Benchmark White Paper Templage

www.benchmarkrs.com | info@benchmarkrs.com PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS FOR A COMPLEX WORLD Usability Capabilities & Expertise January 2009 What is Usability? Usability specialists work to ensure that the intended users of a system can carry out the intended tasks efficiently, effectively and satisfactorily. Usability techniques can be applied at any stage of product development, from assessing end-user requirements before design through evaluating finished products. Designing Positive User Experiences Before you can meet users’ needs it is essential to understand their needs. Our approach is to form a detailed understanding of the target user, anticipate how the product will affect that person, and explore ways to simplify any gaps between the product’s offering and the problem the user is trying to solve. Because we understand the strengths and limitations of both the user and the technology, we can explore ways to improve the interaction between them. We apply multiple techniques throughout the technology development cycle to understand and meet users’ needs. Some of these techniques include: • User Requirements Analysis • Task Analysis • Persona and Scenario • Storyboarding & Prototyping Development • Heuristic Evaluation • Information Architecture • User-Experience Testing • Concept Testing • User Interface Specifications & • Competitive Analysis Guidelines Why is Usability Important? Making computer-based ...