Mon Oct 05 17:02:58 1998
Subject: Re: TOC & Usability



> The columnist moves on to portal sites -- and their emphasis on links
> - and states his feeling that they are  cluttered (my word). I think
> the difference is context -- that is, Argus site is not a portal --
> and its more detailed link info provides end users with a better shot
> at getting to content.


in the example the authors present (the Excite home page) there are a
lot of elements to consider beyond the text.   that page has a very
rich, layered structure, which dramatically reduces the complexity to
the user.

at the top level of content, an Excite page is a collection of
formatting blocks, not a monster link clearinghouse.   most of the
sections follow the same, very simple format:


    TOPIC HEADING
      o item number one
      o item number two
      o item number three



which fairly easy to grasp at the outset.   the only hidden feature is
that clicking on the topic heading takes you to a page with a larger
version of the same list.   

the good news is that the page repeats that behavioral model over and
over with no variation.   when the user sees that layout, they know
what to expect.   also, as soon as they've learned the secret of the
topic heading link (with some very inexpensive experimentation), they
can apply that information to all the other instances of the pattern
immediately.


the second major pattern is structurally similar to the first:


    CATEGORY ===================
    topic 1
    topic 2
    topic 3
    topic 4
    topic 5

('=' : colored cell background)


but is used for a larger-grained view of the content it presents.  
instead of each sub-item linking to a page of detailed information,
each one links to another index page.   the model requires less
coherence between the target index pages, because each one can supply
its own navigational features.

once the user has assimilated the behavioral model for the generic
feature block, all they have to do is find the one they want.  
highlighting the top line of each category block gives the user's eye
a target for high-speed scanning.   the indenting pattern of the topic
listings does the same.   

the topic list is a large, serrated block of text and the categories
are small, color-flagged areas.   categories remain static, and the
items under a topical listing rotate minute by minute.   therefore,
after only a slight amount of experience using the site, a user only
needs basic pattern recognition to target the rough location of the
information they want.   then they can skim a set of one or two
heading descriptors to identify the exact block they want.

at that point, the user only has to actually *read* a small subset of
the linked text available on the page.. well below the 5-7 item buffer
limit of human memory, in most cases.


with appropriate color coding and the addition of an icon-based
category identification system, you could probably put a thousand
links on a single page, and users would still be able to use it
comfortably.