InfoCentre

Every project is unique - and in the same way, each addresses a unique set of users, with their own needs, requirements and methods of working. The only method of ensuring that development addresses these individual and distinct issues is by undertaking a user-centred design process.

Consistency is important because it helps users familiarise themselves with an application or site as quickly as possible. That means reduced training costs (both formal and informal), and, in the case of the online environment, a much greater probability of retaining customers and visitors.

WAP's greatest crime seems to be that it is not the Web in miniature. Those expecting a small screen version of the web browsers they are used to are bound to be disappointed. From a usability perspective, that means WAP applications must be as efficient as possible, and must start from the ground up, with a detailed understanding of real user needs emerging from careful requirement gathering programmes.

Visit a company website and you'll often be presented with an obscure term which is at first glance apparently meaningless. Chances are it's a product name, or possibly a partner program. To those in the company, such terms become so familiar that the idea that users will not understand them is forgotten.

In order to build and design forms that work with rather than against the user, it is worth following some simple guidelines in order to improve usability levels of this key interaction.