improved overview

Improved Usability

Improved Usability

ImprovedUsability.com

At Improved Usability, we are

dedicated to helping you delight

your customers whether your

company sells services or

products.

We able to help you better

understand your customers needs

and how best to position your

products or services in their current

workflow or lifestyle.

We also conduct usability testing for

current and new products or

websites.

Usability testing is typically

conducted in one-on-one sessions.

Clients


What is User Experience?


User Experience (UX) is a holistic consideration of users’ desired

experience and is a critical component in the design of products, services

and environments.

The Key Benefits of UX are:

Obtaining deep insight into user needs and wants

Learning how users will use a particular product or service

Collecting information that drives an end-user focused approach to

design, business decisions and technical decisions.

User experience design team members come from a variety of

backgrounds in human-computer interaction (HCI), human factors,

cognitive psychology, library sciences and design.

Usability can be defined as the ease of use and learnability of a human-

made object (be it a website, book, software, etc.).

User Experience > design process


Discovery User research is conducted to help define who are the users of a system, site, application, etc. In addition, efforts are made to determine unmet needs, current workflow, and where the Internet could assist.

Concept Ideation Initial concepts are created and vetted with users in a rapid iterative design cycle. Involvement from both technical and client teams is crucial to ensure that the early designs follow business requirements and can eventually be implemented.

Design Based on the learnings from Discovery and Concept Ideation, design work continues with the eventual goal of having a set of high fidelity screens that have been vetted by the eventual users of the system or application.

User Experience > design process


User Experience > activities


Type Description Time ~ Effort

Mental Models In order to build out the mental model diagram, contextual inquiry

interviews are needed along with survey and or diary studies.

~ 4 weeks Medium

Persona Development Personas represent the primary user group(s) of a site or application.

They are an archetype representing a user group (audience segment)

synthesized from research.

~ 5-6

weeks

High

Focus Groups Working with small groups of users, a usability analyst seeks to elicit

requirements and determine the priority of those requirements.

~ 4 weeks Medium

RITE Testing is a usability method similar to traditional usability testing;

however RITE differs in that the data are analyzed after each participant,

or at the end of each day of testing, changes to the interface are made as

soon as an issue is identified and a solution is clear, and the changed

interface is tested with the remaining users

~ 4 weeks Medium

Card Sorting 1 on 1 activity conducted with customers to determine their natural mental

model when approaching a website.

~ 4 weeks Medium

Heuristic Review Expert evaluation to determine if aspects of an interface or website follow

established usability principals.

~ few days

to 2 weeks

Low

Validation User Testing Validation studies are typically conducted with high fidelity prototypes

(e.g. Flash or close to production code) to confirm design decisions made

by the project team.

~4-5

weeks

High

Quick Feedback User

Panel

With a panel, a small set of users (6-12) are recruited to be available to

provide quick feedback on a set of designs or screens. Email is a

common route to obtain this feedback.

~ 1-2

weeks

Low

User Research > persona development

Description

Personas are models that describe the user’s: goals,

needs, and characteristics. They represent the primary

user group(s) of a site or application. They are an

archetype representing a user group (audience segment)

synthesized from research


When to Use

Early on in a project (redesign or new application/site) to

help the Agile team focus its development efforts.

Typical Project Length/Effort

5-6 weeks/High

Deliverables

Persona posters and a PowerPoint report summarizing major

findings.

User Research > focus groups

Description

Working with small groups of users, a usability analyst

seeks to elicit requirements and determine the priority of

those requirements.

Often times, a priming activity or homework assignment

can be given to users ahead of time to help make the

most of the time spent in the session. In addition,

feedback can be gained on proposed concepts or

designs.


When to Use

Early on (before requirements have been settled on) when

there is a need to frame what will be delivered/produced.


4 weeks/Medium

Deliverables

PowerPoint report summarizing findings and video highlight reel.

.

User Research > rapid iterative testing

Description

Rapid Iterative Testing and Evaluation, typically referred to

as "RITE" testing is a usability method similar to traditional

usability testing; however RITE differs in that the data are

analyzed after each participant, or at the end of each day

of testing, changes to the interface are made as soon as

an issue is identified and a solution is clear, and the

changed interface is tested with the remaining

users. Changes are easily made to the prototype since it

is typically in a low-fidelity format.


When to Use

Early on in the project (before Day 0) when requirements

are still rough and being firmed up.


4-5weeks/High

Deliverables


User Research > card sorting

Description

Card sorting is a user-centered design method for

developing organization and navigation of a site or

application. The process involves sorting a series of

cards, each labeled with a piece of content or functionality,

into groups that make sense to users or participants.

Card sorting is a great, reliable, inexpensive method for

finding patterns in how users would expect to find content

or functionality. Those patterns are often referred to as the

users’ mental model. By understanding the users’ mental

model, we can increase findability, which in turn makes

the product easier to use.


When to Use

Early on in the project (before Day 0) when requirements

are still rough and being firmed up.


4-5weeks/High

Deliverables


User Research > expert review

Description

A heuristic or expert review is conducted by a usability

analyst reviewing a particular design or set of

designs. The design is compared against a set of

standard best practice principles and recommendations

are made for improvement.


When to Use

Any time the project team determines it needs quick

feedback on a set of designs. Heuristic reviews are best

employed prior to a usability study to help set priorities of

items to be reviewed with participants.


1-4 weeks/Low to Medium

Deliverables

Word document with issues called out and screenshots of

designs.

User Research > validation usability testing

Description

Usability test evaluations assess the extent to which an

application or its features meet the users’ objectives. At

the conclusion of the formal evaluation, the usability

analysts will create a final report.

Validation studies are typically conducted with high fidelity

prototypes (e.g. Flash or close to production code) to

confirm design decisions made by the project team.


When to Use

Later in the design cycle (ideally after RITE sessions have

been completed). Since validation sessions typically last

~90 minutes, these types of studies need to be placed

strategically to provide the greatest value to the project

team.


4-5weeks/High

Deliverables


User Research > ux vs. usability

User experience (UX) speaks to the overall experience that a person has

when he or she interacts with a product or service.

Encompasses both interaction design and visual design and seeks to

promote an interface that is pleasing to the user.

Usability is focused on the ease in which people can use a particular tool or

human-made object to achieve a particular goal.

Usability is fundamentally qualitative but may involve the application of

quantitative data to identify areas of weakness and suggest

improvements.

The study of usability often focuses on performing extensive tests with

large groups of individuals, sometimes involving in depth techniques like

eye tracking to determine how users interact with interfaces and any

areas in which they get lost.


improved overview

Design

user needs

traditional usability

user experience ux

improved usability

primary user groups

usability analyst

quick feedback user

rite testing