It's a sad truth that very few Web integrators and interactive agencies have integrated performance engineers those folks who can analyze, assess, design and test Webb sites for usability into their overall work practices and methodologies. And even fewer have figured out how to apply performance engineering to the ever-changing and increasingly complex nature of web applications. This is anything but an intuitive process. SIs can't merely dot their offices with a few people (with or without the right qualifications) and say they now create "user-centric" websites. As a consumer of e-commerce services, you need to be able to evaluate the competencies of your vendors. Do they have the skills, the resources, and the methodologies in place to design and deliver a highly usable site? Are they poised to anticipate and meet the challenges of the ever-changing, complex nature of web applications?
What's in a name?
Human Factors. Human Performance Engineering. Usability. User-friendly design. User-centric websites. Is there a difference among these? From a practical standpoint, there really is not. The science of how humans interact with their environment and, in our case, with their computer systems, has taken on many names over the years. "User-friendly" emerged as the layperson's term for good system ergonomics and, as a result, it tends to be how most clients and end-users describe how they want the site designed. They'll say things like, "we want a scalable, flexible design that is user-friendly." While this may be stating the obvious, these are good concepts for clients to be supporting. The important issue is not really the terms used to describe usability, it's understanding how it can positively affect the outcome of your e-commerce initiatives…and, conversely, that, used ineffectively, the serious impact it can have on your bottom line.
Usability. It's a science.
Usability is a science. Performance engineers are highly trained experts who combine graduate degrees (usually in Behaviorial Psychology or a related field) and several years of work experience in designing and testing the interfaces and processes associated with computer applications. Seasoned performance engineers bring an interesting mixture of academic and practical skills to the project team. And they are, most definitely, an integrated part of the project team. Performance Engineers partner closely with the strategists, marketing specialists, business analysts, content architects, and visual designers to infuse their thinking (following a defined methodology) into the overall strategy and design of the site.
Because it's a science, it's measurable.
Usability practices are sound and measurable. First and foremost, usability should support the ROI of the e-commerce initiative with tangible benefits. Vendors who make subjective statements like, "the site will be easier to use" or "your users will be happier" reduce the value of usability to its lowest level. Usability and design metrics for the site should be established early in the planning process with clear ties to bottom-line performance. This isn't simple tracking of number of hits and form-based user feedback. Good usability design should enable:
-Work processes and workflow to be streamlined
-Costs to be reduced or revenue generated
-Desired behavior to be predicted and measured
-Competitive differentiation to be defined and tracked
-Service levels to be established
-Brand to be built through a targeted, positive user experience
Simply stated, a well-designed, user-centric web site reflects the priorities of the business and represents the business model of the company or organization.
Usability. It's part of the big picture.
For systems integrators and Internet architects, the challenge is to integrate usability into an e-commerce strategy and subsequently into a project lifecycle, so that it becomes an integral part of the overall planning, design, development, testing, and launch. This is easier said than done. When systems integrators claim to conduct "usability testing," it's safe to assume that this is a distinctively separate activity, performed generally at the END of the project. While this is better than nothing, of course, it is but not the optimal approach, and it will offer only limited benefits to the overall product.
User requirements need to be assessed early in the analysis stage of an e-commerce initiative, so that usability is considered throughout the project lifecycle. Issues like the impact on workflow, expectations in navigation, "logical and intuitive" site design and content management, and the behavior we want to enable or the expectations we need to design to are huge considerations. This is combined with the technical architecture, transactional requirements, and performance expectations, and is synthesized exploited to achieve maximum user benefit in areas such as user profiling and personalization, dynamic content assembly, and interactivity.
Certainly, usability should never "dumb down" requirements to the lowest common denominator in an attempt to satisfy "every user." On the contrary, usability should no longer be considered as a way to prevent potential problems, but rather, an approach that realizes greater possibilities. Usability should challenge and push the envelope equally as hard as the technical, business, and creative requirements. Only then do we break through with an innovative, engaging, clever, and effective web site.
Business Model. That's the bottom line.
Creating a compelling user experience has a direct tie to market competitiveness. It's fair to say that usability should, in all cases, support, augment, and enable the realization of the business model. Happy users aren't the true objective, although certainly, it's a desirable by-product. Rather, realized business goals through targeted usability objectives make usability a straightforward business case.
About the Author
Mimi Brooks, founder, president and CEO of Logical Design Solutions (www.lds.com), a leading provider of Internet professional services to the Fortune 500.