user centered design
DESCRIPTION
How user centered design is critical to business.TRANSCRIPT
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 1
You probably don’t care about usability or information architecture.
But, you do care about saving money, saving time, and creating quality products and services.
Fortunately, the goals of usability and information architecture completely align with business and marketing.
Introduction
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 2History
Focusing on users gave us graphic user interfaces ike Windows and Mac OS. Before that, computers werefor computer scientists; unusable by the masses.
The world we live in, especially the internet, would notexist without the graphic user interface which createda way for everyone to use the power of the computer.
Early pioneers in the field applied one idea to the computer that revolutionized the world. Simplicity. If you don’t make something simple to use, it doesn’t get used.
Every Web site, every application, is a graphic user interface.
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 3Definition
Usability is part of the academic sciences called Human Computer Interaction (HCI).HCI involves computer science, behavioral science, human factors science, design,and testing/analytical methodologies.
Information architecture has some tiesto the library sciences but deals with the structural design of information.
Today, User Centered Design is an umbrella term that is used to refer to both disciplines among other things like visual design.
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 4Rate of Failure
The research firm The Standish Group stated that in 2009,24% of IT projects were cancelled prior to completionor delivered and never used. Failures in the last 5 yearsare actually trending up.
The research firm identifiedone primary cause for this:Not focusing on the user.
When creating anything from an application to an e-mail, taking time to focus on user centered design improves success.
Not focusing on the user can lead directly to failure.
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 5
Many goals are accomplishedthrough user centered design:
• Increase User Confidence• Save Time and Money• Reduce Development Costs• Increase Usage and Adoption• Increase Quality and Competitive Advantage
Goals
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 6
Increased user confidence may seem abstract. But, it leads to real financial gains. Microsoft found out that by increasing confidence in the minds of those using their search engine Bing, it added $80 million in revenue ~ cnet news.
How did they figure this out? By doing user research.
Increase User Confidence
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 7Save Time and Money
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 8Reduce Development Costs
Maintaining software is expensive. A study conducted by Human Factors Internationalfound that 80% of software life-cycle costsoccur during the maintenance phase.
A completed application costs 100xmore to fix than in the design phase.
15 minutes design = 25 hours development
User centered design shifts work to thedesign phase by identifying problemsbefore they exist.
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 9
Adoption is the end game for Web sites and applications.If the experience is positive and it meets a real need, thenit succeeds. If not, it fails.
Increasing usage gets us to adoption. But, don’t assume that if software usage is mandatory it will be used. Poor usability causes postponement. For instance, if you had a time sheet system with hard to find job codes buried in a giant list, users will put it off because of the negative experience.Low usage in this instance causes lost revenue with billing.
Regardless of brand Web site or B2B application,increased adoption and usage is everyone’s goal.
Increase Usage and Adoption
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 10
User centered design does more than save money. Sometimes, it can keep you from failing altogether orin the case of one company, annihilate the competition.
In 2001 when the iPod was released it was just anotherMP3 player. Nine years later Apple has captured almost75% of the market and is gaining momentum in all mobile computing.
The iPod had the same capabilites as other MP3 players. How did the leaders in that industry lose so much market share? They failed to understand the user.They failed to make things simple to use.
Increase Quality and Competitive Advantage
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 11Timing and Budget
User centered design will not be effectivewithout the right budget and timing.
The most important thing to know about timing is that testing is pointless unless you schedule enough timefor new designs to be created and tested again before development. Testing should be done early and often.
Budgeting is a trickier thing to manage. Overall, the higher the project's expected value, the more you should invest in usability. A pro forma statement can help clarify what is to be gained with a usability investment. Anywhere from 10-20% of the budget should be directed toward usability.
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business
Page 12Conclusion
There is no question user centereddesign provides substantial ROI.
It is not a “nice to have”, “phase 2 initiative”,or purely qualitative exercise.
Clients may seldom consider how criticaluser centered design is. However, focusing onthe user will serve to further all marketingand business objectives.
If your business is committed to providing thehighest value to your clients, usability will be part of what you sell, how you pitch business,and your design and development processes.