#27031
Design and optimize products around basic features. The result--you will sell more products and improve the chances of people using secondary features (such as value added services).
Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Apogee (2004). Design>Web Design>Usability
#27029
Usability is about understanding your users, and designing and testing with and for those users. However, there are other competing needs that need to be considered to ensure product success. In architectural and technical drawings, different layers or transparencies are often overlaid to assemble the complete design solution. A similar "design transparency" approach can ensure that product teams are working towards a common goal, gaining a balanced view, and increasing the chance of success.
Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Apogee (2005). Design>Web Design>Usability
#27030
Customers avoid web-based customer support if information is not relevant, out of date or hard to find. Without a business commitment to addressing these issues, customers will continue to prefer contacting a service representative by phone.
Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Apogee (2005). Articles>Documentation>Help>Online
#30208
Customer Support on the Web: Don't Call Us, We'll Call You
Sometimes, when a customer looks for contact information for Customer Support, it is hidden from view or buried beneath layers of menus. Some companies even deliberately hide their contact information, because they simply don't want customers to contact them. So, what factors should you consider if your goal is providing more optimal customer support on the Web?
Szuc, Daniel. UXmatters (2007). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design>Help
#24734
People are increasingly relying on web channels to check on their billing relationship with companies. The problem: Not all billing applications present information that’s easy to navigate and action.
Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Usability Professionals Association (2004). Articles>Usability>Web Design
#29559
Are there questions you can ask before approaching home page design that can move it beyond the influence of specific stakeholders in the company toward a common vision? Are there tips to consider when designing a home page? This article will help you better understand how to approach home page design.
Szuc, Daniel. UXmatters (2007). Design>Web Design
#27028
Planning for User Research Success
Planning is crucial if you want your user research efforts to be effective. You need to think about what information you need to gather, and why, before embarking on any research. Good planning, well communicated to the client or project, and followed by careful implementation will ensure your research is effective.
Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Apogee (2005). Articles>Usability>Research
#28667
#28898
Walking Through Your Product Design With Stakeholders
You are the lead designer--or perhaps even the sole designer on a product team. You have just completed your product design, and it's time to walk through your design approach with the project stakeholders, including management, developers, and users. What do you need to do to prepare for your presentation? This article provides some basic tips to help you better prepare to walk through your product designs with stakeholders.
Szuc, Daniel. UXmatters (2007). Design>Project Management>User Experience>Collaboration
#32677
This article examines what works and what does not work well when selling UX within an organization, identifies barriers you might encounter to the adoption of UX methods in your organization, and discusses how to package and present UX to stakeholders. In this article, we’ll try to avoid just being prescriptive. Rather, we’ll pose questions along the way, regarding what has worked well for you.
Szuc, Daniel, Paul J. Sherman and John S. Rhodes. UXmatters (2008). Careers>Usability>User Experience>Organizational Communication
#33949
At some point in your career, you’ll be called upon to sell UX to someone in your organization. You’ve probably already done it. Perhaps you’ll need to justify what you do in an organization or industry that’s just beginning to adopt UX methods or sell UX to secure your position within an organization or get future projects. So, what do you need to know to help you sell UX? What challenges might you face? This article examines what works and what does not work well when selling UX within an organization, identifies barriers you might encounter to the adoption of UX methods in your organization, and discusses how to package and present UX to stakeholders.
Szuc, Daniel, Paul J. Sherman and John S. Rhodes. UXmatters (2008). Articles>User Experience>Workplace
