Usability is the ease of use and learnability of a human-made object. The object of use can be a software application, website, book, tool, machine, process, etc.
Over the past several years we have had the opportunity to work with companies of various sizes as they plan and redesign their web presence. Some began using a CMS for the first time, while others were transitioning from either an open-source system (WP, Drupal, etc.) or some homegrown system to a more robust complete CMS solution (Adobe CQ5, Sitecore, Sharepoint, etc).
We’ve worked with these organizations to help them better understand the mental models of their “End Users” so that together we could design a system that is effective, efficient and satisfying. But who are these “End Users?” One common thread that we’ve noticed is that a majority of these organizations seemed to forget about a number of “end users” by focusing exclusively on the experience of visitors to their sites and their customers.
Don’t get us wrong, we think that it is vital to understand, and design towards the understanding of visitors and customers. We often create personas that help drive that design conversation.
What we are saying is that most of the organizations that we’ve worked with never completely thought about all of the user touch-points they need to consider.
Universal design is about creating something that will work across all user types, etc. while responsive design segregates users into different interactions depending the the type of device that they are using.
User Experience and Usability Testing have become fashionable lingo in the health IT world, yet EHR software is rife with usability issues; convoluted workflows, poor content, and poor interaction design are common frustrations that plague providers daily. Changing healthcare reimbursement models, Meaningful Use, PQRS, ICD-10... don’t providers have enough concerns without having to worry about their EHR?
It was a pleasure to work with you, as you and your team made this process a more pleasant experience for our team and the participants.
Karen Perry
I just want to tell you that I value people relations more than money. I remember how you were friendly and helpful not going against policies and contractual obligations at the same time, not using your power to make us feel stupid and small. It was a very rare and big experience for me. Really. I will always remember this.
Alex
The Usability People are all individuals that you can become friends with very easily. They have a lot of different interests and are a pleasure to work with. I was writing a PRD/MRD for a billing solution and worked with The Usability People in defining the user interface. They are receptive to ideas and are able to mold the user interface from an end-user's perspective. I really liked the idea of putting end-user photograph & short biography around the office to help understand the users
