Evaluate your designs

Our capacity for conceptual design sets us apart from the usability crowd. This often neglected phase is the powerhouse where clear requirements are converted into a focused model, forming the DNA of the design solution.

Tasks may include:

• Requirements Analysis - Analysing the formal results of our process to identify patterns, relationships and directions
• Affinity Diagramming - Organising ideas to form and explore conceptual relationships
• Design Brainstorming - harnessing creativity to translate directions into design models.

Interaction design builds on the information and conceptual design framework, adding functional elements through which the user is able to control and receive feedback from the system.

Our approach involves analysing the steps within a user's activity to ensure the product interface supports effective and accurate task completion. Identified user goals and processes are addressed through applying a comprehensive range of tools and methodologies. The outcome is an optimised solution for user interaction.

Tasks may include:

• Collaborative design
• Control and feedback design
• Procedural design
• Feature design
• Cognitive walkthroughs

Deliverables from the interaction design process include sets of screen blueprints or wireframes for use by developers. Alternatively, a business process diagram, flowchart or report may be provided for management.

The Information Design phase of a project relates to the organisation and shaping of data or content across the site. During this phase we gather, structure, and present information in line with proven user centred principles.

Tasks may include:

• Information analysis
• Internal content workshops
• Workflow diagramming
• Card sorting.

Deliverables from the Information Design phase include Information Architecture Diagrams, Site Maps and Procedural Flowcharts.

Where information architecture focuses on grouping information, content design focuses on the information itself. A content plan maps the content required for the product. We can also write or translate content for web presentation while providing "writing for the web" training which will train your content writers to publish the right content to your new website.

In prototyping we develop the proposed user interface in order to test various aspects of the design, illustrate ideas or features and gather early user feedback.

Prototyping reduces the risk and cost of building a product which may prove less than optimal to users' needs and therefore require further refinement. There are two common approaches to prototyping:

Paper Prototyping allows users to interact with paper-based representations of the product keeping the cost of the user testing to a minimum. This approach tests the interaction design and gathers feedback which will determine the need for further testing and analysis.

Electronic Prototyping involves an electronic model of the proposed design. Although less cost and time efficient than paper-based techniques, this model closely represents the proposed interface allowing us to observe users' reactions to a semi online environment. As with the paper prototype approach, this method provides feedback about the interaction between the user and the interface allowing us to add more cycles of testing, more subjects, or more prototypes as required.

We have demonstrated expertise in translating the findings from research activities in to an interface design.

In this phase, we produce up to three design concepts which visually represent the research and analysis conducted during the user interaction phase.

Our visual design forms an integral component of the usability framework, reflecting both business and user objectives.

The result is a visual style/concept, representing a detailed visual approach for your product. A visual style guide can also be provided which captures specific design elements and branding requirements. We can also supply a CSS to ensure the design elements retain their integrity as they are brought across to your website.

By using Stamford's usability standards and guidelines together with best practice heuristics from formal usability process, we can rapidly assess the usability of a product.

Where time is short and you need an immediate opinion to validate the usability of your product and advice on how to make improvements, our expert review service is an ideal starting point. On average, an expert review can generate more than 50 ways of improving your product.

Heuristic Evaluation

Our team of experts is experienced in evaluating products against a defined a set of user-centred design criteria, or heuristics and presenting findings in clear recommendations.

10 common usability heuristics or usability criteria:

1. Visibility of system status
2. Match between system and the real world
3. User control and freedom
4. Consistency and standards
5. Error prevention
6. Recognition rather than recall
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
8. Aesthetic and minimalist Design
9. Error recovery
10. Help and documentation.

Formal Usability Inspections

In a formal usability inspection we perform both individual and group inspections, using elements of both heuristic evaluation and a simplified form of cognitive walkthroughs to assess your product.

User testing involves carrying out specific assessment tasks with carefully recruited, representative users in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a design or product.

Tasks may include:

• Usability walkthroughs
• Prototyping and testing
• Tracked testing.

User experience evaluation is a process used to assess a sequence of screen presentations against user goals, business and functional requirements. A number of aspects are taken into consideration including user interactions, system responses and environmental factors.

We understand the importance of ensuring websites and intranets are accessible to all users. Providing accessible web based communication is not only best practice but makes good business sense.

Using a combination of automated validation and a manual review, our accessibility audit will identify barriers to accessibility on your website or intranet and provide an evaluation of compliance against W3C Guidelines.

We will provide you with an accessibility audit report advising where your site requires further changes to comply with either A, AA or AAA levels of the W3CGuidelines.

A content audit can take place while you are redeveloping your website and before you transition content to a new site.

An audit catalogues content, making it easier to identify outdated or irrelevant pages. A content assessment can then take place to further identify incorrect, inconsistent or badly written content and prevent "dirty" content from being transitioned to your new website.

We can also write and/or edit content for your new or redeveloped website. Another service we provide is "writing for the web" training and facilitation to ensure skills transfer and the professional development of your people.