User Experience (UX) services

Transcription

1 User Experience (UX) services A key differentiator for Redweb, is our experience and knowledge around user centric websites and a user centric design process. We seek to understand what the user expects and what will drive greater value and benefit. We operate an expert in-house UX team who have access to a host of facilities at our own Redweb UX suites in central London and Bournemouth. This can be utilised for user testing throughout the project lifecycle. To derive the most from any user testing, Redweb has invested in a dedicated usability lab situated in the heart of London in our Clerkenwell office. User experience (UX) is more than just understanding your business. It involves building a model of users attitudes and behaviours to help us consider solutions that best fit their needs and expectations. This ensures that the user experience of a website visitor is two-way; your business derives the best value from a visitor and they receive the experience and content they want. To do this we use a blend of design insight, usability and accessibility, psychology, technical knowledge and storytelling. So we (you and us) can better support the visitors experiences by focusing on what they are trying to achieve, with the site architecture being the enabler rather than a hurdle to overcome. Services that can be incorporated into a project to gain insight and validate ideas include: Collaborative workshops to aid solution definition and help scope audience requirements and needs One to one interviews Online surveys for feedback and appraisal Benchmarking exercises on existing and competitor websites Prototype testing to validate initial design Card sorting to aid information architecture and content structure Redweb services for public sector Page 1

2 Review of design and brand deployment Content and tone of voice evaluation Mobile specific activity Optimisation of sign-up processes and funnels Post launch feedback and appraisal Collaborative technologies such as card sorting and prototype testing are widely used by our UX team to define architecture Best practice Redweb adopts a number of best practice guidelines across all areas of delivery of UX services ISO 9241 series (International Standards for Web Usability) Jakob Nielsen s usability heuristics COI usability toolkit (UK government guidelines) Usability.gov guidelines (US government guidelines) Based on the above guidelines we have also produced a checklist of over 100 heuristic guidelines we take into account. Engagement This is the starting point for Redweb s team to understand the scope of the project. The UX team will absorb as much information about the business including its goals; any available user research (primary and secondary) as well as understanding an audit of the marketplace and sector. Research material will come from a variety of sources; existing user research and material supplied to Redweb by the client; existing sector insight garnered by Redweb from our experiences in delivering similar solutions; and potentially from new research undertaken specifically for this project. Indeed, one of our primary objectives of the engagement phase would be to evaluate the need for any further research to be undertaken in order to meet the objectives for the project. Redweb services for public sector Page 2

3 The UX team can define and facilitate a range of research exercises including focus groups, forums, card sorting, brainstorming sessions and formalised workshops. In addition to this we can deliver online surveys and market research activity. The combination of such collaborative and desk-based research activity provides us with a clear structured process in assessing the scope and objectives for the project, and ultimately enables us the extrapolation of such insight into tangible visitor requirements. User testing Through our established relationship with recruitment agencies, we are able to recruit groups of users against highly specific backgrounds this extends to ability. By recruiting a group of users we are able to test in true to life scenarios. Redweb are also able to record these sessions for future analysis. These sessions can be hosted in our London studio which is often used to run user testing sessions, and are open for clients should they wish to observe any sessions. Definition The definition phase is where we absorb and process our user research outputs. Personas are created, enabling a crystallisation of our learning into a form more suited to UX work. Requirements captured during the engagement phase are prioritised and analysed in user and task outputs. Personas are fictionalised characterisations created as a result of primary user research. The qualitative aspects of research shine through here. One way to develop personas is to create behavioural axis a series of sliding scales that range across a behaviour, attitude or activity exhibited by the sample set of users. These become the formative factors in a persona the motivations and goals a user may exhibit. To be truly useful only a limited number of personas need be created, each focused around distinct goals and motivations. A primary persona is one which would fulfil the needs of all other personas; or is the key person type for which the key business objective will be created. Once personas are established, user journeys can be created which focus on enabling the personas to complete tasks. Prototyping Typical outputs from the definition process are a site map, annotated wireframes, and a page and module catalogue. This is the most easily recognised and understood point of UX work. Recommendations made during the definition phase are put into practice: wireframes and key screens are mocked up; user testing of different treatments may take place. Annotations may be added to the wireframes, in conjunction with page architecture, page descriptions, the site map and process flows. Redweb services for public sector Page 3

