Solving user problems whilst balancing technical requirements, with business profitability

UX services

• User Research

  This is the practise of helping to define who the users are and the environment they operate in, by examining their behaviour, demographics, activity, and needs.

  It will typically begin by defining the research goals, and then use a variety of tools and techniques to assist in the gathering of information such as contextual observation, user interviews, user surveys, persona creation, user journey mapping.

  

• Information architecture

  IA is how users search for and find the content they need. Taxonomy is a big part of IA and this examines how all the information is/will be categorised, labelled and delivered to users. Looking at the information from a global perspective, it is important to try and find common patterns in order to establish categorises of information. Once categories have been established, the information is then organised to establish the information hierarchy based on the aims and objectives of the product and the expectations of users.

  Tools such as card sorting (in person or online) is a great way of being able to find out what your users think of the IA.

  

• Wireframing

  Wireframes provide an overview of the structure, content, and navigation showing how everything is organised to fit together. They are typically greyscale and focus on the structural design rather than the visual design (colours, typography or imagery) and are a huge help in defining functionality for both visual designers, developers and stakeholders.

  Getting the foundations of a product right is essential, and making changes to wireframes is considerably quicker and easier compared to making the same changes at visual design or development. Wireframes are an essential component to designing any digital product.

  

• Interaction design

  Interaction Design (IxD) considers every element that a user might touch, click, swipe, tap, or type from how a simple button reacts when it is interacted with, right through to designing complex interchangeable multi layered panels which are hidden shown on scroll for example are all part of interaction design.

  There is no point in having interactions for the sake of it, each interaction designed needs to be meaningful and have relevance as well as enhancing the users experience of using the product. Designing these subtle yet important details can make a real difference to how users 'feel' using your product.

  

• Rapid prototyping

  This is the process of quickly putting together a functional, interactive workflow as a non-coded prototype, in order to test a proof of concept and the viability of a product.

  Prototypes go hand in hand with online and offline user workshops in helping the stakeholders quickly understand what is working, what needs changing, and where modifications need to be made. A cycle of prototype test, iterate is a common model to use until the stakeholders are confident the product is ready to go into full production and can help save both time and money when it comes to making major product decisions.

  

• User testing

  Evaluating the usability of your product in terms of how users interact, and behave helps to discover design, technical or usability issues.

  Its important to make sure the right people are selected for any usability test, so being clear on user groups before hand is critical in achieving meaningful results. User testing can be conducted offline via workshops, as well as online. Getting actual real users involved is important as this will likely reflect the people who will use your product online. Common user testing tools include A/B and multi variant testing, eye tracking, heat maps, interviews, questionnaires, and observational task based workshops.