CEO of world's largest usability company proclaims:
"Usability is no longer enough"

Human Factors International, Inc. moves beyond usability with
introduction of PET DESIGN^SM – proprietary approach to
optimize online engagement based on Persuasion, Emotion, & Trust (PET

New York, NY – September 12, 2008 – Stating "usability is no longer enough" to create successful websites, Dr. Eric Schaffer, founder and CEO of Human Factors International (HFI), today introduced PET Design^SM. This new approach to web design lets companies influence and deepen their interactions with online customers through Persuasion, Emotion, and Trust. HFI's PET Design is the result of extensive research, pilot programs, and client engagements with Fortune 500 companies over the past several years.

"Whether a website is e-commerce, informational, or transactional, their mandate is to establish deeper relationships with customers," said Dr. Schaffer. "Understanding how and why people make online decisions that lead to conversion, and the subtle motivators and emotional triggers that influence how they react to website messages and content, is vital to maximizing the success of a site."

Traditional usability practices focus on creating efficient sites that are simple and easy to use. Thus, usability deals with the "can do" aspect of design (i.e., can users find information, understand content, or complete a task?). But just because a site is easy to use doesn't mean it will engage consumers and meet business goals.

HFI's PET Design builds on a foundation of usability, but goes beyond "can do" to optimize the values of persuasion, emotion, and trust, ultimately influencing what users will do on a website. This science of persuasion helps companies achieve their online objectives, whether that is getting people to buy a product, sign-up for a newsletter, donate to a cause, ask their doctor about a drug, vote for a candidate, invest, etc.

Visit Dr. Schaffer's new blog to contribute your thoughts about this approach at: BeyondUsability.humanfactors.com.

Dr. Schaffer will be in New York from September 24-26 to teach PET Design, "How to Design for Persuasion, Emotion and Trust (PET)," a 3 day training course that will introduce the concepts of PET Design to a wider audience. Subsequent courses this year are slated for San Francisco, LA, Austin, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. Topics covered include:

• How to develop persuasive strategies and implement research-based methods throughout the design process to make websites more trustworthy and convincing
• Techniques to probe the subtle motivations and emotional triggers that influence peoples' reactions to messaging, content, and offers
• How to create an effective design that appeals to users while achieving measurable business goals
• How to document and present PET Design research and user analysis with concrete deliverables, including personas, persuasion flow diagrams, emotion maps, and trust scorecards
   

For more information and a complete list of dates and locations, please visit www.humanfactors.com/PETcourse.asp.

Contact: Michael Draznin, Principal
Michael Draznin Consulting
1.917.921.1039 tel
michael@drazninconsulting.com

About Human Factors International (HFI)
 
Human Factors International (HFI) is the world's leading strategic advisor and provider of user experience design services to both private and public sectors. HFI helps clients design websites and products that are persuasive, engaging, and easy to use. Its Schaffer-Weinschenk Method™ is an ISO-certifiable process for user-centered design, built on principles from human-computer interaction, ergonomics, psychology, computer science, and marketing. Through an integrated blend of strategy, assessment, research, design, validation, and institutionalized usability, as well as training and certification, HFI's clients routinely experience material increases in key corporate performance indicators as a result of their efforts.

HFI customers include AFLAC, BBC, Caterpillar, Citigroup, ConocoPhillips, Dell, Ernst & Young, FedEx, HP, Lockheed Martin, McGraw-Hill, McKesson, Microsoft, National Institutes of Health, SAP, Social Security Administration, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments, Verizon Wireless, and Wal-Mart. HFI corporate headquarters are located in Fairfield, Iowa, with 12 regional offices throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Visit www.humanfactors.com.