User Experience Design: Quantifying the user experience

Many people view the user experience as an overall measure of the success of the site. The analysis of a Web site in the provision of good user experience, often become a very subjective thing, only stay in the point of view, lack of objective basis.

This article describes a fast-food approach to quantifying the user experience, and I find this approach helpful for providing customers with a quick, objective, visual representation of their site and past development efforts.

What is the user experience?
The term "user experience" refers to the concept of having end users as the focus of design and development activities, rather than systems, applications, or pure aesthetic values. It is based on the general user-centric (user first) design concept.

The user experience consists of four main factors:

L Brand

L Usability (Note: Users can use an interface to achieve their goal of ease)

L function

L Content

Individually, none of these factors can lead to a positive user experience; However, if combined, these factors constitute a major factor in the success of a website.

For example, a beautifully designed web site frequently has server errors or timeouts. Or imagine a great database application that has never been used for some reason because it is buried deep in the web's information architecture. In both cases, we can see that the independent branding, usability, functionality, and content elements are not able to demonstrate that a site is successful. However, when combined, these core elements form the basis of the user experience.

The necessity of target analysis tools

For example, you have come to a new leader – they are dissatisfied with the status quo and want you to help grasp the proper course of the site. If you're like me, the first thing to do is to take a look at the website and make some rough notes in your mind. Then how do you convey these thoughts and records back to your customers instead of simply criticizing the existing Web site as if you tore it up like an eight-petal?

The question is whether each of us perceives a site as good or bad, and is biased by the influence of our personal background and industry characteristics. If called to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a site, a developer, usability specialist, designer, or information architect might be judged differently.

An objective measurement and analysis tool that will help you provide your customers with factual advice, not just assumptions and opinions. The approach we'll explore in this article will help you:

• Eliminate personal biases as far as possible (subjective factors)

L enable people from different backgrounds (designers, developers, clients) to have a common understanding of the Web site

• Create benchmark rules to facilitate web sites to compare with their competitors or past development efforts

• Provide your customers with a factual basis and a visual display of the pros and cons of their site

Measuring the user Experience

As noted above, the user experience consists of four interrelated elements:

L Brand

L Availability

L function

L Content

But how do we quantify and measure these seemingly intangible elements?

The method is simple. We divide the analysis into four parts – the element of each user experience is a part. For each element, we create a series of descriptions or parameters that are used to measure the Web site pointedly. We create a scale range from 1 to x for each description and rate each description within that range.

Once you have completed the first part of the analysis, each of the four columns has a corresponding score.

In the example analysis enclosed in this article, we used only five descriptions or parameters for each element. Therefore, we use a 20-point scale range, so that the highest score of the site is 100. So, if we add an additional five descriptions or parameters to each element, we will use the scale range of 10 points to grade.

The following is a summary of each element and description or parameter in the example analysis:

Brand

The brand includes all the aesthetic, design-related items in the website. It brings the idea of an organization's image or information to the site. The description used to measure the brand includes:

L site provides visitors with an attractive and memorable experience

L The visual effects of the website are consistent with the brand features

L images, add-ons, and multimedia add value to experience

L website conveys the perception of the brand

• Web sites leverage the media's ability to enhance and expand brands

Function

Features include all technical aspects and "background" processes and applications. It provides Web sites with interactive services for all end-users, and it is important to note that this sometimes means both the front desk public and the backend administrator. Descriptions of Web site features include:

L users receive timely responses to their inquiries and submissions

• Clear notification of task processes (e.g., success pages or mail update prompts)

L Web sites and applications strictly comply with common security and privacy standards

L online functionality combined with offline business processes

L Web site includes administrator tools to enhance administrator efficiency

Availability of

Usability brings the overall ease of use of all site elements and features. Level two topics in usability include navigation and ease of use (friendliness) (Note: Usability deals with issues that make online content available to the user's experience, enjoyment, and usage). Descriptions of availability include:

L Web site prevents errors and helps users recover from errors

L The overall Web page focuses on optimization for major audiences

L website helps visitors achieve general goals and tasks

L websites follow its own consistency and standards

L website provides content for disabled users

Content

Content refers to the site's actual content (text, multimedia, images) and its structure, or information architecture. We look at how information and content are organized according to defined user needs and customer business needs. The description of the measurement content includes:

L link density is clear enough and easy to navigate

L Content organization facilitates users to achieve goals

L content Timely and accurate

L content for customer needs and business needs

L Multi-lingual comprehensive content

In most cases, I will use 10 to 20 separate descriptions for these four elements. I suggest that you use the above description as the basis for creating your own analysis. Keep in mind that if you add more descriptions, you must also adjust the scale of 20 points so that the total of each element is divided into 100. For example, if you use 10 descriptions for each element, your scoring scale should be 1-20. If you use 20 descriptions for each element, your scale should be 1-5.

As an example of this type of analysis, please download this sample Excel file.

Show you the results

Once you've completed your analysis and got a score for each description or parameter, it's time to put the data in a clear and informative format.

The first thing we have to do is to sum up all the points of each element. Because we've set the score scale to provide a score of 100 for each element, what we really get is a percentage score. Once we have these percentages, I find it most effective to create a radar map to render visually. Microsoft Excel or Open Office Calc works well, although any spreadsheet software with charting capabilities is fine.

Using your datasheet software, you can create a visual display of the data. See the sample files that you downloaded above to get more examples.

Be creative with your analysis

The best thing about the analysis and methods described in this article is that they can be used to meet your specific customer or project needs.

You can of course add a fifth category to the analysis to describe usability (friendliness) or business metrics. For example, if you get a government client, you need to strictly follow the 508 rule (for the United States). You can easily create a set of descriptions or parameters to deal specifically with usability (friendliness) elements, and modify your chart to show it accordingly. Similarly, you can easily create a category that deals specifically with your customer's key business metrics, such as ROI, CTR, conversion, or number of repeat customers.

Optionally, this analysis platform allows you to add a greater weight to the element you choose. For example, you have a client who is a luxury manufacturer and focuses on branding and visual effects. You can, of course, create a modified measurement system to provide greater weight to the brand elements, and, for example, reduce the weight of the usability essentials.

Practical application

I've used this analysis for a lot of the projects I've been working on. I often include a "fast-food" analysis in my new client's proposal as an appendix to provide prospective customers with a simple impression of their site relative to their competitors.

Providing this kind of commentary can often give you an excellent opportunity to showcase your professionalism. The opportunity is that other companies that bid will not include such free consulting services – and the report you include in your proposal may be a decisive factor in your favor.

In other cases, I already have customers paying for in-depth analysis and complete advice on their site. Such reports include the completion of different descriptive paragraphs for each description or parameter, with a screenshot example. If I finally win a client by following up on my proposal, I usually book a 6-month review of the site, as a way to show progress, while enhancing the value of my service.

This analysis can also serve as a starter project that leads to more business. If you give this analysis a reasonable price, it can be a great tool for you to get new customers and show them the benefits of your service.

Translator: Leon Zhang,

Original Author: Robert Rubinoff

Original: Http://www.sitepoint.com/print/quantify-user-experience