We’re information architects, web analysts, designers, and developers on a mission to engage our digital audience by applying design, information architecture, analytics and strategy to build an all-around solid user experience. Think of our work as the “fit and finish” bodywork and detailing to a car – but instead of a car, we’re implementing final touches to a web project. We welcome you to follow along with us, as we share our insights, best practices, and solutions in web strategy and design, usability and information architecture, research and measurement, mobile and social media!
1. When an app is published and nary a soul downloads it. An all-too-common problem for brands and app developers in today's overcrowded app marketplace. 2. When an app is downloaded by a consumer but is rarely interacted with by said consumer.
I've got 50 apps on my iPhone4. Another 50 or so on my "vintage" model - a 2G iPhone I still use for gaming with the kids. Many of the apps do fantastic things, like turning my phone into a videoediting bay, and enabling me to record R&B tracks in autotune. (What could be more fantastic than that?)
But aside from the standby apps of social, stocks, weather and maps, there's one app I use more regularly than any other. One app that has increased my brand loyalty and usage: The GreatClips app.
Like a rooster that crows each morn, once a month, I open my trusty GreatClips app. It tells me current wait time, store hours, and … here's the best part… it lets me choose my store location and check in ahead of time so I don't have to sit and wait. Simple, powerful, and very valuable for someone like me, whose idea of torture is sitting in a haircut waiting room on a sunny Saturday.
When it comes to low switching costs -- meaning low brand loyalty -- you can't get much lower than men's haircuts. But the GreatClips app has succeeded in making me loyal to the brand.
As marketers and product managers, we're all scurrying to leverage mobile to increase brand affinity and capture positive ROI. But instead of trying to dream up the next great mobile innovation, the simplest path to avoiding App Rot is to identify your customer touchpoint where the greatest utility can be delivered, like GreatClips did for customers like me. Most of the time, you'll find that the less complex the better, and the less sexy, the better.
Rather than trying to recreate your desktop experience on mobile, or stuff every marketing exec's ideas into a company app, why not start small and simple, with a mobile experience that will do one thing really well for your core market segment? Your customers will thank you, and they'll tell others. And word-of-mouth is the most powerful marketing of all.
As the Interactive Practice Lead for the ICF Ironworks' Tysons Corner Office, I have the good fortune to manage and work with some very talented digital strategists, information architects, interactive art directors, content strategists, research analysts, and front-end developers.
I was thrilled to learn this week that The UX Booth, "a publication by and for the user experience community," accepted and published an article by our own Colin Eagan.
This is something that started out as a whiteboard sketch, and evolved as Colin bounced the idea off of other peers, and incorporated their feedback and input.
Colin introduces a new model, based on traditional elements, to quickly help a project team identify why a digital project might be heading off-course, and prioritize their efforts to get things back on track.
Anyone associated with a digital project team will benefit from this article. Here are a few more reasons why:
It challenges how most people think about framing a project
It articulates and visualizes challenges that you're probably familiar with, but could never quite describe
It offers tangible solutions to improve your chances of success in the long run
From the customer’s point of view, an error
message is a crisis. When you’re hit by
an error on a website, you’re in trouble – by definition. To make things worse, the message can be so
cryptic it stops you dead. A poorly-designed error message drives you to a
competitor’s site, on the phone with the call center, back to paper-based
processes, or just giving up.
Don’t let this happen to your users! It’ll take work, but make the effort to
establish consistent and effective messages and standards for your websites. The end result should be simple; the error
message tells your visitors what went wrong, helps them over any barriers, and
lets them get on with their business.
New OS makes good use of “Mobile-first” interaction design
As people I work with will tell you, I’ve always made it a point to use PCs over Macs to do design work (yes, Adobe software works on
Windows) so you’d think I would have had a Windows phone for a while now.
Unfortunately, like most Information Architects, I’m also a perfectionist, so
it has taken me forever to find a non-Apple phone I like. But given that my
previous phone still had something called a “physical keyboard,” I finally made the plunge with
Windows 8 Mobile. Apparently I'm not alone, since sales have been surging. So let my procrastination be your good fortune as I provide
to you some thoughts on why I like it thus far.
