Usability Central—Best Practices™
Methodology Module

Methods and processes to guide your usability activities – including example deliverables and document templates

The Challenge

Software developers regularly fail to deliver products that satisfy end-user needs. This is because no development methodology has adequate user-centered interface design built into the process.

Consider this typical scenario:

• Specifications are handed over to Product Development
• Deadlines, budgets, and technological constraints then drive development, rather than the business purpose for creating the product
• The product that ultimately gets delivered doesn't match the original requirements or satisfy end-users

Why do companies repeat this failing cycle? How can you unify design and development?

HFI's Solution

Integrating a user-centered design (UCD) methodology into ;your software development cycle is the key. This is the only way to ensure that an optimal user experience is preserved at each phase of development.

Usability is a scientific discipline, based on principles of cognitive psychology and human factors engineering. It lets you design a user interface at the outset that meets both user needs and business goals. But this can only be preserved through development when user-centered design methods are part of the process. Without user-centered design, software development cannot reliably generate products that fulfill end-users and business needs. Thus, usability is not just an add-on, checkpoint, or aspect of QA – rather, it must permeate the entire development cycle.

HFI can integrate The HFI Framework™ of user-centered design into your existing development process. This ISO-certifiable methodology is scalable depending on project scope and will optimize user experience. HFI's experts guide the organizational change needed for usability integration with these four steps:

1. Research and review the user interface design process in its current state
2. Recommend the UCD customization that best fits your organization
3. Collaborate with stakeholders to create your custom UCD method
4. Customize The HFI Framework and integrate it into your Methodology module

Learn more about HFI's Customized UCD Methodology service.

Usability Central methodology module:

The HFI Framework™ is also available as an off-the-shelf Usability Central—Best Practices module to guide you through each phase of user-centered design. Contents include:

• Process overview charts
• Example deliverables and presentations (e.g. usability test protocol & report)
• Task descriptions, timelines, & assumptions

Plus, you can easily upload or link to your own exemplar documents and deliverables.