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Big Blue guidelinesJanuary 15, 2002 If you’re creating guidelines for your content creators, imitate IBM. Yes, IBM. Why? Because they base their guidelines on the user. IBM points out that abstract principles are a bit too, well, ideal, to apply when you are actually creating content. Sure, we want to build on a user’s prior experience. But how? To tell us how, the Ease-of-Use team at IBM came up with their Web Design Guidelines—making specific recommendations for actions we can take to tailor content to our own users. Academics scoff at guidelines as “mere prescriptions,” arguing that no abstract principle applies in every situation. But, hey, even IBM admits that guidelines don’t apply in every circumstance. In fact, the team says:
Is this still the company we used to hiss back at Apple, when Steve Jobs would launch into his attacks on Bib Blue? I have to admit, the IBM Ease-of-Use team has gotten religion. Taking off from their own experience, and a lot of usability research, they have come up with crisp, practical recommendations. They walk through the entire process of creation, from planning through maintenance. I particularly liked the module on Structure. The team recommends creating topic cards, and asking users to group and sequence the ideas, then using those models as the basis for your site structure. But the best section deals with customer support.
Overall, the guidelines are right-on, if a bit light. They cover the whole development process logically, and sympathetically. |
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A- Evaluation: Bright student, works hard, needs to relax a little. Go to: IBM Ease of Use Web Design Guidelines at http://www-3.ibm.com/ibm/easy/eou_ext.nsf
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