The number of children online is growing by leaps and bounds. A recent study (Pasture, 1999) indicates the number of Internet users under the age of 16 surpassing 77 million by the year 2005. New web sites are being developed to provide this young audience with news, entertainment, shopping, etc.

Can we improve the usability of products with the usage of usability standards? Whitney, President of UPA US, wrote this article specially for UPA China to share her knowledge about the meaning and effects of usability standards in a UCD process.

When designing for users who belong to different cultures, the most critical task is to find the gaps between the cultural ideals and cultural practices. Using techniques from a largely Western, 'developed' or 'leading' market cultural context and trying to apply them to a completely different 'emerging' market cultural context can often lead to very misleading insights

Organizations increasingly view usability and user-centered design to be a key ingredient in creating high quality products. Designing for ease of use is a well-accepted goal, even if many organizations have far to go to create user-centered products. Even with the present downturn in the economy, more companies, from new media to established banks, have larger usability and design teams than ever before. Should we be content that we have come so far?

Usability is about understanding your users, and designing and testing with and for those users. However, there are other competing needs that need to be considered to ensure product success. In architectural and technical drawings, different layers or transparencies are often overlaid to assemble the complete design solution. A similar "design transparency" approach can ensure that product teams are working towards a common goal, gaining a balanced view, and increasing the chance of success.

Survey plays a big role in user reseach and user testing. As a Usability Engineer or Designer, you have to know the methodology of survey. This article uses a sample questionnaire to tell you several important principles in questionnaire deisgn.