April 24, 2015No Comments

Finding the Right Heuristic Evaluation Tool

Just minutes ago I completed a very long and tedious heuristic evaluation. Several weeks in hibernation, a couple dozen cups of coffee and more than a few headache powders later and I'm all done. Earlier this evening I actually threw my hands in the air as if I had crossed some imaginary marathon finish line. Nope, not kidding, I really did. Right there at my desk for all to see. Sometimes you've just gotta celebrate.

Recently, a client asked us to help them review their current digital collateral. They needed assistance working through a brand update and website redesign. The project was to include UX evaluations, brand inventories, competitive analysis, site architecture, the whole nine yards. Just my kinda gig. However I realized once I began prepping for the evaluation that I hadn't updated my processes and documentation in a while and I wasn't fully satisfied with them after their last use. So, I was faced with the evergreen question of recycle, refine or retool. After much hand-ringing and more than a few dozen glances at the timeline and milestone documents, I bit the bullet and decided to retool. It was time for a new approach, new processes and while I was at it I might as well see if another format afforded better outcome.

In the past I've used Word documents, Fireworks files, PowerPoint, Excel spreadsheets and other software mash-ups to perform and document my heuristic evaluations. All of them have their place, but each has shown some major drawbacks. I've struggled with retaining control of formatting, operating system tug-o-wars and version control. This time I was looking for something different. I wanted something scalable, something I could easy edit remotely and most importantly it had to be easy for other team members to access and contribute. So, I decided to go with Google docs. And so far, I've been more than pleased with my decision.

First thing I had to do was port over all my heuristics into the new format. Quite frankly, I thought this might be the worst task I'd taken on in a while. I've died the death of a thousand spreadsheet cells in the past, and as I'm sure you're aware, it's a torture like no other. Surprisingly, once I jumped in and begin nudging those columns and color coding the rows, it came together quite nicely, thank you. As a matter of fact I think Google's minimal design esthetic and my penchant for removing cruft work well together. Here's a screen grab of one of the sections.

Screengrab of evaluation

Screengrab of evaluation

 

I'm  happy to report that we shared the first draft of the audit with the client earlier this week and it was a huge hit. I credit the simple layout and the document's high level of readability (even as a screen grab) for the warm welcome the presentation received.

Now the next test comes into play. I'll route the document this week internally for final contributions from other team members and for the all important proofing stage. Usually my heuristic reports route as flat copies for old school style redlining (for those not in the agency world, that means someone actually taken a red pen to mark up my spelling and grammatical gaffs). I'm guessing that being able to edit the document directly is gonna be a big hit. Fingers officially crossed.

I'll post updates as the project continues. And in the spirit of sharing, if we decide to adopt this process, I'll explore the idea of providing access to a google doc template of the evaluation so those of you searching for a new form of documentation can give it a test drive for your next project. So, stay tuned.

 

 

April 14, 2015No Comments

Decisions, Decisions.

Wednesday may be hump day but Monday is Decision Day!

Ya see, a few weeks ago I came to a crossroad. I had been putting off making some decisions. At first it was only a few, select choices. Big ones. The kind of decisions that honestly do require thought, reflection, research and deliberation. But it wasn't long before I realized I was also passing on opportunities to make smaller decisions too. Simple stuff really, like whether or not to reseed the lawn, or if I should  work on side project A or B. I had found myself in a funk. I had found myself staring straight ahead into the blinding light of the dreaded analysis paralysis. Too dramatic, yeah maybe. But nonetheless, it was clear the time had come to be proactive and stop passing the buck. So, I came up with the idea of Decision Day. Every Monday come hail or high water I was going to select one of the big decisions I had been putting off and I would commit to finalizing any review or research I was pursuing and I would make a decision. I would, as my dad always said, fish or cut bait.

So what did I decide today? I decided to up my blog game. To get off the fence and post something at least once a week. No more collecting thoughts and sitting on them. Gone are the days of hoarding links and staring at my stack of Post It notes and saying; "soon, soon I'll carve out the time to get those thought into writing. So, it's official. I've decided to post content once a week for 2 months. Now, I know what you may be thinking; "wow, another so-and-so committing to publishing more content. Isn't that what all bloggers say?" Well, I suppose you'd be right. I'm certainly not alone, but ya see, that's the beauty of having made the decision. I'm not gonna be taken off task because I'm not the originator of the idea, or because others may think the endeavor underwhelming or even because I begin second guessing the time commitment. Nope. I decided to do it, so now all that's left is to embrace the decision.

Since I've begun focusing my attention on the decision-making process I've found myself relying on some tools to help keep me on track. Good tools of course deserve to be shared so here are a few that you might also find useful.

  • I've got The Decision Book on my short list. I haven't read it yet but did see it on my bosses desk. Hum, something says it's worth picking up.
  • Here's a Google Doc version of an editorial calendar from the fine folks over at Crackerjack Marketing. I'll be using this to help direct my blogging and other social media outreach decisions.
  • And here's a post from The Daily Egg that highlights a few more editorial calendars should you need them.
  • And of course my favorite mathematical formula for boosting decision-making prowess; the Pareto Principal (or 80-20 Rule).
  • I found this (sometimes) helpful blog idea generator from HubSpot. Give it a go, it's entertaining and really does help jumpstart those brainwaves.

