Human Factors International presents a new take on website design and usability at Internet World 2008

Internet World, Earls Court 2, London
Date: Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Time: 14.30
Theatre: Digital Marketing

March, 2008. Elisa del Galdo, Chief of Technical Staff EMEA, Human Factors International, will present the company's structured approach to website design and usability at Internet World 2008. "Persuasive Design – a new take on usability: just because people can, doesn't mean they will", shows how measurable business goals can be achieved by understanding that a site's conversion goal is now more about people than products or services.

"From a business perspective, an effective user experience is one that meets an organisation's objectives by influencing users to behave in a certain way," explains Nigel Grace, Managing Director of Human Factors International. "The social capabilities of Web 2.0, however, have moved online interactions beyond the constraints of standard web technologies to rich, user-centric, social experiences."

Today's online collaborative capabilities enable businesses to create a sense of community on their websites to draw customers in. At the same time, they give customers more control over their online experiences with companies and their brands. In response, companies now need to incorporate the principles of persuasive architecture to drive business to their sites.

Usability is now even more critical to business success with the online shift to self-serve. Whereas traditional usability has focused on rational user behaviour, we must now understand how emotions drive action. How do you achieve your organisation's goals by designing to elicit desired behaviour? What motivates users to keep clicking through a transaction?

If you are looking to achieve defined conversion goals and increase brand awareness, revenue and productivity, then don't miss Elisa's groundbreaking presentation about how to create compelling online experiences.

For further information, please contact Elisa del Galdo, Chief Technical Officer for Europe, Human Factors International, tel: +44 (0)207 290 3430, Mobile: +44 (0)7917353545, email: elisa@humanfactors.com or visit www.humanfactors.com/Europe

For media enquiries, please contact Jane Allardice, Jane Allardice Communications Ltd, tel: +44 (0)1273 467 634 or email: jallardice@jac-pr.com

Notes to Editors:

1. Elisa del Galdo is HFI's Chief of Technical Staff for Europe. Prior to joining HFI in 2005, she ran her own consultancy for 12 years, specializing in design, usability, and the internationalisation of products and systems. She has conducted user studies in nine different languages and 14 countries spread over five continents, relying on empirical, contextual usability techniques. Her clients have included Schlumberger SEED, Vonage, Atos Origin, Coditex Electronics, Hewlett-Packard, Tony Stone Images, Anderson Consulting, Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, Abbot Labs, and Bay Networks.
2. As engineering psychologists, Human Factors International (HFI) specialises in software usability and user experience design.
3. HFI has offices in London, the US, India, Singapore and China, as well as third party relationships with testing facilities in Europe and Latin America.
4. HFI is exhibiting on Stand E355 at Internet World 2008, Earls Court 2, London, from 29 April to 1 May 2008.

HFI challenges cross-cultural design perceptions

CHI 2008, Florence, Italy
Design Theatre, Thursday, 10 April 2008, 2.30pm – 4pm

March, 2008. Elisa del Galdo, Human Factors International's Chief of Technical Staff EMEA, will present "What about a 'local' wrapper around a 'universal' core?". This thought-provoking paper published by Apala Lahiri Chavan, Executive Director of Human Factors International India, challenges established cross-cultural design perceptions.

There are currently two mutually exclusive world views regarding cross-cultural design. One school of thought believes that a single design can suit all markets. The other is diametrically opposed to the premise that 'one size fits all'. Apala believes that it is time to re-examine these world views about cross-cultural design.

Using drama, film excerpts and websites as discussion points, the audience will be encouraged to explore a third possibility. While it is true that it is very difficult to create a 'one size fits all' design, Apala proposes that we consider a shift to 'the universal local man in the age of technological empowerment'.

She explains: "We have deliberately chosen drama as the medium because designing interactions with an interface involves similar dynamics to the interaction between actors and their audience."

Elisa will begin the presentation by comparing Aristotle's Theory of Poetics with Natyashastra, the ancient Indian theory of drama. Juxtaposing the tenets of both dramatic theories will pose the question of universality in drama.

Viewing excerpts from six films – two in English, two in Indian with English subtitles and two in Chinese with English subtitles – the audience will then be invited to classify the films as either international or local box office hits. Further discussion will reveal whether their classification matches actual box office data.

Apala adds: "Looking at a selection of internationally successful films can give us ideas about how to use the rich emotional universe to create integrated offerings where the 'local' is wrapped around a 'universal' core."

The final exercise will focus on three websites. The first two will represent opposing views of 'one size fits all', while the third will raise the possibility of creating products in one culture, which also have global appeal.

For further information, please contact Nigel Grace, Managing Director, Human Factors International, tel: +44 (0)207 290 3430, Mobile: +44 (0)7748712694, email: nigel@humanfactors.com or visit www.humanfactors.com/Europe

For media enquiries, please contact Jane Allardice, Jane Allardice Communications Ltd, tel: +44 (0)1273 467 634 or email: jallardice@jac-pr.com

Notes to Editors:

