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Our Methods from A-Z
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In a benchmark test, several competing products in a specific category are comparatively analysed, tested and rated. relevantive provides a detailed comparison of the products, outlining the strengths and weaknesses of each product and recommending appropriate modifications for improvement.
Your audience's vocabulary usually differs considerably from the internal vocabulary of development. Our card sorting test provides a window into the expectations of users and a way to align the terms and organization of your product with those expectations, resulting in a better user experience.
Few projects start from scratch. Your existing content is, of course, a valuable basis for new content. This method involves making an inventory of your existing content, arranging it and analyzing it. A fresh look at your existing content, especially together with log file analysis and process analysis, forms a solid starting point for optimized information architecture.
Our extensive experience with user tests allows us a unique understanding of general problems and optimization methods. relevantive can apply a range of usability analysis methods depending on the purpose and depth of the issue.
Focus groups are particularly suited to questions involving the development and introduction of new products. We can ascertain user expectations and acceptance for planned product features at a very early stage. An experienced moderator discusses features and expectations in several small (6-8 participants) groups.
Information architecture is the conception of the structure of a Web site or software. Efficiency and usability are based substantially on an intuitive structure that mirrors the vocabulary and intended steps of the target users. Good information architecture reflects a consideration of many of the methods described here.
Interaction design is the deliberate organization of user prompting. The selection of appropriate GUI (Graphical User Interface) elements, organization of usage scenarios, and consistent interface conventions also fall into this category. Purely ornamental and branding elements do not bear on interaction design. A typical process for testing for good interaction design involves rapid prototyping and usability testing.
In the print publishing market, it is routine to draft several versions of a new layout and test reader acceptance of each version. relevantive has adapted this model to interactive design testing. Because comparing 'flat' screenshots has little in common with an actual user experience, we create prototypes that are indistinguishable from genuine Web sites, with links and interactive elements. This natural test model provides much higher quality information.
All Web user activities are logged on Web servers. The paths that individual users take through your site or online application can be reconstructed and analyzed. A remarkable amount of useful information can be mined from this data, revealing usability problems and exit points. We can also help you to define and understand suitable metrics that will allow you to measure the success of your Web site in your terms.
Online surveys give you a great way to gather information from your current user base. With our partner, Outermedia, and their "Proquest" product, we can conduct complete surveys of your users for nearly any purpose. "Proquest" has many finetuning options (including flash animations) and gives real time data on demand.
Many of the usability errors that occur between rough conception and the final version of a product can be avoided with user testing in the concept and development phases. It is possible to model even very complex Web and software applications for testing, using tools like interactive screenshots and Visual Basic RAD (Rapid Application Development). By exposing your application to user testing before making huge investments in large-scale deployments, it is possible to avoid the high costs of redesigning your application after it is launched.
This method examines how your target audience would use a proposed product or service. Through focus groups and interviews, the reactions of the target group to potential functions and features direct further planning and development of the product. Target group exploration is also a reliable technique for user profiling.
Launching software or Web applications that improve existing workflows requires an intimate understanding of current systems. Applications such as intranets or procurement systems will only be effective if they fit the real-life demands of the users. In a task analysis, relevantive examines existing task sequences in the context of goals and existing environment. This results in a system that is reflective of users' needs, easily learned, rapidly adopted and highly efficient.
Many decisions concerning user prompting cannot be anticipated before they emerge in the production stage. relevantive can create a usability style guide for developers to consult in the production stage to help them develop consistent and user-friendly interfaces throughout your application.
Usability testing can reveal the degree to which your product is adapted to your target audience. Ideally, usability testing should be conducted before final development begins in order to anticipate and eliminate usability problems early in the process. Usability testing is also a vital part of any re-launch or modification to an existing product to expose problems in the existing version and to evaluate proposed solutions in the next version. The evaluation of a product for usability may include some of these methods, based on the needs of the client:
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Thinking Aloud Method
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Performance Measurement |
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Coaching Method |
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Eyeball Tracking Analysis |
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Deep Interviews |
User Centered Design is a procedural model for the organization of interactive systems. All of relevantive's methods are based on this procedural model. The method is outlined in the ISO Standard 13407, "Human-centred design processes for interactive systems". The philosophy can be summarized in two short formulas: 'Know your user!' and 'You are not your user!'. In other words, interaction can only be optimal if the users and use context are considered in the development of the application.
Use scenarios are complex, goal-oriented operational sequences that describe the steps necessary for user task completion in your product. This detailed level of description plays a vital role in the development process, particularly in the elaboration of information architecture and in quality assurance scenarios.
relevantive models several hypothetical 'typical user' profiles from market data and interview results to represent the audience of your product for design and evaluation purposes. These abstracted profiles serve as a basis for prioritization of features and evaluation of design alternatives.
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