1. Understanding the Value of User Research,Usability Testing, & Information Architecture Kyle Soucy, Founding Principal Usable Interface www.usableinterface.com

2. The Ockham's Razor Principle ofContent Management SystemsGiven two functionally equivalent content management systems, the simplest one should be selected.- Dries Buytaert Original creator and project lead of Drupal 3. Are YOU responsible for this? 4. Dont believe me? Ask them! 5. Dont assume that people think the way that you do. 6. If you dont care about people, you cant create a usable product! 7. When people interact with a product theyre interacting with YOU. 8. Why Usability isImportant? Nowadays, its survival of the easiest! Reduced support costs Cant afford to NOT get it right the FIRST time. Higher revenues through increased sales 9. Common Usability Problems Lack of objective (no clear call to action) Vague/misleading labels and navigation Poor functionality (broken links, scripting errors, etc.) Too many features... 10. Source: Human Factors International, Inc. 11. How do we prevent this? 12. User-Centered Design(UCD) "Human-centered design is characterized by: the active involvement of users and a clear understanding of user and task requirements; an appropriate allocation of function between users and technology; the iteration of design solutions; multi-disciplinary design." - ISO 13407 13. Usability "[Usability refers to] the extent to which a product can be used by specied users to achieve specied goals with effectiveness, efciency and satisfaction in a specied context of user." - ISO 9241-11 14. Usability MethodsUser Research Focus Groups Heuristic Evaluations Log File Analysis Surveys Eye Tracking Card SortingUsability Testing 15. User Research 16. User Research is NOT Market Research 17. Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research 18. Why cant I just use a focus group? 19. Purpose of User Research Making sure the product provideswhat the customer needs and wants. Quality Assurance Does the the feature work? Usability Testing Can it be used easily? User Research Is the feature even needed? 20. Value of User Research Making sure all your resources are being used effectively. RESOURCES:INVESTMENT: OUTCOME: DesignConfidence that Engineering you are building a product that is Marketing/Sales wanted, needed Support and will be used by Etc.your customers. 21. User Research Methods In-depth Interviews Contextual Inquiries Field Studies Diary Studies 22. PersonasSource:Viget Labs 23. Usability Testing 24. What is Usability Testing? Observing real customers as they actually use your product.Image source: facit digital 25. Usability TestingProcess Dene what you are testing Dene who you are testing Dene the tasks you are testing Recruit users Prepare the prototypes Conduct dry-run Facilitate tests Conduct Analysis 26. Usability LabsSource: Kent State University 27. Who should you test? Create a recruiting screener Include existing users as well as the people you are trying to target Make sure to cover all user groups Get buy-in from project stakeholders 28. How many users doyou need to test?Source: Jakob Nielsen 29. Budget AllocationWhat NOT to do...1 Round of Testing 30. Budget Allocation What you SHOULD do... Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 DesignDesign Iteration Iteration 31. Remote vs. In-PersonTestingVs. 32. When should you test?The earlier, the better... 33. Low vs. High-Fidelity Prototypes 34. UCD on a Small Budget Dont record tests on video Dont use a lab Use surrogate users Dont write reports 35. Real-Life ExampleVs. 36. Information Architecture 37. What is InformationArchitecture? Organizing, labeling, and classifying content so it can be easily retrieved. Image source: facit digital 38. How to Create anEffective IAYou must understand: Business Objectives Content User Objectives Context of Use 39. IA Methods Card Sorting Free Listing Mental Models Afnity Diagramming Search Log Analysis 40. Good Resources Usability.gov BoxesandArrows.com UXmatters.com UPAssoc.org NNGroup.com UIE.com 41. Summary First step to user-centered design is to realize your end users are not YOU Include your users in the design process Usability testing is not a validation test Testing earlier pays off more 42. Thank you! www.usableinterface.com