AbsoluteByte – Digital and Creative Agency

User Centered Design

User centered design (UCD) puts your users at the heart of every decision you make during the design and development process. This therefore maximises the chances of your website or digital platform engaging and converting.

Where UCD differs from a standard design and build process, is that the end user’s wants, needs and expectations are given attention and consideration and every stage of the project. This therefore requires research, design and testing in a cyclical format. Though this may mean a more significant investment, the benefits could far outway the costs; as you will be able to meet or exceed user expectations.

We can plan, manage and implement full user centred design strategies, undertaking user research and user testing where and when required. Having provided user centred design services for a number of high-profile, international brands, we have the knowledge skills and insights necessary to deliver a UCD programme that will help you achieve your objectives.

Benefits

Avoid the possibility of making common or costly mistakes
Improve the usability of your website or digital platform
Balance user needs with business requirements to create a win-win digital platform
Optimise your site for success and improve the chances of sales and conversions

You may also be interested in other UCD aspects:

User Research User Testing

User Experience App Development

Identifying user needs

Even at the simplest level, we will begin every project with a User Centred Discovery Meeting. During this we will identify each of your user groups to uncover their needs, desires, frustrations and expectations. For more detailed user centred design projects we will undertake user research to gain deeper insights and understanding. We can also develop in-depth user personas and user journeys for us to refer to throughout the project.

Understanding your requirements

In addition to identifying user needs, we’ll also undertake a business needs analysis to ensure we capture all business requirements and goals that must be met for the project to be deemed a success. Though developing user centered solutions is at the core of a UCD programme, we understand that the aim is for you to reach business objectives. This is why we always focus on achieving a balance between user needs and business goals.

Creating design solutions

Armed with information on your goals, coupled with an understanding of user needs and desires, we will begin creating design solutions. Typically we will undergo a proven process, starting with information architecture and content planning, then moving on to wireframes, visual concepts and design.

Evaluating the designs

Evaluation is key, as we need to ensure that the design concepts align with the user needs and expectations. Through the process of user testing (using wireframes or design prototypes), we will assess and evaluate every aspect of the designs. We can then amend and iterate where necessary to create the final designs.

User Research

Creating a great user experience begins with understanding people’s needs and desires; so our dedicated user research services help you uncover the insights you need to make more informed decisions.

We have delivered user research programmes for high-profile global brands, using a number of proven methodologies such as user experience interviews and online surveys to help them understand what they need to do to inspire, engage and convert.

Such insights have not only helped clients avoid costly mistakes, but have helped them to significantly increase sales, engagement rates and conversions. Findings can also prove to be invaluable during the user centred design process, ensuring we take an insights over opinions approach. It’s benefits like this that make research such a worthwhile, beneficial activity.

Why you should consider:

Make decisions based on results and insights rather than opinions
Inform the design of your digital channels and experiences
Test and validate any assumptions you have about users
Reduce risk by eliminating the possibility of making costly mistakes

Research methods include:

Surveys User Interviews

Questionnaires Focus Groups

Surveys & Questionnaires

Quantitative research can be highly beneficial if you are looking to get an indication of who your users are and what they want from your brand. We can set-up and manage dedicated questionnaires that give us actionable insights which we can then use to inform your digital strategy and activities. This process can be particularly useful for businesses who want to rebrand, reposition, or launch a new product or service into the market place.

Interviews & Focus Groups

For deeper insights, qualitative research tactics such as interviews and focus groups are often required. We can facilitate such activities, working with you to design an appropriate research methodology that helps us uncover what your users pain points and desires are. Depending on your needs, we can use existing research materials, such as your company website or app. If the goal is to test before you launch, we can also use wireframes and prototypes to gain insights from your users.

Expert Facilitation

Our research activities are facilitated by dedicated research professionals. With years of experience and understanding behind them, we can ensure we use the right research approaches and methodologies to get you the insights you need. In doing so, we also remove the possibility of research bias, as the person testing is not attached to the brand, the business or the work.

Reporting & Recommendation

Following delivery of your research programme, we will supply you with detailed reports and recommendations developed by our research team. We can deliver research work in silo, meaning even if you already have a creative or digital agency developing your work, we can still support you with your research needs.

User Testing

User testing allows us to assess before we decide; helping our clients to avoid costly mistakes and improving the chances of success.

By watching customers interact with your digital platforms, we can gain actionable insights that will help us make continuous improvements and help you reach your objectives.

The testing methodology depends on your goals and desired outcomes, but we will work with you to scope and manage the user testing project as you require. Such testing takes away guess work, assumptions and personal opinions and puts your user at the heart of your online presence. It is therefore a key part of creating a more user centred experience.

Benefits:

Understand why your website is not converting.
Test wireframes, designs and concepts before you proceed with development.
Test the usability of your website without making any assumptions.
Ensure your website is primed to engage and convert.

Problem Discovery

While you may be able to see from sales figures, analytics or enquiries that your website is underperforming, you may not understand why; this is where problem discovery comes in. The aim of this is to uncover as many usability issues as possible by asking your users to complete a series of tasks and scenarios. This is particularly beneficial for those looking to redesign and develop their web presence, as it helps you to uncover user expectations and avoid repeating mistakes.

Wireframe Prototype Testing

We can test your website’s usability in the early stages by creating a simple wireframe prototype that functions like the site will. By conducting testing in an interview format, we can watch the user navigate through the prototype, giving them tasks to complete and asking them set questions to understand what they like or dislike. This can often flag up key things, such as missing information, or a requirement to change the layout or hierarchy of content on a page.

Website Usability Testing

To assess the usability of your website, we will create an interactive prototype where the pages are designed as the final site would be, with all colour, fonts, styling and photography placed appropriately. This allows us to test content, structure, hierarchy and design against the user’s needs and expectations. The functional prototype allows the user to click and journey as they would on a website, but without the necessary time and costs being put into development. This allows us to make updates and changes at the earlier design stage, before budget and resources is spent on front and back end development.

A-B Testing

A-B testing, also known as split testing, can help you significantly improve results. It allows us to assess and analyse how users respond to the same web page presented differently; for example two homepages. It may be small differences such as messaging, photography or hierarchy of information, but by testing variations we can understand which performs best in grabbing your audience’s’ attention and converting. This form of testing can be used for new or existing websites and we will work with you closely to design an appropriate testing programme.