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Our usability services: at a glance

We can conduct usability evaluations and expert reviews on websites, intranets and applications. We can also coach and mentor your staff in usability approaches, to allow you to apply practical usability techniques entirely in-house.

A usable system is one that allows users to achieve their goals efficiently and effectively, that is intuitive and matches the user's goals. Increasing the usability of systems has the advantage of:

  • increasing uptake and use;
  • reducing training time;
  • reducing support requirements; and
  • reducing development time and cost.

We provide the following services to help you increase the usability of your systems:

  • Requirements gathering via user research
    It is important to ensure that business goals and user goals are well understood and aligned. We gain understanding of users of the system by observing them in the context in which they would use the system and discussing their current goals, tasks and information needs. This method allows us to understand the tasks that users are trying to achieve and the important physical and cultural context in which they work.

    User research can be done at the beginning of a design process for a new system, or at the beginning of a redesign process for an existing system.

  • Interaction design
    Interaction design is the design of the whole user experience, not just the design of the individual screens that make up the application.

    We combine the information gathered via user research with our extensive understanding of human-computer interaction and the business goals of the system. We work with your team and users by creating workflow diagrams, screen layouts and functional requirements. We work with you to create prototypes, usability test them and change them until the system meets both the business and user needs.

  • Expert reviews
    One way of identifying likely usability problems in a system is to undertake an expert review. We use the system and assess it against usability heuristics appropriate for the type of system. This process can highlight likely usability issues in prototype systems or completed systems, and should always be followed by usability testing.

  • Usability testing
    Usability testing is the best way of determining whether a system is able to be used by the target audience. Usability testing involves asking users to undertake a set of tasks using the system and observing them.

    Usability testing can (and should) be undertaken throughout the system development cycle.

For all of these activities, we can involve your team and provide learning opportunities. We can also provide structured training for all activities.
For questions or comments please contact the Webmaster. Last updated 06 June 2004. © Copyright 2004, Step Two Designs Pty Ltd, ABN 99 081 019 623. All rights reserved.
Intranet Peers and Intranet Roadmap are trademarks of Step Two Designs.