Current Issue

Welcome to the autumn edition of USEworthy. Accessibility issues have come to the forefront of the news agenda again due to the new Statutory Code of Practice regarding access to services, including the Internet that came into force last month. From 1 October 2004, under the revised Disability Discrimination Act 1995, small businesses will be required to make "reasonable adjustments" to their web sites and Intranets to ensure equal access for disabled people. The revision in the law marks the first time that small businesses, with less than 15 employees, will fall under the scope of the Act.
 

The article Website Accessibility; Something in the Air, taken from Advice For Growth magazine, which includes comments and an accessibility tips section from Catriona Campbell, Chairman of The Usability Company, provides an excellent summary of the issues surrounding the accessibility laws in the UK and US. Representatives from key organisations that contribute to the development of accessibility laws and guidelines such as the Disability Rights Commission and RNIB also share their opinions on the state and future of the laws and their application to businesses in the UK and abroad.

Patrick Chamberlain, senior Information Architect gives us a quick and dirty assessment of the World Tennis Association Tour website which was included in the September issue of Sport Business Magazine.

For some news of a much lighter nature we present an article which appeared in a variety of online journals including Zdnet, VNUnet, What PC, Computeractive and Computing on a recent survey alleging that Men Claim the Online Search Crown. Catriona Campbell offers some scientific research to support the claim.

We also update you on company news, which include news of a new recruit to The Usability Company, our achievements in the last quarter, a round up of the events that we have organised and been involved with and future events.

New Accessibility Specialist joins The Usability Company from RNIB

The Usability Company would like to extend a warm welcome to Lis Angle, who joins us this month as our new Accessibility Specialist. Lis comes to us from RNIB where she was an accessibility consultant for RNIB’s See It Right accessibility accreditation.

The Usability Company collaborates with the IAB to produce the first Internet advertising accessibility guidelines.

This month, November 2004, The Usability Company produced the first online advertising accessibility tips for the IAB. These guidelines, a set of top ten tips for producing accessible ads, fit in with W3C and RNIB standards that state that web content must be accessible and are designed to help IAB members adhere to the accessibility laws passed through the DDA Act.

Catriona Campbell, Chairman of The Usability Company, is named one of top 100 UK Internet individuals.

Catriona Campbell is one of 100 individuals to be recognised for her contribution to the development of the Internet over the last 10 years, by online marketing group E-Consultancy. The award, which took place in October, celebrated the first decade of the Internet, and recognised individuals for their input and influence on the growth of e-commerce and the Internet. It coincided with the 10th anniversary of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which was created in 1994 to promote the evolution and interoperability of the Internet, and the NOP World Internet User Profile Survey.

Knexus Community invites Marty Carroll, Director of Usability Practice, to address its members on Usability.

Knexus Community invited Marty Carroll to provide insights using real-life corporate case studies to demonstrate how companies have obtained a significant improvement in business and web traffic as the result of usability. This usability collaborative session is part of Knexus Community’s session calendar. The community addresses approximately 18 different strategic business issues each year. Subjects are chosen according to member demand and cover major customer, enterprise and partner related e-issues. As stated in Usability News, the online journal for usability professionals, “it is heartening that such a group has chosen usability as one of its key issues this year”.

IDM, Institute of Direct Marketing appoints Catriona Campbell as guest lecturer for usability class

IDM invited Catriona Campbell to give a lecture on usability at the Getting and Keeping Customers Online course, 10-11 November 2004.

Maximising Customer Profitability in a Fully Integrated Multi-Channel Financial Services Platform by Net. Finance, December 6-7

The Usability Company will tend a stand at this event for senior managers from the Online Retail Financial Services sector. There will be speakers from key financial institutions including some of The Usability Company's client companies sharing their experiences and issues encountered while pursuing the goal of optimising digital platforms in this sector. CRM, Customer Centred Product Development, ROI measurement and, of course, usability are all key themes. The event includes speakers from Barclays, Capital One, Credit Suisse, Sainsbury's Bank, Cahoot, BNP Paribas, Wachovia, More Than, Mastercard and Nordea.

If you would like to register for the event, please email for further information.

Please go to www.theusabilitycompany.co.uk/news/conferences/index.html for a comprehensive list of events that we have organised and been involved with.

Aware that a muddled website costs money, Jeff Benzos looks to history for an answer.

Women too easily distracted by their artistic brains, claims survey
Robert Jaques, vnunet.com 15 Sep 2004.

First impressions are a little mixed. Although this is clearly a tennis website, the design aesthetics are more akin to a video gaming website.