Most simply follow the call of the wild. The same theories that describe how animals behave while sniffing for prey also can predict how people ferret out information in the jungle of cyberspace, researchers say. Foraging theories, developed by ecologists decades ago, are now being applied to Internet usage in an attempt to understand how Web sites can be made more intuitive and less like a maze. Ultimately, researchers hope to develop a program that automatically determines a site's usability, said Ed Chi, a computer scientist at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center. The key, he said, is understanding Web surfers' basic instincts, so searching for information becomes more intuitive.
Usability is more important than ever, as both Internet usage and the number of sites soar.
Many people have always found it easier for some reason to buy groceries, books and dog food at actual stores. To find out why, computer scientists and psychologists are working together on the project at PARC, where such technologies as the computer mouse, laser printers and Ethernet networking first saw light. At the very least, the team is providing a scientific foundation for Web design, said Jakob Nielsen, a Web usability consultant. One of the biggest problems is that users are often left clueless as where to go next, like tourists who are stuck in a foreign country without knowing the language. To get a better sense of how people use the Web, the scientists asked research subjects to perform simple tasks.