| This report is based on usability research with 46 different Web-based applications in Flash that were tested with users in the United States, Germany, and Japan.
We tested the way people use real, current applications to achieve representative tasks. The report contains 117 design guidelines that will make Flash applications more aligned with human behavior and thus easier to use.
> See sample chapter as thumbnail pages
> Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox summarizing study findings
The guidelines are based on usability tests of 46 Flash applications ranging across the following categories:
- e-commerce
- configurators
- news and current events
- maps and location finders
- e-learning
- entertainment
- productivity applications
Most current Web-based applications are ephemeral applications that must be immediately understandable or users will fail. The usability requirements for applications on the Web are much stricter than they ever were for traditional software development.
We estimate that companies can double the return on their investment in Flash applications if they improve the quality of the user experience and overcome the usability problems we have identified.
Richly illustrated with 170 screenshots, showing designs that worked well for users as well as designs that caused them usability problems.
To supplement the screenshots in the written report, there is a separate 53-minute video showing dynamic examples and highlights from the user test sessions.
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