iPAD – Multitouch Web (Part B)

 Source: Some blog

 Research

There is already a usability study of the IPad. from the Nielsen Norman group here. A summary of the study can be found here. As Neilsen admits the study is preliminary, but the resulting usability insights serve as a good foundation for the design of the myriads of applications that will follow the release of the device on the global market.

The study is very generic –  it tested several applications and web sites running on the iPad device. As every digital project requires a unique testing context that takes into account its unique range of parameters, more focused studies are necessary. Again existing research methods and techniques must be tailored accordingly to take into consideration the multi-touch style of interaction.

Take as an example, m-commerce, which according to many is the next “big” thing in the mobile world. In my opinion, multi-touch web pages if done correctly, hold a high potential to make our transactions easier than even our desktop computers. How would you design an m-commerce web site in order to achieve such a goal? The guidelines discussed in Part A of this post, are a good place to start in order to construct some initial prototypes. However, as these guidelines are far from best-practises, an iterative cycle of participatory design workshops for a few days is necessary in order to agree on a final prototype.

Gathering user insights after the web site is released, currently seems challenging. The usability studies I’ve read so far, use lab-based testing with one-to-one sessions. However testing with real-users in lab-conditions is always expensive. Cheaper techniques, like remote usability testing currently seem very hard to implement. Then, do existing tools for split or multivariate testing (e.g., Google Web site Optimizer) work on a multi-touch interface? These tools are optimized for a mouse-based environment, and I am not convinced that they can be used effectively on multi-touch. For instance, does Google Web Site optimizer registers multi-touch gestures, as well as clicks when it comes to measuring the success of a web site? Nevertheless, it will be very interesting to see how these techniques for research will be adapted, to serve the new environment in the years to come.