Differences between User-Centered and Company-Centered Perspectives in the Design of Ecommerce Web Sites

Abstract

Usability professionals have espoused the use of user-centered design since the field's inception. In the area of web site design, user-centered methods have been used to develop a site's information architecture, screen design, and other factors. However, there is a lack of quantitative data that specifies the expected benefits of using user-centered design methods. This study contrasts two site development processes, one which uses basic user-centered methods to develop the organization and labeling system of an ecommerce web site, and one which uses company-centered methods. The user-centered method used card sorts to organize the site's products and user-defined labels for each product category. The company-centered method used vendor and product categories to organize the contents and benchmarking for the labels. There are significant differences between the sites, with almost nothing in common. This paper will provide an analysis of these differences and present implications for site design.