The document discusses how usability and information architecture align with business goals of saving money, saving time, and creating quality products and services. It notes that focusing on users is critical to reducing costs and failures, as well as increasing usage, adoption, quality, and competitive advantage. User centered design can help accomplish many business objectives.

1. You probably don’t care about usability or information architecture.
But, you do care about saving money, saving time,
and creating quality products and services.
Fortunately, the goals of usability and
information architecture completely
align with business and marketing.
Introduction Page 1
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

2. Focusing on users gave us graphic user interfaces ike
Windows and Mac OS. Before that, computers were
for computer scientists; unusable by the masses.
The world we live in, especially the internet, would not
exist without the graphic user interface which created
a way for everyone to use the power of the computer.
Early pioneers in the field applied one idea to the computer
that revolutionized the world. Simplicity. If you don’t make
something simple to use, it doesn’t get used.
Every Web site, every application, is a graphic user interface.
History Page 2
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

3. Usability is part of the academic sciences
called Human Computer Interaction (HCI).
HCI involves computer science, behavioral
science, human factors science, design,
and testing/analytical methodologies.
Information architecture has some ties
to the library sciences but deals with the
structural design of information.
Today, User Centered Design is an umbrella
term that is used to refer to both disciplines
among other things like visual design.
Definition Page 3
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

4. When creating anything from an The research firm The Standish
application to an e-mail, taking Group stated that in 2009,
time to focus on user centered 24% of IT projects were
design improves success. cancelled prior to completion
or delivered and never used.
Not focusing on the user can
lead directly to failure. Failures in the last 5 years
are actually trending up.
The research firm identified
one primary cause for this:
Not focusing on the user.
Rate of Failure Page 4
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

5. Many goals are accomplished
through user centered design:
• Increase User Confidence
• Save Time and Money
• Reduce Development Costs
• Increase Usage and Adoption
• Increase Quality and Competitive Advantage
Goals Page 5
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

6. Increased user confidence may seem abstract. But, it leads
to real financial gains. Microsoft found out that by increasing
confidence in the minds of those using their search engine
Bing, it added $80 million in revenue ~ cnet news.
How did they figure this out? By doing user research.
Increase User Confidence Page 6
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

7. Save Time and Money Page 7
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

8. Maintaining software is expensive. A study
conducted by Human Factors International
found that 80% of software life-cycle costs
occur during the maintenance phase.
A completed application costs 100x
more to fix than in the design phase.
15 minutes design = 25 hours development
User centered design shifts work to the
design phase by identifying problems
before they exist.
Reduce Development Costs Page 8
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

9. Adoption is the end game for Web sites and applications.
If the experience is positive and it meets a real need, then
it succeeds. If not, it fails.
Increasing usage gets us to adoption. But, don’t assume that
if software usage is mandatory it will be used. Poor usability
causes postponement. For instance, if you had a time sheet
system with hard to find job codes buried in a giant list,
users will put it off because of the negative experience.
Low usage in this instance causes lost revenue with billing.
Regardless of brand Web site or B2B application,
increased adoption and usage is everyone’s goal.
Increase Usage and Adoption Page 9
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

10. User centered design does more than save money.
Sometimes, it can keep you from failing altogether or
in the case of one company, annihilate the competition.
In 2001 when the iPod was released it was just another
MP3 player. Nine years later Apple has captured almost
75% of the market and is gaining momentum in all
mobile computing.
The iPod had the same capabilites as other MP3 players.
How did the leaders in that industry lose so much
market share? They failed to understand the user.
They failed to make things simple to use.
Increase Quality and Competitive Advantage Page 10
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

11. User centered design will not be effective
without the right budget and timing.
The most important thing to know about timing is that
testing is pointless unless you schedule enough time
for new designs to be created and tested again before
development. Testing should be done early and often.
Budgeting is a trickier thing to manage. Overall, the
higher the project's expected value, the more you
should invest in usability. A pro forma statement can
help clarify what is to be gained with a usability
investment. Anywhere from 10-20% of the budget
should be directed toward usability.
Timing and Budget Page 11
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business

12. There is no question user centered
design provides substantial ROI.
It is not a “nice to have”, “phase 2 initiative”,
or purely qualitative exercise.
Clients may seldom consider how critical
user centered design is. However, focusing on
the user will serve to further all marketing
and business objectives.
If your business is committed to providing the
highest value to your clients, usability will be
part of what you sell, how you pitch business,
and your design and development processes.
Conclusion Page 12
How User Centered Design Is Critical To Business