 8/1998

      
  • TV Meets the Web (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9702b.html

    • 2/1997

      
  • WebTV Usability Review (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9702a.html

    • 2/1997

      
  • Guidelines for Multimedia on the Web (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9512.html

    • 12/1995

    Top of Page

    Browser & Web Applications

  • Graceful Degradation of Scalable Internet Services (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991031.html

    • 10/1999

    Top of Page

    Wireless Technology

  • What Does the Near Future Promise for Usability? (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/dec00.asp

    • 12/2000

  • WAP Field Study Findings (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001210    .html
    		• 12/2000

    Top of Page

    E-Commerce

  • Market Maturity (UIE)
    world.std.com/~uieweb/market.htm

    • 1999

      
  • Affiliates Programs (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990711_affiliates.html

    • 7/1999

      
  • e-Commerce and Screen Design, e-Commerce Pricing (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/jul99.asp

    • 7/1999

      
  • Why People Shop on the Web (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990207.html

    • 2/1999

      
  • Give Me Your Billions: Internet Stock Valuation and
    Future User Characteristics     (Nielsen) http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990117.html

    • 1/1999

      
  • Is e-Commerce Thwarted by Usability Issues? (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/sept98.asp
    		•  9/1998
  • Experience Counts - But Novices Shop Less Than Expected (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/sept98.asp
    		•  9/1998
  • Strong and Strong Demand for e-Commerce (HFI)
    http://www.humanfactors.com/library/sept98.asp

    • 9/1998

      
  • The Case for Micropayments (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/980125.html

    • 1/1998

      
  • Why Advertising Doesn't Work on the Web (Nielsen)
    http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9709a.html

    • 9/1997

    Top of Page

    About This List/Sources/Disclaimer

    This list is a service to people with an interest in Web design and usability.
    Criteria for inclusion include subject matter, timeliness, and regularity of publication.

    Sources:

    Jakob Nielsen
    http://http://www.useit.com/alertbox/

    UIE-User Interface Engineering, Jared Spool
    http://world.std.com/~uieweb/

    HFI, Human Factors International
    http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/default.asp

    Disclaimer:

    The opinions reflected in the publications on this list do not represent those of the National Cancer Institute. Inclusion on this list does not represent an endorsement by the National Cancer Institute, nor does it imply that the National Cancer Institute recommends or supports the publications or the companies who publish the newsletters.

    Questions? Comments?

    Send to: ncictbstaff-r@mail.nih.gov U-Group is a usability announcement listserv managed by the Communication Technologies Branch, Office of Communications, NCI.

    Top of Page

    What's New area includes New usability Lessons Learned, More Tech companies see the value and profitability of usability, New W3C guidelines.

    • Moving Forms to the Web - Thursday-Friday, October 14-15, 2004

    • Goal Oriented Planning and Testing October 21, 2004

    • New Research-Based Guidelines Sorting Tool: Sort Guidelines by Importance, Strength of Evidence, and Other Options

    • What's New Archive
       
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