|
We
can validate our Persona definitions by taking a look at the site
logs, the referral information and the pages being hit most often.
Reviewing
the Logs
In
order to do this review, we must consider Page Requests, rather
than hits. Hits tell us very little as one is generated for each
graphic. However, hits do give us information about the "bale
out rate" i.e. how many pages ceased requesting before all
graphics were downloaded. However, interesting as that is, it's
not relevant to our Content Analysis.
The
first thing we discover is that the number of pages viewed against
unique URLs is quite high. The best guess is that each visitor views
on average 5 pages per visit. So at least 80% of referrals should
be internal. As it turns out this is the case.
Next
we can look at those external referrals from other websites and
search engines. This is the remarkable statistic. Only 5% are from
external sources. The leader, by far, is google,
followed by AltaVista. This
tells us that other search engines aren't much good for this technically
specialist field. It also tells us that the Users are most likely
to know about technically superior products such as google.
Other
leading referrals come from foruse.com
and the Swing book
site of Manning Publications.
The
key conclusion to be drawn is that 75% of the readership are relatively
regular readers who have bookmarked the site or have memorized the
URL.
Of
the remaining 25%, 10% are coming in through Search engines and
perhaps discovering the site for the first time. The other 15% are
coming in from referrals, linked from other sites or through usenet
referrals.
The
other interesting data to come from the log is the page people first
view. The homepage is naturally the most popular but the White Papers
Index, the Book Review Index and the Links page all act as portals.
These four pages account for more than 80% of "entrance"
pages. In the parlance of David Siegel, uidesign.net has 4 "core"
pages. The homepage accounting for 50%, the links page 25% and the
other two splitting the rest.
So
now compare the site log analysis against our Personas to validate
them. We know that 10% of first visits are from Search engines and
that 10% of visitors hit a Content page and not a Core page. This
"type" of visitor fits the profile of Diane (from below).
We
know that around 20% of people hit the links page on first entry.
This fits the Gary profile.
We
know that many many readers are regular or periodical returners
who come straight in from a bookmark or typed URL, hitting the home
page. This fits the Graham profile.
We
also know that around 5% of visitors come in through usenet or from
other Usability, Interaction or HCI websites. This fits the Walter
profile.
So,
our Web Logs have told us that our Persona definitions are within
a reasonable band. They can't tell us for sure that the Personas
are accurate but they could have told us whether the Personas were
wrong. Simply, the usage profiles from the logs would not have matched
the implied usage profiles based on the Goals of the Personas.
Turning
Goals in to Content
Walter,
an HF/HCI post-grad student
Walter
has only worked in industry for one summer internship. He didn't
get any real work to do or it was only hacking C++ code for some
back end interface. He is currently doing his literature review
and has turned to usenet and deja.com for suggestions. He found
uidesign.net through a link from my tagline.
Walter
needs to find material that can be classified as "State of
the Art" and he needs to know if he's missing anything. He
finds the book reviews (or at least some of them) useful. He browses
the White Papers and cherry picks those with novel Interaction
material.
Walter
arrives on a Content page such as Book Review from a usenet link.
His goal is to determine whether there is any "State of the
Art" material on the site. Firstly, he will view the Content
on that page - is it relevant? If the answer is yes, he might stay.
Walter needs to be oriented quickly. He needs to know where he is
and what might be available which is "State of the Art".
He needs access to a list of Papers and a list of Book Reviews and
it would be helpful if those came with a brief summary His background
in HCI should be sufficient to help him. He will be looking for
references to certain authors or use of certain terms which he knows
to be "current".
If
he can't find it from a quick browse, he may prefer to Search for
it. He wants to be thorough and knows that he must check every article
for possible material. To be able to Search the Site using keywords
from his current research will be very useful.
