Expert Review

In HFI's Expert Review an experienced ergonomics professional will apply a large, research-based set of usability heuristics and algorithms to determine how to improve the user-interface design of a website or software application.

Detailed attention will be given to target personas (user types) and principal tasks. The review will include analysis of the navigation and design features that promote user efficiency, accuracy, and satisfaction. We will then provide specific redesign recommendations.

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PET design™

Drive conversion by attending to the Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust response to your web pages.

Through an analysis of Persuasion, Emotion and Trust, HFI's Usability PET Review will provide deep insight into the users' decision-making processes. This will ensure that your web pages create positive relationships with consumers and result in increased conversion.

Deliverables to our clients include a written report and a verbal presentation, including: strategies, persuasion flow diagrams, trust scorecard, visual heat maps, and emotion maps.

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Web Navigation

A successful User Interface Structure makes a website or application self evident, easy to navigate, and visually compelling.  Once this is defined the detailed design is a relatively straightforward and low risk activity.

At the end of this process the website will be fully defined at a high level. All the major parts of the website will be defined from the user's viewpoint and different groups of users will be considered.

Unnecessary parts and functions will be eliminated. The organisation and categorisation of the content and functionality will be solidly defined and validated. The navigational mechanism will also be fully described. In addition, the appearance of the website will be defined and validated against the target brand values.

Benefits

Studies have shown that 80% of usability is determined by the structural design, the most important process in terms of usability assurance. It will increase function usage (as users will know what is available), increase task completion speed (as navigation will be faster), and also improve the subjective evaluation because of improved organisation and aesthetics.

The philosophy and commitment of this process is wholly focused on optimising human performance and experience. The end result is a website that is successful not simply in processing accurately and quickly, but also, from the user's viewpoint, because it is useful and usable.

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Usability Testing

We provide a complete range of services for progressive testing of software applications.

Testing confirms the appropriateness of design, minimizing the need for recoding and redevelopment. HFI uses a variety of testing techniques to match the deliverable being refined and the type of feedback needed. By applying our knowledge and practical experience from the design of hundreds of interfaces, we use this data as the basis of very specific design recommendations.

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Remote Testing

Usability testing is the acid test of interface design. However, classical usability testing is not always feasible – primarily because of its cost. It also requires a physical facility and technical infrastructure, as well as the necessity to travel to the various testing locations.

To overcome such problems HFI created a breakthrough technology: Remote Usability Testing (RUT). By using RUT we can successfully run tests in other countries, across different time zones – all from the sophisticated remote testing lab in our Mumbai office.

HFI's experience over the years has proved that both classical lab and remote usability studies capture very similar performance information.

Benefits

Data from real users performing real tasks and our recommendations for improvements and redesign.

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User Interface Standards (Web and GUI)

General Description

We employ a consensus-building process to effectively develop and implement a Web or GUI Standard. This type of engagement is best for mid-to-large size companies that are developing multiple web pages or sites that can benefit from standardised, consistent, graphically elegant page templates.

We create customised User Interface standards to fit your branding, domain, conventions and existing standards. This will cover all screen design needed for the website or application and other user interfaces developed by you that would be included. In essence, it will be a business-wide standard.

Benefits

The key benefit of this approach is that it is consensus driven. The templates created are easy to use, developers learn about good usability by copying - decreasing development time – and the standard facilitates a consistent user interface.

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Detailed Screen Design

Working from a User Interface Structure we develop the detailed user interface for a product including content, layout, graphics and wording.

Detailed Screen Design sets the specifics of colour, layout, and wording. Content is organised so that the user will easily comprehend your message. Screens are designed to minimise the user's visual, intellectual, mental and motor work. Effective labelling systems, object-oriented text presentation, and appropriate use of colour and graphics come together to enhance content structure and simplify decision-making. Our graphic artists enhance visual appeal and motivate end users.

Benefits

• Designs that are visually appealing, clutter-free, and ergonomic
• Enhanced content structure and simplied decision making
• Designs that fit the users' tasks, motivate them, and optimise screen performance
• An upgrade that sets a direction for further design

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Accessibility

HFI provides accessibility reviews and recommendations based on compliance with:

• Section 508 
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)  
• IBM Web Accessibility Checklist

Accessibility helps with:

• Visual impairment(blind, low-vision)
• Hearing impairment
• Speech impairment
• Motor impairment
• Cognitive impairment
• Repetitive stress
• Colour blindness
• Search engines

Benefits

• Reduce legal liability
• Increase market share and audience reach
• Demonstrate social responsibility

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Graphic Factors – Visual Design

• Graphic concepts
• Branding style guide
• Icon design and library
• Interactive animation
• Marketing collaterals

HFI's graphic designers are specialists in visual design and have a strong background in user-centred design principles. They create sites that are visually compelling, easy to understand, and take into account both corporate goals and user expectations.

HFI's graphics consulting and production develop the visual elements of your site – i.e., navigation graphics, wireframes, icons, logos, and other images – using graphics factors. We determine the basis of the graphic style using proven data-gathering methods.

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Localisation and Internationalisation

HFI's well-established localization process ensures that the design is acceptable and usable from a cultural perspective. This process may require translation into other languages and consideration of cultural differences.

Major issues include work style, practical issues of environment and resources, and detailed challenges of different field formats and conventions.

Some applications can be easily translated to be acceptable. This requires language translation, as well as conversion of field formats and controls.

Some applications can be localized to a given target culture, but localization requires a complete cycle of development. This involves a entire rethinking of the target users, workflow, social environment, physical environment, and interface design.

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Contextual Innovation for the Design of Breakthrough Products

Contextual Innovation is a systematic multidisciplinary process of inquiry into the new frontiers of user system interactions. It allows you to gain practical knowledge about your target markets to develop entirely novel, more useful and more effective products and services.

Users are the best source of new ideas. Our research methodologies, rooted in cultural anthropology, sociology, and psychology, help us contextually study the "situated" behaviours, goals, intentions and thoughts of the potential users.

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