The Device
I opted for the Windows Phone 8x made by “Quietly Brilliant”
HTC, which runs on 4G LTE (available on the three largest carriers at oddly
varying prices – BestBuy was
giving them away in-store for $1 on Black Friday if you have AT&T, which, I
do not). The 8X is speedy with a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, has an HD Gorilla
Glass display with 1280x720-pixel res, and front and back cameras (2 megapixel
front, 8 back). At just 4.6oz, I liked the weight and form-factor better than
the Nokia Lumia 920 (although it may seem “heavy” if you use a 4oz iPhone 5). It has 16GB of
internal storage, and 7GB of free Microsoft Skydrive storage. Ok you get the idea.
Windows 8 Usability
Has Already Recieved Some Bad Press
A notable feature of Windows 8 is that mobile, tablet and desktop share the same "common core" software, theoretically standardizing the user experience across platforms. Last week Jacob Nielsen
came out with a critique of Windows 8 UX, calling it “weak on tablets, terrible for PCs.” Actually, he
called it “a monster that terrorizes poor office workers and strangles their
productivity,” but he is prone to understatement. (As a side note, it looks like while W8 sales are down but way too early to know why). I
haven’t used 8 extensively enough on either of those platforms to have an opinion
as to its monstrosity, but most of the issues cited – flat style that lacks
discoverability, low information density, swipe ambiguity— do appear to be less
apparent on mobile.
Mobile UI Seems to
Avoid Most Pitfalls
As you know if you were an early adopter of the Windows 7
phone (which you weren’t), the Windows 8 mobile OS takes its core functions
from the old Metro UI (apparently Microsoft is now saying the 7.8 update is
coming to WP7.5 devices early 2013). Some of the key features are the Live Tiles (the iconic “grid” look) on
the Start screen that you can customize, invitation-only Rooms for sharing
info, Photo integration with SkyDrive, and Games with Xbox. Overall, I have
found that the interface is intuitive. Some early reactions:
Live Tiles
emphasize Content-First principles. A recent movement in experience design has been the push to lead with content over navigation. As opposed to app
icons in iOS, Microsoft’s Live Tiles surface the latest content under each
application. This doesn’t work consistently yet, but the overall idea is right. Nielsen may have a point about desktop information density,
but for mobile it seems appropriate.
Customizable
(but not too customizable) look and feel. Microsoft does a good job of
allowing users to customize the interface, but within reasonable design
boundaries that preserve the brand. For example, I liked that you can change
the Smart Tile color to one of 20 or so in a pre-determined pallet. Also most Live
Tiles can be re-sized to one of three pre-set dimensions.
Touch precision.
As mentioned, I had gotten somewhat spoiled by having a physical keyboard on my
previous phone, so I was worried about this, but the touch precision on the
keyboard is quite strong, and Windows incorporates a powerful auto-fill
feature.
Accessibility.
Options will vary by device, but the OS supports functionality for large text
size, screen magnification, and high contrast. There are also some cool “Attentive
Phone” features.
Can Mobile Design be Too
“Clean?”
There were some key features found on most phones that have
been stripped out of the Windows 8 UI that seem to be sorely missed by users. A
good way to gauge this is to check out which early custom apps are most
popular. For example, the Connectivity Shortcuts app is at the top of the list with Twitter in terms of popularity, and all it does
is allow users to see if their Wifi is on (along with Bluetooth and Data Plan).
What’s more, the design is pretty bad (the icon on the free version doesn’t
even match the grid dimensions of the Start screen). Other popular apps are
ones that display the battery level (which ironically, one reviewer points out,
drains the battery) and, get this, a clock. Some of these things are visible
at the top of the screen in the native OS, but you have to swipe down to find
them, and they disappear when you leave the Start screen.
Microsoft Really
Wants You to Use Bing
As a previous Android user, it is interesting to note
that the physical buttons on the phone have switched from four to three –
removing the “Menu” button. If I were to remove one, I’m not sure this would
have been my first choice, since it now requires more swiping to bring up an
advanced features menu on any given screen. The Search button seems less critical by
comparison, but obviously if Android has a Google search button, then Microsoft
needs a button for Bing. You will use Bing whether you want to use Bing or not.
Wait for Windows 9?
