4 out of 5 stakeholder interview participants recommend….
….well, not sugar free gum! But they do help you clearly define the business objectives you’ll need to meet in order for your project to succeed.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I enjoy talking to people. (and ok listening too!) One of the many things I love about my role at EatonGolden and about our process is that we take the time to have the conversation. Whether it is a conversation with the internal client teams we partner with, or with the end users of the sites we design.
This week I have been in the process of conducting several stakeholder interviews as part of the initial Strategy and Planning phase of a corporate web site redesign. While having back to back interviews over the course of the week is exhausting, it is also exhilarating! I never cease to be amazed at the fact that every time I have a conversation with a different person, I learn something new and critical. Every. Time.
There is rarely a project or phase of a project which cannot benefit from user input. Sure traditional baseline usability tests render relevant findings some of the time. But there is a reason that traditional usability methods have gotten a bad rap lately. The practice of talking to users has evolved as the online channel has evolved. Putting a user in a room with a task list, a web site, and a camera is not the best approach any more.
There are so many more tools at our disposal, and so many additional pieces of information we can learn. Whether it’s the organizational objectives (and risks) that are identified by stakeholder interviews, the informational and emotional needs identified through focus groups, the clarification of industry and user-segment mental models that come from card sorts and wireframe prototype testing, to the transactional and usability issues that are highlighted during a design prototype test, there is value to be had in having the conversation. A lot of value. Every Time.
Next week, I’m going to be talking to the students in the Visualization + Virtual Experience Program at MCAD about user research. I’m going to challenge them to think of an instance where some point of connection with the user won’t result in a better product. I don’t think there is such an instance. Do you?
Posted in EatonGolden, Internet, Usability + Research, Useful Tips, User Experience, User Experience Strategy