Now, for good measure and a bit of inspiration (for myself as much as anyone) I'll summarize with a quote from a gentlemen I find myself referring to often President, Theodore Roosevelt:

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

Cheers! Now, go decide something.

November 6, 2014No Comments

10POINT Optimization – Make it Usable

I bet you're a lot like me – you've probably visited a truck-ton of websites over the years – and more than likely most of them left little or no lasting impression. Don't worry, it's not your fault, your memory's not failing, most websites just aren't that good. There, I said it. Most websites are lackluster attempts at mediocre marketing. As of this writing there were 1,107,074,500 websites live online. Yep, that's over a billion, and currently the number grows at the rate of about 600 per minute.

Let's face it, these days it takes a great deal of effort to design a website that breaks through the clutter and gets your brand noticed. And, brace for it, it takes even more to satisfy the customer once they've found you. But that's exactly what you're gonna have to do if you want to make it in todays digital marketplace. So let's embrace the challenge and determine to be a cut above the rest. In my last post I introduced the idea of the 10POINT optimization plan. This week we're gonna take a quick look at the first of those 10 points, Usability.

Now let's not kid ourselves, usability is not a single blog post kind of topic. Many folks have spent their entire careers trying to crack this nut. Volumes of books, dissertations, white papers and marketing plans have been devoted to the subject. But while we can't do such a topic justice in short order, burying our heads in the sand in hopes it takes care of itself won't get us very far either. What I'll attempt to do here is to lay some actionable ground work and point you in the right direction for more information so you can approach your own project well armed.

So what is usability? The working definition reads: "The ease of use and learnability of a human-made object." Seems simple enough, right? But what does that really mean when it comes to evaluating your website design? How do you know if your site is usable? Over the course of the last decade I've performed more than my share of usability evaluations. And while many of them took the form of complicated spreadsheets, graphs, charts and PowerPoint decks, what I'm going to recommend here is a bit more direct. If you really want to get a good sense of your sites' state of usability, simply ask yourself these few basic questions:

  1. Is my website easy for my customers to navigate? Can they get where they want to go without frustration?
  2. Do my forms and purchase platforms operate seamlessly? 
  3. Am I providing the content my customers need and want in order to make a decision?
  4. Do my customers recommend my site to others?

If you answered 'no', or even 'I'm not sure' to any of the above, then you're probably going to want to invest some more time digging into your site's details. Small things like broken links, dead-end pages, images that do not render, slow page load times and a dozen other seemingly small details easily derail customers from their online journeys. If you've determined that your site needs a little help and want to dig in and make changes, let me share with you a few resources that can help.

But what do ya' do if you're still not sure how their site's stacks up to their customer's expectations. Maybe you fall into that group. Truth be told I've worked with Fortune 500 CMOs who, if being honest, couldn't adequately answer the above questions. It's just the nature of the beast. Most folks are just too busy or focused on some other aspect of the business to have a real sense of how their website is performing. So, I'm going to offer another simple solution, One that is often overlooked or dismissed as being too costly or time-consuming (neither, by the way need be true). Ask your customers. That's it. Take the time to seek the opinion of those who matter most, the ones you're trying to serve.

 

October 22, 2014No Comments

Content Audit Resources Worth Sharing

Recently a content audit proposal crossed my desk. It had been a few months since I had focused solely on an audit and wondered what might have changed in the space since my last rodeo. A quick look around the web assured me that the basics were still the basics, and I was immediately reminded of just how many smart folk there are working in this space. Not only smart, many of these guys are crazy generous as well. After several hours of catching up,  downloading templates and comparing example audits it dawned on me that these resources and by extension their authors deserved sharing. Whether your about to perform you first audit or gearing up for number next, you'll be sure to find some valuable tips from these pros. So without further ado, here's direct access to some content audit awesomeness you and your teams will no doubt benefit from. Enjoy.

  • The Content Inventory is Your Friend by Kristina Halvorson remains a great primer.
  • Looking for a great book on the subject? Check out this Content Strategy for the Web from Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach. Bonus tip: while you're there download a free chapter of their book.
  • Coleen Jones and her team over at Content Science are offering some great workshop for 2015.
  • The gang from UX Mastery have a great how-to article on performing a content audit and even offer a sample spreadsheet to give ya a kickstart.
  • Ngen Works has allowed access to their UX workflow and process wiki which includes some real nuggets. Check it out, these guys are the real deal.
  • Just the facts ma'am. If you're new to this kinda thing and are looking for the basics, Usability.gov has some starter info for ya. Here's another one from them.

Clearly there are loads of good intel out there to help get you started on your next content audit. And while I'm admittedly a big fan of standing on the shoulders of giants (the view is quite nice), I'm also an advocate of rolling up sleeves and sluggin' it out old school. Yep, I'm talking about biting the bullet, opening that XL spreadsheet and jumping in with both feet. Content audits may not be the sexiest deliverable in our UX toolkit, but they're also not rocket science. With a fair dose of patience, a little guidance from those who've gone before and maybe some crunchy new tunes pulsing through your ear buds you're a shoe-in for this kind of thing.

So, go on, get after it. Your customers will be glad you did. And when you've got the audit in the can, drop me a line and let me know what you learned along the way.

 

Portfolio of Todd Chambers | Copyright © 2021 | wtoddchambers@gmail.com

Portfolio of W. Todd Chambers | Copyright © 2018 
 
wtoddchambers@gmail.com

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