Services | User Journeys

Why should I hire a consultant to design my product / website / app?

Your team may have the skills to build a world class product, but can they design a world class experience?

I can create rapid prototypes, and test them on real users, until they are ready to hand over to your developers. I can, optionally, deliver stunning visual designs.

What can I expect from the prototype?

I rapidly create low-fidelity click-through prototypes using Balsamiq Mockups and other tools.

I work with you to rapidly revise, iterate and validate the prototype.

Can you design finished websites / apps?

Yes, I can design an entire website or app from wireframes through to the polished design. I am primarily an interaction designer (wireframes / prototypes), and though I have strong Photoshop/HTML/CSS skills, for truly world-class designs, I have built relationships with overseas designers who offer excellent rates.

Can you do Mobile App or Watch App designs?

Yes. I can do mobile app designs and prototypes, both low and high fidelity. I can also produce Android wear designs. See the video above for a rapid prototype I created for an Android Wear app.

Contact Michael for a quick quote

Email me on mike@userjourneys.com or Phone +353 879279444 and leave a message

What is an Expert Usability / UX Review?

An expert usability or UX review is an audit of your product, website or app, carried out by an experienced, accredited practitioner. As an example, see my post about the UX Review we did for Safefood.

report

What Does it Involve?

I analyse the user experience of your website, product or system by:
- Checking for common usability issues
- Measuring against international best practices, specifically the Nielsen-Norman guidelines
- Drawing upon my 20 years of experience in web design, software, usability and UX
I describe each issue, usually with screenshots
I rank each issues by severity (e.g. high, medium, low)
I suggest pragmatic solutions for each issue that I identify

What are the Benefits to an Expert Review?

Insight and Recommendations – I tell you what’s broken with your site, app or product and how to fix it
Speed – I typically deliver our reports within a few working days of commencement

What Experience do you Have?

Read about my 20+ years’ experience in web design and usability / UX.

Contact Michael for a quick quote

Email me on mike@userjourneys.com or Phone +353 879279444 and leave a message.

What is Usability Testing?

Usability testing is a method of evaluating the way users experience your system, product or web site.

mobile usability testing

Why do I Need it?

People involved in the design of a site, product or application are usually too close to it to see the potential problems.

What are the Advantages and Benefits of Usability Testing?

Testing is highly cost effective – testing on four or five users typically uncovers 80% of issues
User testing allows you to focus on the features that really matter to users
You can see how people actually use your product, site or app — usability testing captures real behaviour, not opinions or preferences
You don’t need any special equipment or location — I recommend testing in your own premises, where possible, although remote testing also works well
Potentially expensive cul-de-sacs can be avoided by testing early-stage designs

Can you do mobile usability testing / remote testing?

Yes. My preferred method is to allow users to take their own phones to the tests and record the sessions and view/record on an external screen, as shown in the image above.

For remote usability, there are good online tools, such as usertesting.com that can capture the sessions from the users’ own computers / phones. Using this remote method, I can help devise the tests, analyse the results, and make recommendations.

Do you provide the test participants?

Yes, I can usually provide the participants, so long as the the requirements are not too strict. I am also happy for you to provide your own participants.

Contact Michael for a quick quote

Email me on mike@userjourneys.com or Phone +353 879279444 and leave a message.

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For more about my approach to usability testing, see my blog post on how to make clients love user testing.