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FAQ - Frequently Answered Questions

Usability, UX, and user-centered design are an obvious topic in some industries and completely unknown in others. The consequences and costs of bad usability, however, affect everyone, no matter whether they know about usability or not.

 

Out of the myriad questions we have been asked on the topic, there are several that arise so often as to deserve a special page. If you have another question that is not addressed here, send us a quick message and we’ll be happy to answer.

Why do we need usability and UX?

Usability is one of the main factors that influence a customer’s buying decisions, satisfaction, and loyalty to a product and brand. It is not about “dumbing down the interface”, making it “fashionable”, or just “making a beautiful design”. Usability is a quality that has to be carefully built into the product itself. It is not expensive and pays very quickly for itself.

Companies that implement usability sell more products, report 10x – 100x return on their usability investment, lower development and maintenance costs by a factor of 60-150x, and increase employees’ productivity and job satisfaction.

We are the biggest player in the market. Why should we care about usability and UX?

As the biggest player in the market, you have to guard your position all the time. You don’t have friends or allies in the market. The loyalty of your users and customers is your only protection. Why would you misuse your customers’ loyalty by giving them a bad user experience and usability in return? And why would you cause yourself more headache and costs for support, training, maintenance, and lost productivity?

A quick look at some of our greatest customers will show you that other market leaders recognize the value of partnering with us. Schedule a free call — no strings attached — and we’ll be happy to tell you more about how our usability and UX approach can cement your market position and add to your bottom line.

We have an internal UX and usability team. What added value can you bring us?

It’s great that you understand the importance of usability and have your own staff. Internal skills and resources are crucial for a successful, long-term UX strategy. (Incidentally, the creation of such skills and processes for our clients is one of our main USPs!)

Just like you, most of our greatest customers have excellent in-house teams. Unfortunately, such teams cannot see your product with fresh eyes anymore, they cannot distance themselves enough from it to be objective. They might not be familiar with the latest standards and scientific methods. They likely do not have the huge cross-industry experience and lessons we can bring to the table. Your team, for better or worse, is affected by “internal politics” and might be afraid of “making big waves”.  The value we add is the antidote to all of these above problems. We bring fresh eyes, up-to-date approaches, wide, cross-industry expertise, independence, impartiality, and an impeccable focus on getting your business to the top. All of it just one call away.

Is bad UX really that problematic?

Unfortunately yes.

From the user’s point of view, products with UX mistakes waste users’ time and energy and create unnecessary costs.

From the business point of view, products with UX mistakes waste development effort, create unnecessary training and maintenance costs, and lower employee motivation.

From the marketing point of view, companies cannot differentiate from each other on technology alone; most digital products are now built with ready-made, third-party modules and libraries offering similar, if not identical functions. There remains only one way to differentiate yourself strongly enough: via impeccable usability and user experience.

Various market studies support these conclusions. Forrester Research has repeatedly reported that 50% of B2C users do not return to a website if they have difficulties using it, whereas on the B2B side, the two most important criteria for users have become usability and neutrality.

When should we start thinking about usability and UX?

Right now. User-centered activities can be integrated at any point of your product development process, but the earlier you start, the better the results will be. Your product will be based on actual user needs, you will avoid fake starts and wasted development effort, and you will have a leaner, faster development process unhindered by wrong and conflicting requirements.

How do we get started with usability, UX, and user-centered development?

We have a range of services designed to help companies get started with usability and UX. Most of our clients start with our Usability Audit; we then help them build their strategy based on the results. You can also set up an appointment for a free consultation and we’ll be glad to advise the easiest path for your situation.

Do we have to change all our processes in the name of usability and UX?

No. Usability, UX, and other user-centered activities can be embedded in other work processes and we are familiar with both classic and agile development and project management. We can painlessly fit user-centered methods into your workflow without slowing you down and without uprooting your processes.

Questions? Need a quote?