Lab Testing

Since the advent of the mobile phone we have seen them move from being a large device used by a very select few to their current ubiquity, with some people owning two or more phones. How did we manage before we had them? However we did it is unimportant; the mobile phone is here to stay. This mobile evolution happened fairly rapidly and over a short space of time, which is due in no small part to the efforts of Nokia, who conquered the market in the late 90s and has seen off growing competition from other mobile manufacturers in the last couple of years. The legend of Nokia lives on and it has managed to keep hold of a sizeable share of the market, although the credit crunch seems to be loosening its grip, albeit marginally – Nokia’s Q4 market share figures for 2008 are down 3% from the previous year’s Q4 share of 40%. That said they are still leagues ahead of their nearest rival. I think the key to their success story can be linked to their heavy investment in user testing and focus on easy to use products. Nokia users are known to be steadfastly loyal and shriek at the thought of using another type of handset.

We face a number of challenges for designing usable interfaces on these shrinking devices. For one we need to contend with the increase in the number of applications and games that are freely available, mobiles are being used in many new and varying ways. Addressing how to make this interaction easy and engaging while on the move is a formidable task. The change from testing in labs to testing in the field will be an important one. Testing in lab conditions will highlight a high proportion of the issues but many more will be missed. Things like mid-day sun can be simulated to a certain extent but not walking and texting at the same time or looking after a child and trying to find someone’s contact details simultaneously. By using small cameras which can be attached to the handset which records participants’ interaction is one way. Another is to make use of embedded software which records users’ interactions, relaying the keystrokes and menu selections back to usability specialists to be analysed. However it is done, mobile testing is going alfresco. Far from being left out in the cold mobile manufacturers should take to the streets.

The usability industry has come a very long way during the eight years we have been in business.

Back in 2000 site owners rarely allocated budgets for any kind of usability input into site design. Unsure of the benefits, but intuitively suspecting it could add value, they used all manner of subterfuge and creative accounting in order to run usability tests in an ad hoc fashion. As a result, usability was deemed the very antithesis of creativity and its practitioners lacked any real appreciation of the design process. Read more…

At the beginning of May, industry publication New Media Age (NMA) ran an editorial leader and case study supporting the notion that UK digital agencies tend to be “domestic and tactically focused”. Ian James, head of digital for Bacardi took the opportunity to raise the concern that: “clients’ needs are outrunning their agencies capabilities”.

As I wrote in a letter to NMA editor Justin Pearse, while this might be true of the majority of traditional design and build agencies, it is certainly not a failing that can be attributed to digital customer experience agencies. Read more…

By Marty Carroll

Customers move between different channels at their convenience. What begins as a shopping trip on the high street could end with a sale closed online. From a customer’s point of view, everything the company does (or fails to do) is part of the experience. If there’s a queue on the phone lines, it could leave customers frustrated with the entire company, even if the experience in-store and online is exceptionally good. The lesson is clear: companies must offer a consistent and satisfying experience across all their channels, , from the customer’s initial interest through to the end of the transaction. At a time when the web provides near-perfect price information and few customers are brand-loyal, companies will be judged and differentiated on the experience they offer.

The web makes it easy to measure customer behaviour, but many web usability testing techniques apply equally to other channels. We helped a consumer electronics company by getting people to unpack deliveries in our lab. It was easy to see how customers would respond to the packaging and instructions and it illuminated part of the customer experience that normally takes place behind closed doors. We’ve helped financial services providers to understand their applications process, by asking customers to apply for mortgages in our lab and then complete the paperwork that would normally arrive a week later. We’ve also conducted research in-store and at the customers’ homes to find out how they use different channels and services and how satisfied they are.

In the past, companies have typically measured performance using operational metrics, such as the length of a call, which reflects its cost. But to improve customer experience, they must instead evaluate the experience customers receive, which could mean checking that service agents follow a consistent script or making sure that deliveries are on time. The key is to find out what influences the customer’s decision to use a particular company or channel, and making sure they are satisfied with the whole process. Having a perfect website won’t mean a thing if the delivery’s late, or the driver leaves muddy footprints in the hallway.