Your manager is definitely heading down the right path by implementing standards for user research. However, I have seen some very large companies try and fail to implement such standards. The two main reasons I%u2019ve seen for failure have been: 1) The expense and time are not warranted by the value received; and 2) the research method was generic rather than specifically selected to match the problem or opportunity.
To warrant user research, a project should be assessed for its potential value to the company in terms of revenue and other considerations such as brand reputation, and the percentage of that value that is at risk if the design is not optimized through research. Selecting an appropriate research method is more involved than simply putting each site in front of a handful of users. The research method has to be capable of providing answers to specific design questions unique to each initiative. (More on this at: http://www.virtualfloorspace.com/?tag=research-methods). For example, if the site has a high revenue potential, then it may be worth conducting field research that models current customer behavior and processes in order to design an innovative product, rather than simply testing a prototype or design spec for usability problems. Your process should be able to demonstrate value received for resources expended, which shouldn%u2019t be too hard in e-commerce, where numbers tell the story. Paul Bryan Usography (http://www.usography.com) Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/uxexperts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=45733 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
