Web usability - Eye Tracking Update

Eye Tracking and F Patterns: Recurring Theme in Web Usability

July 27, 2010 by dbrendant at 3:38 pm

Again, the F pattern. It’s a frequently recurring topic worth noting, as it really seems to be the strongest and most consistent trend we see coming out of the various web usability studies throughout the industry.When designing a site, a paper, or a page, it’s important to know how a person reads, where they look, and what they can expect to find. If you want to catch a visitor’s eye, there are certain rules to follow which remain consistent.Through eye tracking and the resulting heatmaps … [Read more...]

Framework for Eye Tracking Patterns and Usability Problems: Pt 4

July 19, 2010 by dbrendant at 3:25 pm

This week at Eye Tracking Update we’ve been discussing the lack of a concrete, rigorous framework by which eye tracking usability metrics can be interpreted. Typically, interpretations are done by usability experts or in some of the more D.I.Y studies, whomever is doing the testing. We’ve centered much of our discussion around an academic paper published by two researchers, Ehmke and Wilson, from City University, London. In it, they suggest that there needs to be a more standardized model … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research, Eyetracking Web Usability Tagged With: eye tracker, Eye Tracking, eye tracking methodology, Eye Tracking Research, eye tracking studies, eye tracking study, eye tracking usability, gaze tracking, pupil tracking, usability, usability issues, usability metrics, usability problems, usability studies, usability testing, vision tracking, visual tracking, Web usability

Framework for Eye Tracking Patterns and Usability Problems: Pt 3

July 16, 2010 by dbrendant at 4:02 pm

Ehmke and Wilson, the two researchers who published the report in association with City University in London, raise the point that there still remains a need “for studies that relate eye-tracking patterns to specific usability problems (by indicating cognitive processes).” In the past, eye tracking metrics have been compared to general interface usability, assessed by usability experts or calculated from performance completion times for certain tasks. But, as they say, expert reviews and performance … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research, Eyetracking Web Usability Tagged With: cognitive process, cognitive processes, Eye Tracking, eye tracking studies, eye tracking study, eye tracking usability, eye tracking web usability, Eyetracking Web Usability, fixation, gaze, gaze tracking, interface usability, pupil tracking, research, usability, usability evaluation techniques, usability problems, usability studies, usability testing, vision tracking, visual tracking, Web design, Web usability, Web Usability Problems

Eye Tracking: Try These Free Web Usability Tools

June 30, 2010 by dbrendant at 3:48 pm

It’s no question that when it comes to free products, you get what you pay for. It’s pretty standard these days for companies to offer free versions of software, light versions to get us started on a product so that we’ll return and upgrade to the full version. It’s like getting a free sample in a mall – you never know when you might try your favorite thing, something that will keep you coming back.Some companies offer free limited or skeleton versions that can be upgraded to the full … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eye Tracking, Eyetracking Web Usability Tagged With: eye tracker, eye trackers, Eye Tracking, usability, usability study, usability test, usability testing, Web design, Web usability, web usability testing, Web Usability Tools

Mastering Eye Tracking Web Usability Metrics

June 25, 2010 by dbrendant at 9:00 am

No doubt that by now you’ve read much of the debate about eye tracking for usability studies, whether it’s effective, whether it’s affordable, whether or not it actually works. Some say that eye fixations don’t necessarily translate to attention or even understanding of a website’s layout. Then of course, there are supporters of eye tracking, some saying it’s entirely useful and others that argue for it’s use as a more supplementary tool, to be used in collaboration with other, more … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research, Eyetracking Web Usability, Iris Recognition Tagged With: Cognitive science, eye fixations, Eye Tracking, eye tracking studies, eye tracking web, eye tracking web usability, eyetrack, eyetracking, fixation, fixation duration, Human-Computer Interaction, traditional usability, usability, usability studies, Web design, Web Design and Development, Web usability, Web Usability Metrics

Eye Tracking Web Usability Study Reveals the “Golden Triangle”