Diane,
an Undergrad CS student with a term paper on HCI to submit by
Friday
Diane
is having a lousy year. Her boyfriend is cheating on her, her
allowance is almost done for this month, her roommates are real
messy and her pet cat got sick. She works evenings to supplement
her allowance and parties when she is not working. She doesn't
have time to do homework. Term papers have to be thrown together
over lunch, just before their due date.
Diane
hits uidesign.net from AltaVista search engine. She arrives
on a book review but really needs a White Paper to plagiarise.
She needs to see a list of available papers and get a quick grasp
of the content. She selects a paper, saves it to disk and starts
editing.
Diane
arrives on a Content page such as White Paper - maybe even a middle
page of a multi-part paper. She came in through a Search engine.
Her goal is to find something which looks slightly obscure, but
still cool. The paper she's on may not be it. She quickly examines
the Content. Is it relevant? Is it vaguely suitable? What else might
be available? Anything related? What other Papers are here?
Like
Walter, Diane needs to be oriented quickly. She needs access to
a list of Papers with a brief summary.
Gary,
Windows GUI Developer in a big Insurance Firm's IT Division
Gary
stands out from his immediate colleagues as a visionary. Someone
who cares a little bit more than simply when his paycheck will
arrive. Gary wants to do a better job. He knows his boss is related
to Dilbert's boss and the only way the department's output will
improve is if he makes it happen in his own time. He reads a few
web sites periodically and tries to improve his knowledge. He
doesn't have time to read books but he does own a few weighty
tombs on Windows APIs which he references when required. Currently,
Gary doesn't know much about UML but he is keen to learn that
too. It might just be his passport to a better position elsewhere.
Gary found uidesign.net from usenet. Gary bookmarked the
links page. He passes through occasionally looking for other sites.
Gary
needs to read stuff which makes his job easier. He wants advice
on menus, grouping fields, code construction, notification mechanisms,
advice on when to use a widget and what alternatives there might
be. He needs to know stuff about APIs and stuff about UML and
software development processes. He comes in by the links page,
occasionally he might stay but more often he just wants to choose
a link and surf off somewhere else.
Gary
comes by regularly. He needs to see "What's new!" in the
links page. He needs the "diff" from last time. This can
be facilitated by a "New" link tag and by the "Last
updated" date on the page. Hopefully, he remembers when he
last came by.
However,
Gary's Goal may not lie with an external link, there may be something
cool and helpful at uidesign.net since he last visited. The
old design didn't help Gary with this, so the new design should
help to orient him and should give him some idea of what's new or
recent at the site.
Graham,
Program Manager at esiteforyou.com
Graham
graduated in Art and Communication. His hobby interest in Graphic
Design and his Apple Mac experience, got him a job as a Graphic
Artist at esiteforyou.com while it was still a small startup called
Design Partners. The sudden explosion in eCommerce and the change
in the business name saw huge growth and VC investors. Graham
is now head of a whole eCommerce web team. He still knows a lot
about Graphic Design but is out of his depth in many other areas
of design and software development. He found uidesign.net
from a Search Engine and bookmarked it. He visits occasionally
as he does several other sites. His interest is in improved usability
and better design.
Graham
likes to see what's new. If something interests him then he may
choose to read it, otherwise he doesn't want his time wasted and
will move on to something else somewhere else.
Although
listed last, Graham is our most important Persona. Our logs have
shown that Graham represents the majority of visitors. The regular
(perhaps loyal) front page visitor.
Graham
comes regularly. We owe it to Graham to help him achieve his goals.
He needs to know "What's New" perhaps with some summary
or introduction to each of the new articles. We don't want to waste
his time. If the current material isn't relevant we want to tell
him upfront. So he goes away but he'll come back again.
We
don't want Graham to have to click links just to find out what's
beyond. The White Papers are long and heavy to download. We only
want Graham to click that link when he's sure it's right for him.
That
way he'll be happy to wait while all the graphics load. He knows
that what is coming is of interest and is worth a 30 or even 60
second wait.
|
