Since only only 26% of respondents actually
tracked the recommendations to see if they are implemented, there is an
excellent opportunity for usability professionals to have a greater impact on
improving the applications they spend time testing.
Key areas to concentrate on after a test include:
Clear documentation of the Challenges, Observations,
and Recommendations with screenshots showing the current and revised
designs may increase the chances that recommended changes are implemented.
Follow-up discussion meetings (1-2 hours
maximum) with the business and development team (managers, developers,
designers, programmers, marketers, etc.) within 5-7 days of a test is also a
key success factor in the acceptance of Recommendations for changing the
user interface.
Obtaining some commitment from the
business/development team to either implement, investigate, accept, or
reject the usability consultant's recommended changes based on the usability
test will help the development team track changes, compare the usability
challenges with e-mails or phone calls from disgruntled users saying the
same things, and provide a basis for future tests.
Additional follow-up after an application is
launched either in pilot or general release will give the usability
consultant an opportunity to track the actual percentage of recommendations
that are implemented.
Original Question
(9) After completing a usability activity,
what kind of follow-up process do you engage in with the development teams
you work with?
I don't follow up with developers I do follow up with developers
If you follow up with developers, please tell
us more about your interactions:
I usually hold follow-up meetings within
days of completing a usability
activity.
I document resolutions.
I track the percentage of usability
recommendations that are actually implemented.
Other pertinent information about your
follow-up interactions:
