ABSTRACT
However, realizing these advantages of the intranet does not come easily. Logic dictates that the first step in increasing effectiveness and improving communications is to create Web pages that will do the job — but yet the evidence seems to be to the contrary. Many Web pages share a lot of characteristics of earlier interfaces and the content of immature mainframe and client/server systems, thereby defeating effective communications and productivity. Here are a few examples:
• A feeling of “Oh my gosh, where am I going?” after selecting an icon • Cluttered screens, especially with graphics • Cryptic messages • Excessive navigation and hypertext links • Large blocks of text • Long processing speeds • Poor grammar and spelling • Too many frames • Too many and too large icons and graphics • Too much audio or animation • Unsparing use of color
There is more. Many organizations release sites that are incomplete (e.g., the construction worker shoveling is a popular indicator of an incomplete site). Others release untested or poorly tested sites, exemplified by
visitors finding themselves lost in a tangled web of links. Still others release sites with errors either in the content or with the links.
