WHO WOULD LIKE TO BE AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN DEFINING THIS GOAL.?

Develop a plan to remodel websites to improve usability

Develop a plan to remodel websites to improve coordination

Develop a plan to remodel websites to improve value

Berengaria, Laura  and Mary have asked to participate in this goal.

Can we begin by using the 3 websites Mary mentioned etxahec.org, fyiahec.org and iahec.org

and discuss improving their usability?

their coordination?

their value?

Could we begin by reading independently (website or library) opinions on these topics and asking co-workers or people who use the internet frequently for their opinions on these topics and scheduling a SMTGoal2 workgroup meeting between the 7 and 11 of February? 

drusso wrote   Seems as if we are trying to schedule a meeting on Monday, Jan 28th. Here are some things to think about - I'm not sure if I am on the right track or not - need to ask Mary Develop a plan to remodel websites to improve usability What is Usability? Usability addresses the relationship between tools and their users. In order for a tool to be effective, it must allow intended users to accomplish their tasks in the best way possible. The same principle applies to computers, websites, and other software. In order for these systems to work, their users must be able to employ them effectively. OR how well the functionality fits user needs, how well the flow through the application fits user tasks, and how well the response of the application fits user expectations OR Usability is the quality of a system that makes it easy to learn, easy to use, easy to remember, error tolerant, and subjectively pleasing. MW: These are good descriptions of usability.  How to evaluate Getting information from people who actually use the system. Why   On the Web, usability is a necessary condition for survival. If a website is difficult to use, people leave. If the homepage fails to clearly state what a company offers and what users can do on the site, people leave. If users get lost on a website, they leave. If a website's information is hard to read or doesn't answer users' key questions, they leave. Note a pattern here? There's no such thing as a user reading a website manual or otherwise spending much time trying to figure out an interface. There are plenty of other websites available; leaving is the first line of defense when users encounter a difficulty. The first law of e-commerce is that if users cannot find the product, they cannot buy it either. For intranets, usability is a matter of employee productivity. Time users waste being lost on your intranet or pondering difficult instructions is money you waste by paying them to be at work without getting work done. $$$$ Professional usability analysis range from $350 to over $2000 http://www.sitepoint.com/kits/usability1/   offers a notebook on cd : The Usability Kit contains a binder with nearly 400 pages of information on exactly how to make your sites usable. For $197 MW: If you are suggesting we purchase this Usability Kit, let's get it.  See possible step chart for usability - ATTACHMENT   Develop a plan to remodel websites to improve coordination Need better definition  - what are we trying to coordinate?             Website to website? MW: When we developed this goal I belive we were considering webste to website coordanation.  THa should prbably be the priority.  These other coordination elements will impact the site-to-stie stuff, so there is overlapping.            Staff/people to website?           task to website?           Task to staff/people     Develop a plan to remodel websites to improve value What is Value? Most website value is based on what $ your site generates in the form of saleable products and potential sales based on number of users and accessibility of your site through searches.   These are the sites we were to concentrate on East Texas AHEC   fyiAHEC – main public site; repository/library of resources with security for AHECes only resources; for statewide but ET managed   iAHEC – data collection and support for AHECers work