A centre of expertise in digital information management UKOLN is supported by: Benchmarking Web sites Marieke Guy Interoperability Focus

A centre of expertise in digital information management

www.ukoln.ac.uk

UKOLN is supported by:

Benchmarking Web sites

Marieke Guy

Interoperability Focus

www.bath.ac.uk


www.ukoln.ac.uk

A brief Introduction….

• Part of the Interoperability Focus Team• Work in UKOLN • Based at the University of Bath• Funded by JISC and MLA • HE / FE and cultural heritage sector remit• Previous roles….


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Today’s Presentation

• Take a look at:– Common problems we have with our sites– Auditing and evaluating tools that can help– Quality assurance methodology

• Have a think about how you can:– Benchmark your Web site – Adopt this methodology in your organisation,

region, sector, …


www.ukoln.ac.uk

About Benchmarking

• Benchmarking is about:– Sharing – Learning from best practices– Learning from mistakes others have made

• Benchmarking is not about:– League tables– Prizes for the ‘best’

Note: Organisations have different priorities, levels of

resources, starting points and organisational politics.


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Your Web site…


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Does it Work?• It is useful to check key pages for accessibility,

validation and functionality • Web page validators include:

– NetMechanic– Dr Watson– DrHTML –

single pages only– …


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Is it Accessible?• The Bobby Java application can check the accessibility

of Web sites (now licensed software)• The WebXACT service can check the quality,

accessibility and privacy of individual Web pages (online Bobby) – WAVE is another

alternative to Bobby

http://webxact.watchfire.com/http://webxact.watchfire.com/


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• You can find out the size of your home page using various tools:

• NetMechanic• Bobby• …

http://www.netmechanic.com/http://www.netmechanic.com/

How Big is it?


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Are There Broken Links?• Monitoring the number of broken links on your

Web site is very important• Desktop and Web-based tools are available:

– Xenu – LinkAlarm – Linkguard– Nodeworks– NetMechanic– SiteValet– …

http://www.linkalarm.com/http://www.linkalarm.com/


www.ukoln.ac.uk

How Popular Is Your Site?• There are a number of services that will tell you

how many pages link to your Web site

– LinkPopularity

– WebSiteGarage

– Netscape’s What’s Related service is used through the Netscape browser

– Google info:URL search

http://www.linkpopularity.com/http://www.linkpopularity.com/


www.ukoln.ac.uk

What About Other Browsers?

http://www.anybrowser.com/http://www.anybrowser.com/

• Does your home page (and Web site) work in:– Netscape very popular in UK

HE)– Firefox– IE (most widely used browser)– Significant (all?) versions and

platforms of above– Lynx (text browser which may

be used by visually impaired)– AnyBrowser – DejaVu


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Addressing User Issues

• You should be aware that automated tools will not guarantee that a Web site is:– Useable, accessible or functional …

• There will still be a need for user testing• You should consider:

– Systematic usability and accessibility testing– Formal procedures – don’t ask your mate; don’t

tell them what they should do, …– It need not be expensive “5 people will spot 90%

of the problems”– See http://www.useit.com/alertbox/


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Conclusion

• Different tools give different results and results can be limited. The results should be analysed carefully - like statistics

• Independent testing services can be beneficial• Comparison is useful• However a league table is not enough, for this type

of evaluation. To have a point there should be follow up action


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Approaches to Fixing Errors

• So you’ve found errors on your Web site, what should you do?– Fix the errors straight away– Inform the page maintainer– Do nothing – too many other more important

things to do– Do nothing – the Web site has been "published"

and I don't rewrite history– Do nothing – it's not my problem, it's a problem

caused by the HTML authoring tool everyone uses– …


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A QA Approach

• Quality Control:– Fixing errors– Fire-fighting

• Quality Assurance (QA):– Documented policies– Systematic procedures for monitoring

compliance– Considering workflow processes– Fixing processes so errors won't reappear– Audit trails


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QA Focus

• QA Focus: –JISC-funded project to support JISC's digital

library programme–Supports QA development which help ensure

deliverables are usable & interoperable• QA Focus Deliverables:

–Surveys and case studies–Advisory documents and Policy documents–Descriptions of tools–Self-assessment toolkit


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Documentation: Advice

• Advisory briefing documents are:

– Brief, focussed documents

– Informed by findings of the surveys

• Advisory briefing documents are:

– Brief, focussed documents

– Informed by findings of the surveys

MG

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Documentation: Case Studies

• Case Studies are:– Written by projects

themselves– Describe the

solution for a particular problem

– Include details of lessons learnt

• Case Studies are:– Written by projects

themselves– Describe the

solution for a particular problem

– Include details of lessons learnt


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Self Assessment Toolkit• The toolkit consists of:

– Examples of QA procedures

– Documented examples of use of testing tools

– Self-assessment questionnaires

– Advice on standards and best practices

– Case studies– FAQs– …

MG


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Useful Approach To Tools• ,tools approach • Applies to all

resources on Web site

• Covers HTML and CSS validation and various other tests

• Some recursive apps (,rvalidate)

• Easily implemented with single line redirect

• ,tools approach • Applies to all

resources on Web site

• Covers HTML and CSS validation and various other tests

• Some recursive apps (,rvalidate)

• Easily implemented with single line redirect


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Policies

• Maybe useful to develop a policy for the accessibility of your Web site

Policy: Web StandardsStandard: XHTML 1.0 and CSS 2.0Architecture: Use of SSIs and text editorExceptions: Automatically-derived filesChecking: Use ,validate after updateAudit Trail: Use ,rvalidate monthly and document findings

Policy example


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Implementing Best Practices

• Some dangers:– Being lead astray by commercial Web

development companies – they try and sell you a solution based on their areas of expertise

– Being led astray by well-meaning (a) kids or (b) senior staff with misunderstand of best practices

– I have to use my organisation's CMS• Some solutions:

– You need an understanding of best practices– QA Focus briefing documents may help– …


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Where do you go from here?

• Could the resources we have looked at today be of use?

• Is the QA Focus methodology applicable to your Web site?

• What additional areas would you find it useful to look at?

• Do you have any ideas you would like to share?• Personal action plan?


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Personal Action Plan

• Useful to list the actions you intend to carry out when you return to work

• This can include:– Your own personal actions– Recommendations for your department– Recommendations for your organisation


www.ukoln.ac.uk

Comments and Questions

• Your comments and questions are welcome

Thanks!

http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/interop-focus/activities/events/RSCniWebmasters-2005/

Documents

A centre of expertise in digital information management UKOLN is supported by: Benchmarking Web sites Marieke Guy Interoperability Focus