Usability Analysis

The number one rule in building a usable web site is "know thy user". This can be easier said than done. There can be many different reasons someone comes to a website, from wanting to buy a specific product to requesting investor information.

As part of the initial discovery phase, Linda will work with your company to identify key user personas. Questions to consider include:

• What information do they need and what tasks must they accomplish? 
• How will they look for information? 
• How does the site need to be organized and presented for them to understand and use it?  
• Do they need instant information gratification or will they patiently research until they explore all possibilities? 
• Do users know what information they are seeking or do they need to be able to browse for something that will catch their eyes and provide the “Aha!” experiences.

Your Key Business Goals

The other piece in the puzzle is meeting your key business goals. These are identified during the phased development process and included creating a solid site architecture. Your goals can be broken down into short-, mid- and long-term. The development process can also be split into versions to grow with your business. Your goals might change over time, and the website can be updated. I've also educated less-technical staff on updating their sites.

Information Architecture

The next step after a usability evaluation is the creation and review of information architecture wireframes. “Information architecture involves the design of organization, labeling, navigation, and searching systems to help people find and manage information more successfully.”

User Centered Design

Linda always practices user-centered design and is an evangelist for usability and interdepartmental collaboration to streamline the development process.

User Testing

Linda is a huge advocate for testing designs through various types of user feedback: surveys, focus groups, paper prototyping, eye-tracking and heuristic evaluation. Results of these tests can then be incorporated into the design to produce a product that gives the best solution for the end-user.

Read more about usabilty testing with Fatbrain.com.