HCI VISTAS, VOLUME-I, 2005-2006
	Usability Survey Report of Indian State Government Web Portals   Dr. Dinesh S. Katre
About HCI VISTAS	INDEX	Article IRN-8./Mar. 2006	<< >>
This article presents a survey of eight randomly selected web portals setup by Indian state governments. Though my main objective is to evaluate the usability of web portals from the perspective of citizens living in a particular state, when I began the usability evaluation, I realized that most of these web portals are too far from the goal of usability. Therefore, I had to bring down the level of evaluation and restrict it to 'Technical Maturity' and 'Basic User Interface'. Technical Maturity refers to effective use of web tools. Basic User Interface refers to the use of common user interface elements and elementary design principles.   Legend for Table 1 / Part A & B : + = Positive - = Negative Positive - stands for good presence of that particular aspect stated in the parameter. Negative - stands for weak of lack of presence of that particular aspect stated in the parameter.     Table 1. Survey of Eight Indian State Government Web Portals Sr. Criteria Rajasthan Haryana Maharashtra Bihar Karnatak Gujarat Panjab West Bengal (Part A) Technical Maturity       1.  Best view size indication + + Not visible + - + + + + 2.    Sitemap, search, home, contact, feedback + - + Some places - -  + + + 3.    Global hyperlinks to broad topics + - + - + + - + 4.    Dropdown menus - - + - - Hierarchical structure +  - - 5.    Use of Animation + - - - - - - - 6.    Use of audio /music - - + - - - - - 7.  Use of video - - + - - - - - 8.    Breadcrumb trails / Navigation plan - - - -  - + -  -  9.    Use of tables / frames + - + +  + + + + 10.    Link to webmaster + - + - - + - -  Total compliance 6 1 8 1 3 7 3 4 (Part B) Basic User Interface Sr. Criteria Rajasthan Haryana Maharashtra Bihar Karnatak Gujarat Panjab West Bengal 1.    Masthead title image + + Not legible  + + +  Not legible + + + 2.    User wise leveling of information - - -  - - - - - 3.    Structuring of information + - + + + + -  + 4.    Conceptual chunking/grouping + - + - +  + - - 5.    Layout Design / Organization + - + +  Very ordinary +  Very ordinary + - -  6.    Logic for use of separate browser window - - + - - - - - 7.    Controlled and meaningful use of fonts + Controlled usage -  + + Controlled usage - + - - 8.   Semantic use of colors -  - +  Some places - -  +  -  - 9.    Legibility of text +  - + +  + + + + 10.    Link title reference on page +  - -  + + + + +  11.    Indication of selected link - - + + - - -  - 12.    Indication of active link - - - - - + - -  13.    Navigation within a link (next-prev.) - - -  -  - + - -  14.    Bookmark navigation within a page -  -  -  -  -  +