Technology

Web Application Assessment

Simmons Web Design has developed the following guidelines to use when developing or selecting a web application or "web app." A web app is an application that can be accessed via a web interface or can used via the Web using a web browser (think of something we've all used like Expedia - this is a flight search and reservation web application - or Kronos, TrackIt and MeetingMaker here at Simmons. These are all good examples of web apps).

As more and more services become available for use via web interfaces, it's important to consider a number of factors so that you choose or create the best possible application. Whatever the tool, if it has a web interface, consider the following when creating requirements or assessing a vendor's product:

  1. Web Standards
  2. Accessibility
  3. Usability
  4. General Standards
  5. Interface

I. Web Standards

Web standards are technologies, established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and other standards bodies, that are used to create and interpret web-based content. These technologies are designed to future-proof documents published on the Web and to ensure that they are accessible to the widest array of people and devices.

Required

  • Content, Presentation and Behavior are separated completely and are marked up appropriately using (X)HTML, CSS, and JavaScript respectively.
  • A specific document type and character encoding are defined correctly within each web document
  • (X)HTML, XML, XSL and CSS should be well-formed and validated
  • (X)HTML tables should only be used to present tabular data and not for layout purposes
  • (X)HTML attributes and indentifiers, such as "id's" and "classes," are used appropriately for isolated presentation capabilities

Desired

  • Separate media CSS should be provided (e.g., screen vs. print vs. mobile vs. alternative)
  • Markup should be written according to (X)HTML 1.0 Strict guidelines
  • CSS/presentational languages should be separated completely from the structural (X)HTML and XML with which they are associated

II. Accessibility

Accessibility is not only about supporting disabled visitors, even if that is one of the most important reasons for making a website accessible. An accessible website works better for everyone, disabled or not, because it can be accessed by more people with more kinds of web browsers and other browsing devices. Simmons is guided by both legal and ethical considerations in its promotion of online accessible best-practices, and is philosophically committed to the notion of "universal access."

Required

  • All interactive form elements are labeled and associated with their particular fields
  • Any behavioral JavaScript is unobtrusive such that users can perform basic interactions without JavaScript enabled
  • No core web application functionality depends on user-acceptance of cookies
  • Framesets are not used as they introduce serious issues, including the apparent breakage of the "back button" and bookmarks, problems printing, complexity in referencing links via email, and a reduction in the ability of search engines to properly index and reference such pages
  • All online non-textual media contains a text alternative (e.g., images contain an alternative text attribute, audio and video files contain a text transcript summarizing the media, etc.)
  • (X)HTML tables include semantic headers, scopes of rows and columns, and summary/caption attributes
  • Page and site navigation may be accomplished fully through keyboard access (tab indexes and access keys) and not only by means of pointer/mouse movement
  • Visual elements are identifiable by text, and not only by means of their shape, color, etc.

Desired

  • The main content on pages may be accessed and repetitive global navigation may be bypassed by means of a "Skip Navigation" link
  • Links should contain text that is meaningful when read out of context within the page (e.g., rather than "click here," use "view the Simmons online catalog" instead)
  • Tab indices should be employed to aid keyboard navigation. Care should be used to ensure that they follow the logical tab index of a given page (especially form fields)

III. Usability

Usability is the measure of the ease with which particular people can employ a particular tool or other human-made object in order to achieve a particular goal. Usability can also refer to the methods of measuring usability and the study of the principles that may predict whether an object is found usable in practice. Usability is often defined by such attributes as: learnability, efficiency, memorability, error-recovery, and user-satisfaction. Usability is assessed by means of experience and user testing.

Required:

  • Navigational elements are labeled meaningfully and consistently
  • Users may undo an action as easily as they have performed it
  • Pop-up windows and overlaying screens (through AJAX) are employed minimally and when used, messages (through title attributes) are used to alert users of this change
  • Downloadable files and files that require specific software to view (e.g., PDF, Word, etc.) are labeled as such and a link to the required software is provided to the user
  • URLs my not be written as a query string (e.g., http://example.com/products.asp?item=34627393474632&id=4344) but instead, should present URLs to users, at a minimum, with a directory structure (e.g., http://example.com/products/item/34627393474632/id/4344/)

Desired:

  • URLs should be written with a human-readable directory structure (e.g., http://example.com/products/flowers/tulips/) rather than an obtuse one (e.g., http://example.com/products/item/34627393474632/id/4344/)

IV. General Standards

The following are applicable web application requirements as defined by the Simmons Department of Web Design and by the Technology Governance Committee through policies enacted, and legal requirements enforced, by Simmons College.

Required

  • Web applications will integrate with current Simmons systems, applications, and data sources (e.g., LDAP authentication)
  • Web applications will employ industry-standard security measures and practices to ensure that the highest level of protection is afforded private information contained or used by these applications
  • Web applications will be fully functional and usable in all modern web browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer 6 & 7, Safari, Firefox, Opera), as defined by the Simmons Department of Web Design

Desired

  • The ability by technical Simmons staff to modify both the structural layer (e.g., (X)HTML, XML) as well as the presentation layer (e.g., CSS, XSL) of any given web application
  • Websites should degrade in a legible and usable manner in all older web browsers (e.g., Netscape Navigator 4 and below, Internet Explorer 5.5 and below). The Simmons Department of Web Design will define the College's required level of support for browsers based on Web Standards support and market trends.
  • Ideally, web applications will employ open source technology

V. Interface

Required

  • The user interface of any outsourced web application can be modified to reflect the Simmons look-and-feel ("brand") by modifying web standards-based XHTML and CSS documents (or similar, e.g. XML, XSLT).

Desired

  • The user experience is fully customizable, so that Simmons Web Design may modify the web application to enhance usability, findability, etc. This would be possible if the method and sequence of user interactions presented by the web application could be changed, deleted, added to, etc. This is in contrast to changing the apperance of screens that are otherwise hard-coded into the web application.