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Digital Bloodhounds:
Web Users Follow the 'Information Scent'
by Gary Anthes,
Computerworld, June 17, 2002
From the article:
"Palo Alto Research Center Inc. (Parc),
formerly Xerox Parc, is conducting research that
it claims can help Web designers and content providers
avoid much of the expensive and time-consuming
trial-and-error process that marks many e-commerce
projects. Using equations borrowed from biological
models, Parc is studying "information scent"
(download
PDF).
"...Based on these concepts, Parc has developed
two tools. One of them analyzes what users are
currently doing on a Web site, revealing their
goals and how well they're being met. The other
simulates user activity and can be used to predict
the usability of alternate designs. 'We envision
that a company would use the analyzer first to
see what users are currently doing, and once they
discover that, use the simulator to help them
understand whether the site is actually satisfying
user demands,' Chi says."
PARC
is currently seeking consulting firms or web analysis
companies interested in leveraging our InfoScent
Analyzer and Simulator within their own businesses.
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