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User Interface Usability
Interaction Engineering
Usability Training
R&D in Psycho-Ergonomics
Know your users: analyze needs and define profiles
You never get a second chance to make a good impression… Integrate user-friendly solutions at the design phase!
The User Centered approach makes it possible to build an interface based on the real needs of users from the very outset of a project, before a single line of code is written.
Objectives
The data gathered at the beginning of the project allows to define user needs and identify different user profiles, based for instance on the tasks they wish to perform, their line of work or their computer literacy. An interface capable of adapting to different profiles will be flexible, easy to use and satisfactory.
Procedure
In order to "build" users profiles, it is important to know the answer to these questions:- What computer skills do the users of my interface have?
- Have users been given a chance to express their desires and preferences?
- What other similar products are they familiar with and refer to, even unconsciously?
- Are there specific "work procedures" that should be kept in mind when organizing the interface?
Methodology
We employ several different techniques to gather all the necessary data for a User-Centered design. These include:- Qualitative interviews
- Focus groups
- Quantitative questionnaires
- Field observations
- Modeling of user tasks
- Organization of the "Personas"
Examples of our interventions
The many projects of design support we have realized include:
- Focus groups and questionnaires for the MUJI project
- User modeling during the redefinition of the company’s Intranet
