The Web Usability Podcast

Summary

In this episode, Lucy Collins interviews Scott Fulton, Director of Digital Rebels, about the importance of evidence-based design in creating effective digital services. Scott shares his experience of becoming a digital leader and the pivotal moment when he realised the importance of user-centered design. They discuss the common mistakes organisations make in designing websites and intranets, such as being organisation-centric and not prioritising user needs. Scott emphasises the need for organisations to be open to being wrong and to prioritise customer empathy. He also shares his insights on coaching and training teams to thrive in the digital age.

Keywords

evidence-based design, user-centered design, website design, intranet design, customer empathy, coaching, training

Takeaways

• Designing digital services based on assumptions and without user evidence can lead to ineffective and unhelpful experiences for users.
• Organisations should prioritize customer empathy and be willing to admit when they don't know something, in order to gather evidence and design better digital services.
• Intranets often suffer from egocentric thinking and department-centric structures, which can result in content that is not user-driven.
• Investing in employees and providing them with the information they need to do their jobs better ultimately benefits the external customers.
• Cutting through the noise and prioritizing tasks that deliver value to customers is essential for teams to thrive in the digital age.

Titles

• Prioritising Customer Empathy and User Needs
• Common Mistakes in Website and Intranet Design

Sound Bites

• "Design your website in the boardroom is the worst thing you can do."
• "The lack of evidence combined with organisation-centric thinking is a common problem in digital services."
• "Being okay with being wrong or not knowing is fundamental to designing effective digital services."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

02:04 Transitioning to User-Centered Design

05:25 Common Mistakes in Website and Intranet Design

13:03 Prioritizing Customer Empathy and User Needs

25:16 Coaching and Training Teams to Thrive in the Digital Age

Summary

In this episode, Lucy, Sophie and Ken discus the benefits of testing with users and shares examples of different types of testing they have conducted over the years. The key themes that emerge from their testing experiences are the importance of testing early with users, the value of user testing in both digital and physical spaces, and the difference between behavioural and attitudinal insights. Testing anything that will be used by customers ensures that the end result is built on user evidence and incorporates changes based on user behaviors and expectations.

Keywords

user testing, benefits of testing, early testing, digital testing, physical testing, behavioral insights, attitudinal insights

Takeaways

• Testing with users is a worthwhile exercise that can provide valuable insights for improving the user experience.
• Testing early with users can save time and money by identifying issues and making changes before a product is fully developed.
• User testing is applicable to both digital and physical spaces, and can provide insights into user behaviors and attitudes.
• Behavioural and attitudinal insights are both important in understanding user experiences and preferences.
• Testing anything that will be used by customers ensures that the end result is built on user evidence and incorporates changes based on user behaviors and expectations.

Titles

• The Benefits of Testing with Users
• Testing Early: Saving Time and Money

Sound Bites

• "Put it in front of someone, anyone you can, anyone who's not been involved in building it, especially someone who is from a different demographic or different level of experience, digital experience, or another, put it in front of them and you will get useful feedback."
• "The earlier you test with them, the better the end result's going to be. You're going to save yourself time. You're going to save yourself money if you involve them at that early stage."
• "Watch what people do, listen to what they say, and bear in mind that the two things don't always match up. And in fact, more often than not, don't match up."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:09 Testing Finished Websites and Apps

02:06 Testing at the End of the Development Process

03:23 Testing at the Early Stages

04:46 Testing Wireframes and Prototypes

05:42 Testing Marketing Campaigns

07:28 Testing Physical Products and Spaces

10:43 Testing the Weird and Wonderful

13:29 Common Themes and Findings

26:00 The Benefits of Testing with Users

26:29 Testing Early: Saving Time and Money

27:26 User Testing in Digital and Physical Spaces

28:47 Behavioral Insights vs. Attitudinal Insights

29:43 Testing Anything for Better User Experiences

Summary

In this episode, Lucy Collins interviews Dave Martin, Digital Learning Design Lead for the Cabinet Office, about the importance of accessibility in e-learning. They discuss the scale of e-learnings in the civil service, the accessibility requirements for compliance activities, and the challenges of applying WCAG guidelines to e-learning. They emphasise the need for choice and options in e-learning design, as well as the importance of involving people with disabilities in testing. They also highlight the collaborative approach between suppliers, authoring tool providers, and the cross-government accessible design network in improving accessibility in e-learning.

Keywords

web usability, podcast, accessibility, e-learning, civil service, compliance activities, WCAG guidelines, choice, options, testing, collaboration

Takeaways

• E-learning in the civil service reaches a large audience, with over 600,000 users and 300 e-learning modules.
• Accessibility is important in e-learning to ensure compliance activities and provide choice for learners.
• Applying WCAG guidelines to e-learning can be challenging, but it is necessary to make the content accessible.
• Collaboration between suppliers, authoring tool providers, and the cross-government accessible design network is crucial in improving accessibility in e-learning.
• Involving people with disabilities in testing is essential to ensure the accessibility of e-learning.

Titles

• Challenges of Applying WCAG Guidelines to E-Learning
• The Need for Choice and Options in E-Learning Design

Sound Bites

• "Accessibility is important because the amount of people who want to access and use these products, and some of these products are used by departments as part of their compliance activities."
• "Accessibility isn't just about disability. It's this concept of universality. It's about making things useful and usable for people, regardless of any limitation, any barrier that exists."
• "You can still be energising and interesting within your e-learning, and keep people's attention without having to go down a route where what you're doing is making design choices, which means that many people are denied access to that particular part of your course."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

00:40 The Scale and Importance of E-Learning in the Civil Service

07:24 The Need for Choice and Options in E-Learning Design

14:04 Collaboration in Improving Accessibility in E-Learning

29:17 Conclusion and Takeaways

Summary

In this episode, the Web Usability team, Lucy, Sophie and Ken discuss the challenges of achieving compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). They explore why many websites are not accessible, including a lack of understanding, limited resources, and reliance on automated tools. The team also highlight common technical, content, and design issues that arise during accessibility testing. They emphasise the importance of involving people with disabilities in testing and the need for a cultural shift towards accessibility. The episode concludes with a reminder that digital accessibility is a basic human right and should be a fundamental consideration in all digital projects.

