Amanda Roach

Amanda's bio

Amanda Roach has been working as a user experience consultant since 2003 after completing an MSc in HCI at University College London. In her two years so far at Foviance, she has been leading research in the areas of product design and hand-held devices.

"Not only are we experts in researching the online channel at Foviance, consultants like myself also work with companies such as Nokia and Dell to develop and improve the products they bring to market. Understanding both the physical as well as on-screen interaction with a product like a mobile phone, brings a deeper insight to all types of research."

There are obvious attractions to conducting international surveys as conduits of quantitative research.

Not only will they extend your reach and influence geographically, but they also expand the size of your potential samples, while reducing costs considerably compared to securing a similar scope of respondents locally. Surveys do have obvious limitations against one-to-one qualitative studies, but with skilled questioning and efficient organisation, excellent results can still be gained for far lower overheads. Read more…

I have recently completed some user testing and one of the devices used was an iPhone. This device is often venerated as being the epitome of style, user-friendliness and cutting-edge technology. Indeed, I often find that when handing an iPhone to a participant in the labs, a very soft “Wow” escapes their lips! (I am not sure though whether it is the phone that elicits this reaction or the reputation of it.)

I agree that the iPhone is an excellent piece of kit in many ways and those who own and use one often promote its usage (sometimes tediously!) However, my testing highlighted a couple of areas that were not acceptable to the participants and in fact, gave a negative user experience. These were: Read more…

Yesterday I mentioned five tips on some of the best ways businesses can help promote trust in mobile security. Here are some more pointers when logging in to a secure area of a site e.g. banking:
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Several years ago, I was involved in an international project that focussed on security when using mobile devices and how trust could be enabled in users. At that time, very few users were accessing the mobile internet on a regular basis and consequently, it was very difficult for them to envisage the dangers posed by hackers, malware and unauthorised access to both personal and business data stored on their mobile device.Things have changed since then in terms of mobile internet usage as a boom seems imminent, fuelled by the rise of 3G, smartphones and affordable data package tariffs. Indeed, all around us smartphones are becoming ubiquitous with a spike in smartphone adoption predicted as users come out of contracts and seek a better deal for their money. Read more…

As the mobile customer experience specialist here at Foviance, I take every opportunity to attend professional events that are dedicated to the smaller screen.In November I went along to the mobileSQUARED Roadshow in central London, which showcased strategies and case studies to guide businesses wanting to embrace the mobile web. With over four billion handsets in use around the world and approaching one billion owners connecting to the internet using those phones, the business opportunities in this sector are immense and will grow significantly over the next decade. Read more…

I am finally on the last leg of my usability tour of Asia having reached Japan. Japan is an amazing country with great people but I have really struggled with going into shops, ordering food and generally moving around the place as everything is written in Japanese (not surprisingly as I am in Japan!) Read more…

Well the Shanghai part of my tour of Asia is now over. It all went to plan and we had some great feedback from participants. For me, without question, one of the major things I can pull out is the absolute necessity in understanding how users in different countries search online and what search engines they use. Basic stuff really, but if your site is not tagged appropriately and for the correct search engines, then it will not be found. Read more…

After numerous weeks of meticulous planning and attention to detail, I am the latest Foviance consultant to begin a user experience expedition to Asia. First stop on my whistlestop tour is Shanghai. Read more…