Nielsen’s take on Windows 8 for tablet and PC is that it’s
the next Vista – i.e. we should wait for the next Windows 7, which presumably will
be Windows 9. Whether you think that should also extend to mobile or not, Windows 8 is a good case study for
larger questions about Universal Design – is it actually best to start with
Mobile First and build up from there? Or do you risk losing the benefits of
larger mediums through oversimplification? These are options we’re used to weighing as designers when it comes to building a Responsive website or mobile app, but things get
substantially less clear cut for an entire operating system.
As for me, I’m glad I finally got around to
being an early adopter.
Back in the shop, the interactive team revisits some of this season's “stickiest” User Experience topics from An Event Apart
It’s been a busy few months for User Experience events, with UXWeek out in San Francisco in August and several recent iterations of An Event Apart. While big conferences are great for building excitement around new ideas, the real challenge is always translating this energy back to project work. We find it’s useful to rehash event learning a while after the fact to see what’s been most memorable in practice. Here are a few practical highlights looking back on An Event Apart DC.
Photo Credit: Ashley Bush
In case you forgot: Content First!
For those who couldn’t attend, An Event Apart is a three-day conference for “people who make websites.” Daily sessions focused on content, design, usability, and code. One of the most coherent themes at this year’s events was content strategy, with many sessions either relating to how to craft effective content, design for it, and make it work on multiple devices.
LESSON WORTH REVISITING: Mobile is the New Normal
Mobile statistics show that a growing number of Americans (31% of those with cellphones) are becoming mobile-only internet users. And organizations, particularly government agencies, are preparing to focus on the responsibility to get ALL of their content available on mobile devices. But content poses a design problem for both mobile and the web.
Sticky Ideas:
Stop “dumbing down” content for mobile – particularly government agencies. For many Americans, mobile is their only access to the web.
Treat content as a service. Use the process for going mobile as a filter for what your content should look like: concise and focused.
Rethink the back button. Now that mobile is the new normal, designers need to expanding thinking beyond standard interaction conventions. For example, the latest iOS allows web browsers to “slide” the screen back in place of having to click on a back button. Passwords could be gestures on a touch screen vs typing in characters. And Windows 8 for desktop is actually inspired by mobile, not the other way around.
Photo Credit: Ashley Bush
LESSON WORTH REVISITING: Dive Deep to Understand Your Content
Content should be at the core of the entire web design process. Developing content requires an effective strategy that includes processes or systems that enable content creators to produce “good” content for designers to use when designing. This requires getting to know your content at a much deeper level than previously.
Sticky Ideas:
Know Your Artifacts. Understand the artifacts the systems intend to produce, and gain an intimate knowledge of them.
Spend time understanding the stakeholders, the content management systems, and the processes they use. Use content audits as a way to understand the individual elements of content.
Employ people with knowledge. Young people are not a guaranteed avenue of innovation. Tap into wells of knowledge to produce rich content.
LESSON WORTH REVISITING: How to Design for Content First
Good design starts with good content, and content precedes design. Everyone agrees that content should drive experiences, but pulling this off is easier said than done. Many of the speakers this year covered how the rules have changed when it comes to crafting and designing for content.
Sticky Ideas:
Design without content is just decoration.
Beware patterns. Design that does not serve people does not serve business. When you do things that are anti-user, you are designing anti-user patterns.
Designers must say ‘no’ tactfully with data and examples to design requests that are bad for users. This means not bombarding pages with links, irrelevant content, navigation, and more.
And More Great Stuff to Recollect...
There was lots of additional, practical advice for designers coming out of the talks that is worth recalling, on topics like iterative design, effective use of meetings, and working with clients. For more details, you can check out Ashley's complete notes on the ICF Ironworks Facebook Album.
We hope you enjoyed this review. Now back to work making stuff.
Idea Forge is a series from the ICF Ironworks’ Interactive Group that highlights practical uses for big ideas in User Experience design. For the latest thoughts hot off the forge, follow our blog at fitandfinish.ironworks.com
We recently had a client that wanted to do some cleanup on their Google Analytics account and get rid of several web properties that either had never been used or were no longer needed. Google provides some pretty clear guidance on how to create or edit a web property and add or remove profiles within that property, but nothing on how to delete the web property itself.
