A proposed framework for the development of web-based systems for the service of Muslim pilgrims

Abstract EN

Saudi Arabia’s government, like many other governments, is jumping on the technology bandwagon in an effort to take advantage of the ever-evolving web technologies in its new trend to employ the internet for the service of people.

The e-Government Program, Yesser, translates the Saudi Government's keen interest in implementing the egovernment concept [1] Among its directions are to provide web services that help Muslim pilgrims arriving in millions yearly to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and / or Omrah.

Often, designers of web sites fall into the pitfall of building cutting edge multimedia web sites that cost too much money, time and effort, only to find users turning away from the web site, discouraged by its slow download times, by its navigation complexity, or by the fact that it does not contain the information they really need.

This paper proposes a six-step user-centered design approach that can be used to guide designers in developing a Hajj and Omrah web site that is both ‘useful’ to pilgrims, in that it helps them accomplish their goals, and ‘usable’, in that it enables them to easily and successfully find the information they want.