Implementing a usability strategy involves certain up-front costs, but the return on investment is significant – estimates vary, but I have seen some as high as 700%. Either way, there are a number of good reasons why introducing usability engineering techniques can save costs in the medium to long term.
As in any downturn, most businesses are examining expenditure and looking to cut back in any areas that may not be deemed essential. For better or worse, spending on usability engineering is often under the spotlight in this environment. There may be a feeling that the company has survived without such flights of fancy in the past, and can no doubt do so in the future - 'usability' is a luxury that can be done without.
There is some truth in that of course. Companies can survive without usability strategies, but that misses the point. Investment in usability, and particular the adoption of user-centred design programmes, is really about reducing costs in the long term. And in the current economic climate, that should make user-centred design an even more important element of the product development process.
Of course, implementing a usability strategy involves certain up-front costs, but the return on investment is significant - estimates vary, but I have seen some as high as 700% (give or take a pinch of salt). Either way, there are a number of good reasons why introducing usability engineering techniques can save costs in the medium to long term.
User-centred design techniques involve gathering user input at every stage of the process. Particularly early in development, this approach can help avoid mistakes or errors that will dramatically increase the ongoing cost of product or site development. It has been estimated that over 60% of these costs are due to unforeseen user requirements, rather than the fixing of bugs for example.
This indicates that failure to invest early in a user-centred design process tends to lead to products that are not exactly what the customer wants. This is obviously worrying in terms of competitive advantage, but again has cost implications. A problem identified during a simple user test in prototype stage is easily and quickly solved. The very same problem, identified by customer feedback after launch, may require extensive re-engineering of the product if it is to be resolved.
The problem is the same on the web. Despite the popular notion of the website being a 'living' presence that is continuously evolving, not only do users dislike significant change, it is also a mistake to assume that large sites can be simply 'adapted' after launch in response to user feedback. In reality this approach results in frequent and costly redesigns that often involve rebuilding from scratch.
A user-centred design approach can help bring significant efficiency benefits to the whole product development process. Although bringing in an outside agency (or setting up a new department) is an additional cost, it may not work out like that. It's worth pointing out of course that product and interface design doesn't grow on trees - the alternative to spending money on getting the job done professionally is simply 'muddling through', usually following a process of trial and error. Either way, resources are being used.
There are other product development tasks that can be simplified through user-centred design. Requirements gathering and user testing programmes, for example, can help speed up product specification. User testing may help replace some of the QA process. Most 'usability engineering' is just a better way of doing a job that will be done anyway.
Lastly, a true focus on the user can help resolve internal debate and indecision about product or site directions. In the absence of the sort of feedback provided by testing, for example, many key decisions are made on little more than instinct, and more importantly, a significant amount of time can be spent debating them. The results of usability programmes can help reduce this activity, speed up development, and thus save time and money.
The Benefits of Viewing User TestsThe benefits of user testing have long been established. It is still important however to try and maximise these benefits. One way in which this can be done is by viewing the user test yourself.
Five Rules For Better Bank WebsitesInternet banking is here to stay and the major banks are all busy figuring out how to expand their business online. Online banking is all about convenience and functionality but what about the bank’s public website? It is often a struggle to achieve the right balance between information and product sales, between user functionality and marketing requirements.
Back To Basics: How Poor Usability Effects AccessibilityIn recent user testing with a range of participants including Visually Impaired (VIP) and Blind users we found that the majority of problems were common across all groups. However the effect of poor usability is more severe for users with visual disabilities. Surprisingly all of the issues are very familiar and are easy to fix so we thought we’d revisit some of the basics of accessible web design.
Webpage Layout: Right Hand Side BlindnessIn several recent websites we have user tested, the site designers have placed important task critical links and information on the right hand side (RHS) of three column page layouts. The user testing was conclusive, users ignore any information presented on the RHS. We think this is a similar effect to the well documented banner blindness. It is essential to ensure that import links or information is not positioned on the RHS as they will surely be ignored.
Introduction to User Centred Design ProcessUser Centred Design (UCD) is an approach to design where the end user is placed at the heart of the design and development process. It could even be described as a ‘Design Philosophy’. Knowing who your users are, what they want and if your system is fulfilling their needs is central to UCD.
