Attributes of Web Site Usability: A Study of Web Users with the Repertory Grid Technique

Lai Lai Tung, Yun Xu, and Felix B. Tan
International Journal of Electronic Commerce,
Volume 13, Number 4, Summer 2009, pp. 97.


Abstract: Research on Web site usability using the Microsoft Usability Guidelines (MUG) have (1) assumed the MUG categories and subcategories as a given and (2) focused on the relationships between these attributes and site usability, thereby largely ignoring their underlying meaning. Using the Repertory Grid Technique, the present research elicits the attributes that Web users consider important when using business-to-consumer (B2C) Web sites. The results support the MUG framework but identify three additional attributes that warrant being MUG subcategories: quality of Web site content, Web site appearance, and extent to which the site provides convenient services to facilitate on-line activities. An enhanced MUG is presented. The implications for research and practice are discussed.

Key Words and Phrases: B2C Web site, Microsoft Usability Guidelines, Repertory Grid Technique, Web site usability, Web users.