Keywords

web usability, digital accessibility, WCAG compliance, technical issues, content issues, design issues, automated testing, involving people with disabilities

Takeaways

• Many websites are not compliant with WCAG due to a lack of understanding, limited resources, and reliance on automated testing tools.
• Common technical issues include a lack of keyboard accessibility, incorrect tabbing order, and inaccessible labels.
• Content issues often involve improper use of alt text, particularly for decorative images, and the lack of accessible alternatives for videos.
• Design issues frequently arise from poor color contrast and the use of inaccessible color palettes.
• To improve accessibility, organizations should prioritize it as a cultural value, educate themselves on the guidelines, conduct accessibility audits, involve people with disabilities in testing, and continually strive for improvement.

Sound Bites

• "People don't prioritise accessibility partly because they can't fit it into their plans. Also because they don't appreciate the value of digital accessibility."
• "People who think they're compliant or think they have done enough to be compliant, but they are relying on automated checking tools, accessibility overlays and plugins, things like that, which actually, so they think they've done everything they need to do, but in reality, it's still not even close to being compliant."
• "Alt text is a huge one. And then there's kind of different layers within that because we need kind of those informative images to have a useful, relevant descriptive alt text. Often don't."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:06 The Challenges of Achieving WCAG Compliance

09:43 The Importance of Involving People with Disabilities

13:20 Prioritising Accessibility as a Cultural Value

Summary

In this episode, Lucy Collins interviews Richard Austin, director at David Austin Roses, about the journey of developing a new website for the brand. They discuss the importance of user experience, the need for a mobile-first approach, and the balance between user needs and business needs. Richard shares his experience of working with Web Usability and highlights the value of user research and evidence-based decision-making. He also expresses his hopes for the new website, including increased conversion rates, improved user experience, and a stronger brand perception.

Keywords

website development, user experience, mobile-first, user research, evidence-based decision-making, conversion rates, brand perception

Takeaways

• Invest in user research and evidence-based decision-making when developing a new website.
• Balance user needs and business needs to create a successful website.
• A mobile-first approach is essential, as mobile traffic and conversions continue to increase.
• Use a methodical and user-centric approach to website development.
• Define digital personas to guide the design and development process.
• Information architecture tree testing can provide valuable insights into user navigation and labeling.
• Consider the impact of the new website on brand perception and user experience.
• Invest whatever you can in user research, even if it's a small budget, to gain valuable insights.

Sound Bites

• "I absolutely loved the information architecture tree testing"
• "I love our business and I love our product and what we do and what we're trying to do"
• "Invest whatever you can in user research"

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Overview

01:10 Richard's Role in Developing the New Website

06:23 Motivation for Embarking on a New Website Development

08:18 Getting Stakeholders on Board with the Project

09:47 Involving External Agencies in the Development Process

12:10 The Discovery Phase and User Research

22:12 Highlights from the Research and Testing Process

28:25 Hopes and Dreams for the New Website

31:21 Advice for Those Embarking on Website Development

32:47 Closing Thoughts and Wrap-up

Summary

The Web Usability team, Lucy Collins, Ken Groom and Sophie Knight, are gathered around the microphone to ask the question 'is your website actually any good?'.

We explore what makes a great website and how to avoid entering the website hall of shame. In particular, we discuss the importance of usability, findability, and meeting user needs.

We share examples of websites that have done a good job and discuss the challenges of balancing user needs with organisational priorities and the importance of understanding who the users are.

Some useful resources:

https://www.webusability.co.uk/blog/7-steps-for-developing-an-effective-website/

https://www.webusability.co.uk/blog/what-is-ux/

Keywords

website, usability, findability, user needs, desirable, credible, valuable, design, function, balance, good website, user-focused, user goals, organisational messaging, testing with users, website development process, organisational strategy, information architecture, content gaps, continuous improvement

Takeaways

• A great website is usable, findable, and meets user needs.
• Desirability, credibility, and value are also important factors.
• Usability and findability can be improved through user research and testing.
• Balancing user needs with organisational priorities is crucial.
• Design should not compromise usability and user experience. A good website prioritises user needs and goals over organisational messaging
• Testing with users is essential throughout the website development process
• Understanding the organisational strategy and user goals is crucial
• Developing a clear information architecture and filling in content gaps is important
• Continuous testing and improvement are necessary for a good website

Sound Bites

"A great website has to be usable, useful, desirable, findable, accessible, credible, and valuable."

"Users often blame themselves for website usability issues, but it's not their fault."

"Structuring and labeling content based on user expectations is crucial for findability."

"If it's not easy and convenient and accessible, they'll go somewhere else and do it somewhere else."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:09 The Importance of Usability and User Experience

05:27 The Negative Impact of Design Over Function

08:19 Examples of Great Websites

10:43 The Challenges of Balancing User Needs and Organisational Priorities

12:09 The Importance of User Research

13:28 Structuring and Labelling Content for Findability

16:21 Meeting User Needs and Organizational Goals

21:31 Finding the Balance Between Design and Usability

22:28 The Challenge of Unique and Different Websites

25:49 Style Over Substance: A Bad Website

26:47 Organisational Messaging vs User Focus

29:42 Trying to Be Everything for Everyone

35:24 Steps to Creating a Good Website

43:58 The Importance of Knowing Your Users