1. 1. Elisa del Galdo presents "What about a 'local' wrapper around a 'universal' core?" in the Design Theatre at CHI2008 on Thursday, 10 April, 2.30 – 4.00pm.
2. Apala Lahiri Chavan, MA, MSc, is the Managing Director of Human Factors International India and Vice President, Asia. Apala is one of the most experienced usability professional in India. An award winning designer (International Audi Design Award 1996), Apala has a special interest in designing for emerging markets and internationalization of products. She also leads Human Factors International's contextual innovation services.
3. Elisa del Galdo is Chief of Technical Staff EMEA. Prior to joining Human Factors International in 2005, she ran her own consultancy for 12 years, specializing in design, usability, and the internationalisation of products and systems. She has conducted user studies in nine different languages and 14 countries spread over five continents, relying on empirical, contextual usability techniques. Her clients have included Schlumberger SEED, Vonage, Atos Origin, Coditex Electronics, Hewlett-Packard, Tony Stone Images, Anderson Consulting, Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques, Abbot Labs, and Bay Networks.
4. As engineering psychologists, Human Factors International specialises in software usability and user experience design.
5. It also pioneered the contextual innovation design methodology, which positions all aspects of design, including research and development, firmly within the social and cultural context of a product's target consumers.
6. The company has offices in London, the US, India, Singapore and China, as well as third party relationships with testing facilities in Europe and Latin America.
7. Human Factors International is exhibiting in Booth 48 at CHI 2008, which runs from Saturday, 5 April to Thursday, 10 April 2008 in Florence, Italy.
8. CHI (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems) was launched in 1982 and is held annually. For more information, see www.chi2008.org

HFI completes website testing for Citibank Portugal

4 March 2008. Cross-cultural, global usability specialist, Human Factors International (HFI) has completed the prototype testing of Citibank Portugal's redesigned retail banking website. The new site went live on 1 March 2008.

Miguel Mendes, Internet Head, Citibank International plc – Portugal, says: "HFI was our ideal partner for this project as it's one of the few global usability organisations able to provide dedicated, localised support around the world. As part of its remit, HFI translated the usability test protocol from English into Portuguese. The one-to-one prototype tests with a sample group of our existing and prospective end-users were also conducted by HFI's Portuguese moderator in Lisbon."

The usability test plan was designed to capture data about the needs and preferences of Citibank's different customer types and what motivates them to keep clicking through a transaction.

Nigel Grace, Managing Director of HFI's London office, which led the project, explains: "The specific tactical areas we studied on Citibank's behalf included how easy it is for users to learn to use and navigate the interface, find information and make selections. We're also addressed any potential ergonomic showstoppers at the detailed design level, for example, colour, layout, graphics and text."

Adds Mendes: "We're operating in a highly competitive market where we don't have a physical high street presence. Our new website, with its added value, will optimise our business-to-customer interactions."

For further information, please contact Nigel Grace, Managing Director, Human Factors Europe Ltd, tel: +44 (0)207 290 3430, email: nigel@humanfactors.com or visit www.humanfactors.com

For media enquiries, please contact Jane Allardice, Jane Allardice Communications Ltd, tel: +44 (0)1273 467 634 or email: jallardice@jac-pr.com

Notes to Editors:

1. Citibank has had a presence in Portugal since 1985 where its Global Consumer Group serves local communities. Corporate clients are catered for within its Markets and Banking Business Services.
2. Citibank Portugal has handed the design brief for its new website to FullSix with the technical specification being handled by Polaris in India.
3. As engineering psychologists, Human Factors International specialises in creating intuitive, usable interfaces and applications by applying software ergonomics.
4. Human Factors International has offices in London, the US, India, Singapore and China, as well as third party relationships with testing facilities in Europe and Latin America.

Human Factors International (HFI) appoints Scott Weiss as an Executive Director

25 January 2008. User-centred design and online usability consultancy, Human Factors International (HFI) has expanded its London operations with the appointment of Scott Weiss as an Executive Director.

In his new role, Weiss will be responsible for working closely with clients to help them achieve their business goals by applying global usability design and research methods.

He joins HFI from New York, where he has been running the Usable Products Company, which he founded in 1996. He brings extensive experience in usability and design, having worked with a range of high profile clients, including Dun & Bradstreet, GlaxoSmithKline, Intel, Samsung and Vodafone.

Prior to that, Weiss's career included roles at Apple, Microsoft, Sybase and Autodesk.

He is the author of "Handheld Usability", the pioneering design, prototyping and usability text for the mobile industry and a contributor to a number of other published works on usability and user experience.

Weiss is a keen advocate of usability and user-centred design, with a special interest in mobile user interface technologies and quantitative usability benchmarking. He has been involved in designing and prototyping features for Vodafone's Simply mobile phone platform, as well as optimising the complete user experience of four MP3 players.

"Scott Weiss's impeccable credentials in the industry and track record of leading usability and design projects will be of immense value to our clients," says Nigel Grace, Managing Director of Human Factors International's London office.

Weiss holds a BS Engineering Degree in Human Interface Design from Stanford University. He is regularly invited to speak on usability and deliver training courses to usability professionals in the US, UK, EU, Asia and the Pacific.

For further information, please contact Nigel Grace, Managing Director, Human Factors Europe Ltd, tel: +44 (0)207 290 3430, email: nigel@humanfactors.com or visit www.humanfactors.com

For media enquiries, please contact Jane Allardice, Jane Allardice Communications Ltd, tel: +44 (0)1273 467 634 or email: jallardice@jac-pr.com

Notes to Editors:

1. As engineering psychologists, Human Factors International (HFI) specialises in creating intuitive, usable interfaces and applications by applying software ergonomics.
2. HFI also pioneered the contextual innovation design methodology, which positions all aspects of design, including research and development, firmly within the social and cultural context of a product's target consumers.
3. HFI has offices in London, the US, India, Singapore and China, as well as third party relationships with testing facilities in Europe and Latin America.