User-Centered Design

The buzz words around eCommerce and online retailing often lack any real foundation in the business context of the Internet. iPlan believes that through user-centered design, online retailers can develop a keen sense of user and customer expectations.

An effective online retailer understands how Internet users behave when they are shopping online. The basic premise for everything we do is planning. iPlan will help you develop a plan that addresses the basics of user-centered design:

	How to leverage the Internet to create a unique retail experience
	To identify the six dynamic areas where site value can be created
	The need for "scaleable" and "defensible" Internet business models
	What total experience branding means
	How to leverage Internet connectivity to create contextual selling opportunities
	Why you need to convert browsers to buyers
	What "sticky" relationships with customers are

For more information about user-centered design visit the Society for Technical Communication where you will learn more about usability and the "Ten Guidelines for User-Centered Web Design". The following are qualifying considerations from the article.

Most users don’t really read Web pages. Instead, they scan text for specific pieces of information in a process called information retrieval. With user-centered design (UCD), you can improve the usefulness (relevance) and usability (ease of use) of Web sites by considering information retrieval and other factors.

• Who are the users of this Web site?
• What are the tasks and goals of these users?
• What experience levels do the users have with Computers? The Web? This interface and interfaces like it? The domain (subject matter)?
• What are the users’ working or Web-surfing environments?
• What hardware, software, and browsers do the users have?
• How can the design of this interface facilitate users’ cognitive processes? How do the users discover and correct errors?
• What are the users’ preferred learning styles? How much training, if any, will the users receive?
• What relevant knowledge and skills do the users already possess?
• What functions do the users need from this interface? How do they currently perform these tasks?
• Why do the users currently perform these tasks the way they do?
• What information might the users need and in what form do they need it?
• What do users expect from this Web site? How do users expect this interface will work?
  

After answering these questions, you can begin developing, designing, and testing your Web site. In UCD, your development cycle includes stages for both usability design and testing. Be sure to get user feedback throughout development and don’t settle on a final direction or design too soon. Usability testing is the only way you can know if your particular site meets these users’ needs.