I am often asked by B2B clients to give my opinion on their websites; usuaully they want no more than a 60 minute glance at what they have and a quick idea of what could be improved.
My suggestions vary from site to site and client to client but there are some common fixes that are worthy of note.
So, the next time you’re tinkering with your b2b website here are 5 things to think about:
Posted by craigbrewster on May 22, 2012
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/b2b-websites-5-thing-to-think-about/
A client recently posed a question to me that brought back a thought I’ve had for a while – occasionally when I talk to designers about what UX people do they are under the misapprehension that we are going to remove all the creativity from their process.
But, for me, UX is quite the opposite. My job is to dig around the subject and give designers and other creative types enough information to better understand the brief and offer enough ideas to kick start their creative thought process.
Posted by craigbrewster on April 3, 2012
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/design-versus-usability-its-not-a-war/
Unsurprisingly, as a user experience consultant, I spend a lot of time talking about users. I tell my clients that they should think about who their users are, what they do, what they think and what they want.
But I am concerned that “customer-centric” thinking is giving businesses licence to forget about creativity. I am worried if we doggedly focus on where the journey takes a user, we don’t allow them to enjoy the trip.
Posted by craigbrewster on August 25, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/448/
I find it encouraging to see the amount of interest UX is receiving and I’m particularly pleased that many businesses now see the benefit of understanding what their users think, do, and want.
More and more clients seem to grasp that we’re not trying to be altruistic; they know that listening to their audience’s demands improves their business.
But as UX enters the mainstream and the forefront of our client’s minds are we losing sight of its purpose?
Posted by craigbrewster on February 17, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/user-experience-is-not-just-a-strapline/
I had an enforced sabbatical from the internet over the Christmas period.
We moved house on 20th December so I was too busy shifting boxes and eating food to fire up the laptop. And, as anyone who has moved house in the UK will know, it took an age to transfer my broadband connection to the new address.
It’s been quite refreshing really and has given me the chance to look at UX from a real world perspective.
Posted by craigbrewster on January 6, 2011
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/a-moving-experience/
I often talk about UX being a balanced approach to what a business wants and what their audience want. This is certainly what I tell my clients and is the basis for all the work I carry out on their projects.
But balance extends beyond the actual project methodology; it is an important consideration for all aspects of user experience.
Posted by craigbrewster on September 27, 2010
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/a-bit-of-yin-with-your-yang/
Of course you can rely on your own assumptions about what you should be doing online. Afterall, it’s your business, who knows it better than you?
That may be true but it wouldn’t hurt to spend even a small amount of your time on budget asking real people what they think. You will gain valuable insight, even if they only validate you had the right idea in the first place.
And so what if they tell you what you already know? If you’re having a medical check up, do you ask the doctor for your money back when he gives you the all clear?
So how do you carry out user discussions and testing …?
Posted by craigbrewster on July 29, 2010
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/how-to-carry-out-user-discussions-and-testing/
When starting a new digital project and you want to know what direction to take the first and simplest thing to do is talk to the people you work with.
This could be the people in your department, people from other departments who have a vested interest in what you’re doing or even trusted suppliers and clients.
I suggest you arrange a time, get everyone into a room and get them to share their ideas…
Posted by craigbrewster on July 29, 2010
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/stakeholder-workshops-talk-to-your-people/
When developing a new online solution, you should collaborate with your users throughout the project lifecycle to make sure the solution you have planned meets their needs.
fairly obvious statement thatI’m sure you’ve heard a hundred times before.
But when should you actually bring users in to validate what your doing and what do you want them to do…?
Posted by craigbrewster on July 28, 2010
http://yourmumux.wordpress.com/2010/07/28/when-is-it-best-to-talk-to-your-users/
