Usability is increasingly being recognized a s a distinguishing aspect of successful applications on the web. Many web design tools are available but most offer no guidance to the user as to how to design for usability or accessibility. A number of syntactic evaluation tools, allowing an automated scan of the code and inferences about possible usability or accessibility shortfalls have been developed, including the WEBSAT tool developed by NIST, but all are limited in their scope and applicability. The present effort will delineate the need for and conceptualize and overall design for an Intelligent Assistant for Web Usability Design. This Assistant would include a syntactic analyzer, perhaps incorporating WEBSAT, but would extend the functionality by providing the web developer with more extensive design suggestions or guideline resources in a context sensitive manner. The Phase 1 project will culminate in a working proof of concept demonstration of this Intelligent Assistant, illustrating the approach, architecture, and look and feel. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The envisioned Intelligent Assistant should be of interest to practically all web designer/developers, particularly those working on products for competitive markets where usability and accessibility might determine success. This software tool would be used by the developer, either in conjunction with or embedded in, other design tools. It might be commercialized either as a standalone tool or licensed to web design tool vendors.
