Ethiopian Design

Client-side scripting languages, such as JavaScript and Jscript, can be programmed to provide user interface elements that are not possible in traditional HTML. In general, client side scripting makes dynamic behavior possible without accessing the web server.
For instance, events such as mouse-overs (when the cursor is moved over an object) can be detected and used [...]

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In any large project, it just isn’t possible to hand-code each page individually. For any large web site project, it’s necessary to begin by creating, testing, and debugging templates.
Even after mockup pages or other prototypes have been user tested, it’s still necessary to build solid templates to make sure they can actually work for the [...]

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To improve project management of web site projects, it is useful to separate the technical components that go into a web site’s development. The categorizations made in this section are not necessarily distinct, but are made based on the roles you might assign to various programmers, the skills required, and the usability issues that might [...]

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With a plethora of web site development tools available, how do you choose ones that will support usability in the development process? Because of the rapidly changing landscape of development systems, no single tool will meet every organization’s needs. We can, however, list some of the more useful features to consider when evaluating tools for [...]

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Once the necessary pages and the system functions that will support them are specified (but not necessarily built), data and control flow can also be designed and specified.
There are several visual representations, which build on the 3-tiered architecture approach, that can assist developers in ensuring complete functional coverage and facilitate communications among the design team [...]

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A systematic divide-and-conquer approach can be applied to the software development portion of the web site production process by dividing the problem into discrete parts and addressing their respective development issues separately.
One paradigm for doing this is to decompose the system architecture into three tiers, or layers. This approach, referred to as a 3-tiered (or, [...]

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Software requirements should be driven by usability requirements and task analysis. Establishing requirements and specifications has a long history in software engineering and is a basic component of most standard engineering methods, such as the Waterfall (Royce 1970) and Spiral methods (Boehm 1988).
What those methods do not include are clear linkages from usability requirements. They [...]

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When building small web sales, coding and production details can usually be kept in the head of a single developer. Any development effort larger than a handful of pages, however, will benefit from some basic software engineering techniques.
This section focuses on simple, practical techniques that you can easily apply to web projects. For a more [...]

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Whether you are integrating conceptual ideas into your pages (e.g., color or typographical principles) or specific elements (e.g., icons, buttons, forms), the development and integration should follow the pervasive usability procedure.
This requires understanding the utility of specific elements in relation to user tasks and needs, a method for developing quick and easy drafts of the [...]

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Not everyone will want to experience your Flash site, regardless of how great and cool it is. Always provide an alternate and easy way for users to get to your content. If users don’t have the plug-in, make sure they see something meaningful.
Make Sure Users Have Control
Give users buttons to skip introductions, animations, and so [...]

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