| Date | 3rd September 2008 (9:30am – 5:00pm) |
|---|---|
| Venue | BSG House, London, United Kingdom |
| Trainer | Chris Rourke |
| Duration | 1 day |
| Cost | $545.00 |
About the course
Overview
As the cost of acquiring traffic continues to grow, more website owners see usability as a key value generator.
This course aims to give a solid foundation to this wide-ranging subject through case studies taken from ecommerce and non-commercial websites as well as hands-on experience through workshops on the key principles.
Who should attend?
Anyone involved in website conversion who wants to gain a better understanding of the principles and learn how to apply best practice. Suitable for in-house or agency staff with some previous experience of website terminology.
How will I benefit?
You will be able to articulate the business benefits of user-centred design throughout the development process. Understand the understand user experience principles for both secure and non-secure areas of websites, and the different usability methods that can be applied during the design lifecycle. You’ll also understand how to perform card sorting for information architecture analysis and apply the results.
What will I learn?
The course will help you understand the standards (eg. ISO 13407) and commercial benefits of usability, how to overcome common barriers and how to calculate the revenue impact of usability. We look in detail at usability design principles in the design of navigation (and card sorting techniques), homepages, page layout, forms and error messages, and how usability is involved in merchandising, checkout and persuasion architecture, as well as the future of usability in Web 2.0 sites and human-centred design processes for interactive systems.
Working through the usability lifecycle, you’ll discover practical usability methods including persona and scenario creation, rapid prototyping, creating usability metrics. You’ll also take part in a workshop applying informal usability assessment and testing methods.
Key learning outcomes
• Understand the role and benefits of usability as part of an overall ecommerce success strategy
• Core usability principles explained and demonstrated through practical examples
• Profitable tips for merchandising and selling online, from the home page to the checkout
• Introduction to user-centred design methods that can be applied during your site development
Trainer
Chris Rourke
Managing Director, User Vision
Chris is the Founder and Managing Director for User Vision one of the UK’s leading user experience and user-centred design (UCD) consultancies in the UK. He has conducted projects throughout the UK and Europe, working with many blue chip commercial companies and leading public sector organisations to provide usability and accessibility support and advice.
Chris has worked in the area of usability, accessibility, human computer interaction (HCI) and ergonomics for over 20 years. He established User Vision in 2000 and quickly developed an enviable client list and a reputation for practical thorough and affordable user centred design services to help clients gain a competitive advantage through improved usability.
As he grew User Vision, the services offered to encompass web accessibility, and the full end to end user centred design process from user research through to usability testing and post launch monitoring and optimisation of the user experience. He and the User Vision team offer user experience services across all digital platforms including interactive TV, software and mobile, and increasingly are involved in cross-channel user experience projects.
Chris has worked with clients across all sectors including financial services, public sector, retail e-commerce, travel & tourism, charity, media, telecoms pharmaceuticals and others. Clients include RBS, Emirates Airline, Cabinet Office, BBC, HSBC, IKEA, Pfizer, Orange, O2, Nokia, NCR, HP, the Scottish Government and Houses of Parliament among others.
Chris is also a recognised leader in the usability and user experience community in the UK. In 2005 he founded a new chapter of the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) and served as President of the Scottish Chapter of the UPA. He is the European Regional Coordinator for the UPA, and member of several related industry groups including the British Human-Computer Interaction Group (BHCIG), and the Computers and Human Interaction Group of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM-SIGCHI). Chris is a Board Member for ScotlandIS, the ICT industry group representing Scotland.
His particular user experience interests include web accessibility, the application of Rich Internet Applications such as AJAX and Flex, remote usability testing, interactive TV, eye tracking and persuasion architecture.
An engaging and dynamic speaker, Chris is regularly invited to speak at industry events and has recently spoken at the UPA conference in the US, Internet World, and the Andicom conference in South America. He is a regular contributor to resources offline and online including the Econsultancy blog and the User Vision blog.
Chris holds a BSc. in Engineering Psychology from Tufts University and a MSc. in Ergonomics from the University of Michigan.
In his spare time Chris enjoys improving his Spanish, travelling and sport, particularly ultimate Frisbee.
