Interface Evaluation(aka Usability Audit/Expert Review)

Actionable design recommendations for improving the usability of your social web application.

Description

Our interface evaluation is a fast, economical way to get concrete design recommendations for improving your web application. We start by understanding your business priorities. This crucial step ensures our recommendations are pinpointed at the health of your business. Then we conduct an in-depth, screen-level evaluation of your web application to make sure that your design is working effectively to support your bottom line. We evaluate your design on many criteria, including:

• Usability Heuristics
  e.g. Does your copy reflect the language of your users? Does the system provide appropriate error recovery? Is system status visible?
• Interface Design Best Practices
  e.g. Are calls to action clear? Do interactions involving multiple screens flow smoothly? Are behaviors of screen elements consistent?
• Social Design Best Practices
  e.g. Is your reputation system appropriate for your community? Are you taking advantage of social proof to motivate users?

We don't just point out problems. We deliver a concrete, prioritized list of recommended changes that your design team can implement immediately. We also provide rationale for each recommendation along with examples of existing designs to model after (or avoid).

What to Evaluate?

Simply put, our interface evaluation service is for the most important screens and flows in your web application. We evaluate each one in-depth to make sure it's doing its job. If you're working within an agile development process, we can evaluate portions of your web app as they are released. Here are some typical screens and flows we've done evaluations on:

• Sign-up Flows
  Sign-up flows are crucial to the health of your web application. For larger sites even a 1% improvement can mean a significant increase in revenue. By smoothing out your sign-up flow, you'll not only get more customers but you'll start them off on the right foot.
• Home Pages
  Home pages help potential customers make the decision to begin using your web application or service. A good first impression is therefore vital to your selling strategy. We evaluate the efficacy of your homepage, helping you clarify and strengthen the message it's sending.
• Activity Streams
  Activity streams have become the primary engagement screen of many social web applications, driving much of the behavior in some communities. Improving the subtle social interaction elements of streams can be tricky...with positive changes leading to increased activity and negative changes leading to gaming and boredom.

Who is this
service for?

This service is for folks who:

• Have complicated social interactions at the core of their web application.
• Have a business whose success is directly related to the effectiveness of their web application.
• Need to improve conversion numbers on crucial screen interactions.
• Need to ensure their web application doesn't frustrate users and is easy to use.
• Aren't sure how to make effective changes (and quickly, too).

Timeline &
Pricing

You get the results of the interface evaluation fast: either a one week or two week turnaround. The start and end date are agreed upon beforehand, so you'll know exactly when you can expect the results of the evaluation.

What You Get

You get actionable design recommendations that your team can implement immediately. The deliverable includes the following:

• Detailed list of issues
  We'll illuminate the issues that are stifling the effectiveness of your current design.
• Prioritized list of changes
  We'll deliver a concrete set of recommendations for change that your team can implement immediately. We'll provide rationale behind these changes so that you understand why we're making them.
• Examples of best practices
  We'll point your team to design elements from other applications that exemplify best practices.

Deliverables

We'll deliver these recommendations in a written report as well as in a follow-up phone call with your design team, ensuring that each recommendation is clearly understood and actionable. For an example of a deliverables document, please get in touch with us.

How to Order

Send a note via the contact form.