Overview of services offered by Improved Usability.

1. Improved Usability

2. Improved Usability
 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 Usability testing is typically
conducted in one-on-one sessions.
current and new products or
websites.
ImprovedUsability.com

3. Clients
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4. 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.).
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5. 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.
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6. User Experience > design process
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7. User Experience > activities
Type Description Time ~ Effort
Mental Models In order to build out the mental model diagram, contextual inquiry ~ 4 weeks Medium
interviews are needed along with survey and or diary studies.
Persona Development Personas represent the primary user group(s) of a site or application. ~ 5-6 High
They are an archetype representing a user group (audience segment) weeks
synthesized from research.
Focus Groups Working with small groups of users, a usability analyst seeks to elicit ~ 4 weeks Medium
requirements and determine the priority of those requirements.
RITE Testing is a usability method similar to traditional usability testing; ~ 4 weeks Medium
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
Card Sorting 1 on 1 activity conducted with customers to determine their natural mental ~ 4 weeks Medium
model when approaching a website.
Heuristic Review Expert evaluation to determine if aspects of an interface or website follow ~ few days Low
established usability principals. to 2 weeks
Validation User Testing Validation studies are typically conducted with high fidelity prototypes ~4-5 High
(e.g. Flash or close to production code) to confirm design decisions made weeks
by the project team.
Quick Feedback User With a panel, a small set of users (6-12) are recruited to be available to ~ 1-2 Low
Panel provide quick feedback on a set of designs or screens. Email is a weeks
common route to obtain this feedback.
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8. 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.
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9. 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.
Typical Project Length/Effort
4 weeks/Medium
Deliverables
PowerPoint report summarizing findings and video highlight reel.
.
ImprovedUsability.com

10. 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.
Typical Project Length/Effort
4-5weeks/High
Deliverables
PowerPoint report summarizing findings and video highlight reel.
ImprovedUsability.com

11. 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.
Typical Project Length/Effort
4-5weeks/High
Deliverables
PowerPoint report summarizing findings and video highlight reel.
ImprovedUsability.com

12. 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.
Typical Project Length/Effort
1-4 weeks/Low to Medium
Deliverables
Word document with issues called out and screenshots of
designs.
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13. 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.
Typical Project Length/Effort
4-5weeks/High
Deliverables
PowerPoint report summarizing findings and video highlight reel.
ImprovedUsability.com

14. 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.
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