Fortunately, we had a test GA account with which we could try some things, and were able to figure out the answer. To delete a web property, you simply need to delete every profile within the property. Once the last profile has been deleted, the web property with cease to exist in the GA account. That's all there is to it!
Now, before you go deleting profiles and Web Properties in GA, there are some important things to consider first:
Is there data in this profile that I might need later on? If so, you may not want to delete the profile. Once a profile is deleted, all data associated with that profile is also deleted. Also, a deleted profile will no longer collect incoming data, so make sure all active GA code on your site(s) is going into a profile that you plan to keep active.
Do I have the proper access to delete a profile? If you are an administrator for the account, then the answer is yes. If not, you'll need to either work with an administrator to gain access or have them delete the profiles/web properties for you.
What if I don't want to lose the data in an older profile, but I want to keep my users from accessing it for reports? For non-Administrators, you can adjust which profiles they can see or access through the "Users" tab under the account or profile settings. For administrators, consider renaming the profile in the "Profile Settings" tab to something like "Archived - [Old Profile Name]" so users know this is not an active profile.
Deleting profiles and web properties should not be done casually, but it can be a good way to clean up an older analytics account with lots of unused or irrelevant profiles and properties cluttering it up. Just make sure you understand the implications and have the proper access.
Americans are more reliant than ever on the Internet as their primary source of critical information and communication. When disaster strikes, news happens or inclement weather is on the horizon, the quickest access to the most information is just a mouse click (or finger tap) away. Continue reading after the break ...
Discover How the Gamestorming Technique Adds Structure and Fun to the Ideation Process
Are your team Brainstorms suffering from idea drought? In our latest Idea Forge, we take a look at some of the practical implications of Gamestorming – a technique that ups the ante for the process of generating big ideas. We caught up with UX Architect Larry King at a workshop where he explained this technique and how he’s used it in the field. Watch to see how Gamestorming harnesses the power of Structured Play and learning theories like Distributed Cognition to help you seek out unexpected solutions to specific business problems.
At ICF Ironworks we’ve used Gamestorming both internally and with clients, often at the Strategy Phase of interactive projects. Some examples:
Helped Define an Approach to Social Engagement. Worked with an insurance industry client to hone their social media strategy through games like Cover Story, which helps envision end goals, and Affinity Map, which assigns ideas into meaningful groups.
Found New Ways to Encourage Community Content. Created a variety of custom games like Brainwriting and Associative Barriers for a membership association client to explore ways to engage users online and encourage the development of community content.
Lots of Other Uses. We use it internally as well for problem solving– some favorites are the 3-12-3 Brainstorm, Campfire, and Ethos Logos Pathos.
For more on Gamestorming, make sure to check out http://www.gogamestorm.com/ from the authors of the book “Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers and Changemakers.” You can see some of the latest Games submitted by readers as well as the new Gamestorming iPhone app.
Idea Forge is a series from the ICF Ironworks’ Interactive group that highlights practical uses for big ideas in User Experience design. For the latest thoughts hot off the forge, follow our blog atfitandfinish.ironworks.com
This is the first in a series where we discuss practical applications of big ideas in user experience design. In this episode we share a few thoughts on Findability. You may be asking yourself what this means to me? Watch our video and find out!
With Social Media Week 2012 coming to a close we like to share a few thoughts on how we’re shaping our digital strategies today! We’ve addressed social media on Fit and Finish before but for this post we want to share three focal points to identify before putting together a digital strategy.
Welcome to "Fit & Finish", the Ironworks User Experience blog. We are very proud of the talented team (led by Bill Buell) of information architects, designers, developers and strategists that we have at Ironworks. You can look forward to us sharing our ideas, best practices, creativity, humor and useful resources on this blog. We welcome your active participation with comments and questions.
Contact ICF Ironworks
ICF Ironworks combines strategy, technology and design services to assist clients in the development of large-scale, complex technology projects. Ironworks offers three core services: Business & IT Alignment, Portal and Content Management, and Interactive.
ICF Ironworks is always on the lookout for experienced professionals who believe in hard work, having fun, and great client service.
Sign up to receive Ironworks' quarterly e-newsletter for the latest news, events, client successes, industry insights and more!
