Institutionalization of Usability

We can help you to make user-centered design a routine practice within your enterprise.

Strategy

An enormous change happens when an executive champion for usability issues a written strategic plan. This is the transition from piecemeal into managed usability. The setup of a usability infrastructure and staffing model can now proceed in a controlled fashion. HFI can help you to quickly develop a plan. We know the pitfalls and dependencies to consider. We can quickly execute this plan with HFI's complete suite of services.

Training

Most institutionalization strategies include some training. Training is an effective way to promote the appreciation for usability issues and acceptance of usability processes in the organization. It can also be used to provide skills to key staff members who will work professionally in the field.

Methodology

Have a user-centered design process in place. Avoid missing the critical steps to make a product usable. This methodology should be comprehensive, user-centered, and supported. It should fit with corporate realities, fit with the organization's size and critical work. A complete set of activities should be defined along with the required deliverable documents.

Tools, Templates and Standards

HFI's Usability Central—Best Practices® provides a complete set of tools, templates, and standards. We can customize these facilities to your organization's brand objectives, users, tasks, and previous conventions. If you throw usability staff into an organization without the right equipment, they are going to seem slow, inefficient and impractical. The right infrastructure makes all the difference. A good standard alone can pay for the entire cost of a usability operation.

Showcase Project

A showcase project is the "test flight" of the new usability-engineering infrastructure. Your showcase project offers an opportunity to refine the methodology, toolkit, and standards. It can give new staff practical experience and can demonstrate the feasibility and value of usability work in your actual business environment.