Surfability solutions: NaviGaugeTM
In 2002 Surfability won a DTI SMART award and successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the Surfability ScaleTM. This innovative product, which is now called the NaviGaugeTM, identifies usability and navigational deficiencies in a website, and accurately gauges its effectiveness as an information resource.
Measuring website improvements
Improvements resulting from website and intranet redesigns are quantified using NaviGauge, a specialist web analytics tool for knowledge-rich sites.
NaviGauge does not depend on time-wasting user surveys, nor does it require teams of people to test the usability of a site. It objectively measures a website's usability and navigability and is therefore geared more towards websites like intranets which have captive, dependent audiences.
The value of NaviGauge
Any changes to the structure of a website will have an effect on the overall usability and navigability of the site. Significant changes in the overall ease-of-use of the site will be reflected in the Surfability Scale value for the site as a whole. Improvements should raise the Surfability Scale value while ill-informed changes may have a detrimental effect and lower the site's Surfability Scale.
NaviGauge therefore enables webmasters to manage their websites as they evolve, and it helps them to prevent a descent into chaos.