What will I learn? (Day 1)

Introduction & Objectives

• Syndicate Activity: What is usability (product evaluation)?
• Definition of “usability”: The Usability Trinity
• The four principles of human centred design

Analyse the opportunity

• Appreciate that all product and software projects have a number of stakeholders who can help the project succeed — or fail
• Learn how to create a list of stakeholders, prioritise the list and devise a strategy to manage each stakeholder group
• Learn techniques to make the purpose, aims and objectives of your product and software explicit
• Appreciate that high-technology systems require a unique approach to market segmentation
• Learn how to use market segmentation to avoid feature creep and to provide pointers for the visual design of the product or software
• Syndicate activity: Analyse the opportunity for Mailmerge+, a new user interface to Microsoft Word’s “Mail Merge” feature.

Build the context of use

• Understand the “context of use”
• Learn techniques for building pictures of your customers and the environments in which they work
• How to use contextual inquiry to gain an understanding of customer requirements
• Learn what it is that customers actually want to do with your product or software
• Syndicate activity: Build the context of use for Mailmerge+

What will I learn? (Day 2)

Create the user experience

• Track projects to ensure they remain customer and business focused
• Learn metrics for specifying usability
• Learn techniques for structuring the system’s functionality
• Appreciate that the user interface is more than screen design
• Learn basic techniques for screen layout
• Learn good design by looking at some good and bad examples
• Discover techniques for developing cheap, throwaway prototypes to get quick feedback from your users
• Syndicate activity: Mailmerge+ design exercise
• Learn techniques for testing the design with and without customers
• Apply usability techniques quick enough to apply to even the most deadline-driven projects
• Syndicate activity: Mailmerge+ evaluation exercise

Track real world usage and continuously improve the site

• Appreciate why you need to pay continuous attention to:
• Changes in the customer base
• Changes in the technical environment
• Changes in the tasks that customers want to complete
• Learn how to make usability happen in your organisation

What is the workshop format?

A fast-moving, interactive, but structured training session covering the topics outlined in the programme. This tutorial is designed to appeal to different learning styles, with an emphasis on active participation. The tutorial contains games, activities and videos to engage participants and bring to life what could otherwise be a dry subject. You will be encouraged to ask questions and to contribute to the seminar.

Who is the workshop leader?

David Travis is the Managing Director of Userfocus, an independent consultancy specialising in usability training and consultancy. He holds a BSc (Hons) degree and a PhD in Psychology and he is a Chartered Psychologist. His professional affiliations include membership of the British Psychological Society, the Experimental Psychology Society and the Usability Professionals Association.

David specialises in the design and evaluation of hardware and software systems aimed at non-technical users and he has logged over four hundred hours in usability labs. He has carried out usability tests in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. David is an experienced trainer and has delivered seminars in usability for a range of private and public sector clients, including Nominet, Whirlpool, the Department for Work and Pensions, Opodo and WoltersKluwer UK.

Maximum number of delegates: 12