4 Together these form a functional specification a working document outlining the design and build requirements for the website. As the specifications for the site are developed, prototypes of key user journeys (donations, memberships etc) will be created for the purpose of user testing. These can be low fidelity, paper prototypes which consist of scamps with some moveable and replaceable elements great tools for the rapid prototyping of solutions. The team will also produce higher fidelity prototypes which will present the actual experience of using the website in a much more compelling way. This will enable final testing of the proposed design solution; helping to validate all decisions with the target audience and client stakeholders, before the project moves into the complex development phase. Validation of user flows and layouts Redweb would recommend a review of the user flows, journeys and core interface elements to ensure high levels of usability are achieved throughout the site. The review could be heuristic (i.e. not involving users via usability testing) and would be aimed at tweaking the existing journeys rather than redeveloping what was delivered within the prototype. Heuristic evaluation A heuristic evaluation is an inspection method that helps to identify usability problems within a website. Evaluators examine a site and judge its compliance with a set of recognised usability principles (the heuristics ). Its main goal is to identify any problems associated with the design of a website based on several years of research and testing. A usability evaluation completed by Redweb of aboutmyvote.co.uk (Electoral Commission) lead to an increase in conversions by an average of 38% over the course of 3 months. The simplicity of a heuristic evaluation makes it beneficial at the early stages of the design process, as most major usability issues can be uncovered. It can also be used to uncover usability problems within existing sites. Participant involvement is not a requirement for this method, therefore the impact of issues identified by this evaluation cannot be completely defined. The heuristic evaluation does however provide a useful overview of the majority of issues that exist. The method requires a minimum of one reviewer, reducing the complexity and expended time for evaluation as well as reducing cost. The more experts used, the greater the probability of issues being discovered. The evaluation highlights not only the weaknesses of a website but also its strengths providing quick and inexpensive feedback and pinpointing areas of concern. Redweb services for public sector Page 4

5 Case study a Redweb designed and developed the website for the Scottish Parliament ( About Redweb We are Redweb, an award winning digital agency. We design, build and support world-class responsive websites for global organisations, government and brands. We have some of the best creative, technically adept and innovative people in digital we won Most Innovative Digital Agency in both 2012 and We provide insight and strategy as well as dedicated expertise in search, content, infrastructure, security, integration and analytics. A passion for delivering brilliance, strategic partnerships and a collaborative approach to working ensure our customers continually improve their online performance. Redweb services for public sector Page 5

6 We achieve all of this from our base in Bournemouth, allowing us to deliver exceptional value for money whilst successfully servicing our clients across the UK and beyond. Clients We are very proud of our client list, the great relationships and work we do for them. Our current portfolio includes a range of sectors and we are delighted to be continually presented with opportunities to make our mark on new ones. Public sector clients include: HM Treasury, Electoral Commission, DfE, Scottish Parliament, NHS Other web services Digital strategy -Business/needs analysis - Digital solution definition - Digital guidelines Analytics - Copywriting Hosting - Digital design Support - Security auditing - Application development - Systems integration - Systems architecture Ecommerce - Responsive websites Training - Audience insight - Collaborative workshops - Usability testing - Mobile UX Prototyping - Solution architecture - Stakeholder engagement - Expert review Microsites - marketing - Rich media/video SEO PPC Accessibility Prototyping - Content migration - Content management - Mobile development Testing Contact Ann-Marie Winstone on ann-mariewinstone@redweb.com Redweb services for public sector Page 6