Expert Review & usability audit

We reviewed a set of over 40 wireframes for Berghaus's retail site, one of several reviews we have carried out for our associates bit10

Recommendations included:

• Use larger fonts on the Home page sub-menus
• Use alphabetical order within category sub-menus for products - will make it easier for users to find things
• Elevate Customer Service and Buying Guide to top right navigation
• Labelling inconsistencies found with the 'basket' and the 'mini-basket' and 'bag' which would confuse users
• Numerous other improvements suggested to labelling and headings

(Undertaken and managed by bit10)

Janet reviewed an early development version of this site in the Telecomms sector

Positive findings:

• Colour combination works well and conveys a 'trusted' business feel
• High quality graphics create a good first impression
• Quick Comparison module should draw users into the site, however it may be overlooked because of its position on the screen

Areas to improve:
• The home page does not immediately communicate what the business is about
• The tab navigation is poorly structured
• The Quick Comparison module is positioned in a location where it is unlikely to be noticed
• Layout of items and navigation structure will probably lead to users 'dropping out' of the home page because they cannot work out what to do

Key recommendations:
• Re-position the Quick Comparison module to the left of the main image (where it is sure to be noticed)
• Group tabs in a logical layout with related tasks together
• Place all the information tabs together as related activities Advice / Help / Online chat
• Amalgamate 'Find the best deal' and 'Compare deals' into one 'Compare deals' tab
• Put 'Basket' in a more conventional location in the header area

(Undertaken and managed by bit10)

Cheapflights is a price comparison site in the travel industry. After completing several usability testing studies, we used 'personas' and scenarios to structure a 'walkthrough' to carry out competitive evaluation against other sites.

Our reports enabled clients to move forward with increased knowledge about user needs and behaviour on travel sites.

Activities included:

• Competitive Evaluation
• Personas and Scenarios

(Carried out directly for Cheapflights)

Janet carried out an expert walkthrough of early prototype pages for the NCSL Learning Gateway, a portal for teaching staff.

A 'Navigation stress' review was completed, plus a walkthrough using a usability heuristics scoring system.

Findings included:

• Home page layout was crowded and confusing
• Navigation from the Home page was likely to be confusing for users
• The news area was useful but likely to cause further confusion
• The login area was hard to find
• colour coded pages were not ideal for colour blnd users
• Headings were coded as images - a bad idea for accessibility

(Undertaken and managed by bit10)

In this project for Kingston Council, Janet reviewed preliminary designs for a website builder. This was a tool for the general public to create their own community websites. Our report, with illustrations, recommended improvements to the site to improve usability and take-up.

Recommendations included:

• Provide more help to users through better labelling
• Pointed out where errors were likely and how to prevent them
• Suggested online help and prompts to help the user

(Undertaken and managed by bit10)