June 14, 2010 by dbrendant at 5:29 pm

We’ve written a few articles on website usability and how, in particular, people search the web, scanning their eyes across the screen to seek out the results relevant to their search. Many studies using eye tracking heatmaps have shown that web users tend to scan in an “F” pattern – that is, focusing mainly on the upper left side of the screen and scanning across horizontally and then down the left hand side to check what’s on the page. This makes sense. Think about when you do a search … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research, Eyetracking Web Usability Tagged With: Eye Tracking, eye tracking heatmap, eye tracking study, eye tracking usability, eye tracking web, eye tracking web usability, golden triangle, usability, usability study, Web usability, web usability research, web usability study

Eye Tracking Questions Usefulness of Real Time Search Results

June 10, 2010 by dbrendant at 6:57 pm

A few eye tracking studies have shown that users tend to ignore “real time” results in searches. There is quite a lot of eye tracking research that goes into the usability and effectiveness of one of the most popular websites, Google. But if new research is showing ineffective trends for real time results, it can’t be good news for Twitter, who recently made deals with both Google and Bing to allow them to index its content and display it within the search results.Over a decade ago, a group … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research, Eyetracking Web Usability Tagged With: banner blindness, Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research, eye tracking studies, eye tracking study, eye tracking web, eye tracking web usability, eyetrack, eyetracking, Eyetracking Web Usability, google, searching the web, usability, Web design, Web usability, web usability research, web usability studies, web usability study

Eye Tracking Research on Banner Ad Blindness

June 9, 2010 by dbrendant at 5:22 pm

Humans adapt in mysterious ways. Sometimes they adapt in more obvious ones though. When you’re browsing through webpages, you’re continuously bombarded with advertisements, flashing colors, expanding boxes, and catchy text. But in all honesty, if I surf the web for 15 minutes, I won't recall any particulars about the ads I’ve seen, let alone notice that I’ve seen any in the first place. This can be attributed to what was once called “banner blindness,” an aversion that people have to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Eye Tracking, Eyetracking Web Usability Tagged With: advertising companies, banner ads, banner blindness, Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research, eye tracking studies, eye tracking study, eye tracking web, Eyetracking Web Usability, fixation, fixations, gaze tracking, pupil tracking, Web banner, Web usability

Eye Tracking on the Cheap: Making MacGyver Proud

June 2, 2010 by dbrendant at 3:44 pm

One of the more fun aspects of writing for Eye Tracking Update is when a new, do-it-yourself eye tracking device shows up online. With so many formal reports (these are also great, of course!) involving medical diagnostics and web usability studies, it’s refreshing and enjoyable to see when tinkerers start innovating on their own, on the cheap, and for no other reason than to have fun doing it.A post that falls under all of these categories was brought to our attention, and it features a video … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Biometric Devices, Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking Research Tagged With: Collision detection, eye gaze tracking, eye tracker, Eye Tracking, eye tracking device, Eye Tracking Research, eye tracking study, eye tracking web, eyetrack, eyetracker, eyetracking, Eyetracking Web Usability, game designers, gaze tracking, gravity simulation, physics simulation library, pupil tracking, tracking eyes, tracking the eye, usability studies, Video game, vision tracking, visual tracking, Web usability, web usability studies

Eye Tracking Technology as Memory Aid

May 6, 2010 by dbrendant at 5:00 pm

In a recent post we noted a meeting that took place in the French Alps ski resort of Megeve. The inaugural Augmented Human International Conference took place over two days, with a gang of engineers and scientists meeting to discuss and share research and innovations on a flurry of new technology.Unfortunately, Eye Tracking Update wasn’t able to make it over to see the conference, but we’ve been finding plenty of articles on the goings on, and it sounds like an interesting success. And as … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Biometric Devices, Eye Tracking, Eye Tracking System Tagged With: eye gaze tracking, eye tracker, Eye Tracking, eye tracking device, Eye Tracking Research, eye tracking study, Eye Tracking System, eye tracking technology, eyetrack, eyetracker, eyetracking, field of vision, gaze tracking, pupil tracking, tracking eyes, tracking technology, tracking the eye, usability studies, vision tracking, visual tracking, Web usability, web usability studies

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