UI Analysis

In the past the UI was designed to fit around the system design, which in turn was designed to deliver a particular function. This was great fro getting money out of clients who thought that functions were key, but not for longevity. Whether a system functions or not is of course essential, but understanding how the client's users want to make the functions work is absolutely key.

Some of the questions you need to ask are:

  1. Does the system allow users to easily find what they're looking for?
  2. Does the interaction allow users to easily accomplish their tasks?
  3. Is you system dependant on plugin-technology or can a user access content without?
  4. Are there alternative access routes to allow user choice (browsing, searching, direct link)?
  5. Does the graphical design effectively communicate your desired message and branding?
  6. Does the implementation work well on all access-ready technology, web browsers and varying connection speeds?
  7. How does your UI compare to your competitors'?
  8. Does the UI take advantage of the latest usability approaches?
  9. Are there better features your applications could offer that would make a difference to the users?
  10. Is there non-essential information distracting from the essential information?

These aren't even the difficult questions but they are the sort of analytic thinking that I can and do bring to the development process.

The process should look something like this:

Diagram

UI analysis can be done on any existing system but ideally it should be in place as soon as the system design is started and at the end to ensure that the system is as usable as possible.

© Bob Powell