Bullets ‘R Us: Best Practices in Design
The session “User Experience - The Latest in Design & Best Practices” was so riddled with bullets, even Superman wouldn’t have survived them. All the bullets are summarized below, but the best were the first six, and they were also the best delivered.
Jared Spool, founding principal of User Interface Engineering, actually made best practices fun. He threw some head-scratchers out there: Why does Pfizer need to completely change its links every two weeks? Why did Avis have an online form with asterisks denoting optional information (as opposed to mandatory)? Why do most airlines have ticketing policies that are incomprehensible?
His six lessons:
• Know why people come to your site.
• Have the content they’re looking for.
• Have all the content they need.
• Know the language of the Web.
• Write stuff people can read.
• Have something to say.
“That’s 10 years of research in 11 minutes,” he concluded.
Kathy Beymer, executive planning director of Arc Worldwide, then gave her tips for brand-heavy digital experiences:
1. Understand your audience. Goal: Find your value exchange.
2. Balance usability and innovation. Goal: Usable immersion. Invest in taking calculated risks that push standards.
3. Tackle measurement head on! Goal: Tell the full story, from web statistics to the impact on brand perception and affinity.
Simon Smith, creative director of Adobe Systems, asked, “Why should I care about application design?”
1. They enable much higher levels of interactivity.
2. They can get to know the person using them.
3. They can remember.
4. They can lead directly to a purchase or other activity.
Dan Evans, president of Critical Mass, spoke about redefining the user interface. His recommendations for embracing the new technologies and media.
1. Fall in love with your iPod.
2. Get hooked on a blog.
3. Get an RSS reader.
4. Set up a Flickr account.
5. Create a profile on MySpace.
6. Expand your instant messaging.
He added if you’re not doing all this, then you have to hire someone who does.
Lastly, moderator Yosi Heber, president of Oxford Hill Partners, presented Eight Website User Experience “Strategic Revenue Driver” Categories:
1. Potential traffic & new customer acquisition
2. Home page & branding
3. Products & merchandise
4. Navigation & customer experience
5. Entertainment value &
6. Customer care & trust
7. Call to action
8. Relationship building & customer retention
How do you evaluate your website? His firm takes these eight and provides a score of the revenue-driving capability, though anyone can do this themselves.
