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Computing Magazine: Let users have a say at the design stage

There are so many devices and applications available today, and many more are being developed even as I write.

This may mean more choice, but it makes it very difficult for a business to ensure its products work for the user. I have had first hand experience of the backlash that comes when companies ignore the idea that users may want to actually use something.

I have seen users pull their hair out during laboratory trials of new interfaces just prior to launch, when the costs to an organisation of fixing all the problems would be inconceivable.

Isn't it time, therefore, that we started involving the users in each stage of the design process and analysing how they actually use interfaces across devices?

Internet sites, intranets, mobile device applications and interactive TV are just some of the most widely use digital applications across the UK. But when was the last time you can remember using any such application effectively, efficiently and with satisfaction?

Thought not. Yet these are the three usability metrics every designer of an interface should bear in mind. Effectiveness measures how users access the application and get to where they want to go. Efficacy measures the speed at which they can accomplish their goals. And satisfaction gauges the impact of the interface on their emotions.

I recently completed a piece of work for MTV Networks. It realized the importance of involving users throughout the redesign process of a web site. The portal was an information-heavy database offering a huge amount of pop trivia. It also served as an up-to-the-minute gig guide.

A target group of users was recruited and their behaviour while using the site was studied. Thanks to the usability testing, MTV reported a 50 per cent increase in core content page impressions. This is a clear indication of the value of good usability.

But very few rules and standards have been put in place for interface development. I am not suggesting that we standardise digital interfaces and do away with creativity, just that we involve users in design from day one. This can happen in a number of ways:

• using paper-prototypes and focus groups to assess an early interface
• evaluating usability of digital prototypes in a laboratory
• conducting online behavioural surveys and focus groups; and even
• using high-technology eye-tracking devices to discover how customers use an interface.

And it doesn't end once the interface has been launched. At this stage you can fine-tune the product by analyzing the data that you collect from consumers' movements. Companies can use software packages such as Webtrends, Commercetrends, or Redeye to capture information about where the users go on the interface. From this data, you can pinpoint the areas that people drop out of and re-evaluate them for usability.

We have tools to measure how people are using digital devices, so why do we not harness this valuable information and use it to improve the customer's experience?

In the US, usability budgets account for an estimated 10 per cent of total project cost. It appears our cousins across the pond are trying to get everything right before the project becomes problematic.

Catriona Campbell is chief executive of The Usability Company.

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© The Usability Company 2007