<$BlogRSDUrl$> Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Marcus P. Zillman, M.S., A.M.H.A. Author/Speaker/Consultant
Internet Happenings, Events and Sources


Wednesday, September 01, 2004  

Personalization Can Improve Access, Boost Efficiency
http://www.therightplace.plus.com/jp/

Personalization of Web sites -- from the option to turn off animated introductory pages, to "Welcome, Dr. Smith!" greetings, to automatically suggesting research sources based on users' past activities -- can broaden accessibility to users of all abilities and technologies, according to a report commissioned by the U.K.'s Joint Information Systems Committee. Although personalization is no substitute for meeting users' needs through user-requirements analysis and user-centered design, it can reveal inadequacies in business processes and allow you to more precisely target services and learning materials. Among the report's findings is the observation that narrow applications of personalization are far more likely to succeed, particularly when a clear objective has been identified, a business case can be made and control has been or will be established over the relevant, accurate data. In addition, the report says that personalization of institutional information services can offer significant efficiency gains -- for staff, if they can quickly access institutional information pertinent to their roles, and for students, if they can access information for which they would otherwise have to ask in person or in writing.

posted by Marcus Zillman | 4:10 AM
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