User Research And Experience Design For IT Advisor Website
Info-Tech Research Group is a advisory firm that empowers IT Leaders to drive innovation and revenue for their company.
THE PROBLEM
Convince Business that User Research Matters
Convince Business that User Research Matters
Address the concerns of stakeholders by showing the HUGE business value that they'll get even when just a small amount of time goes towards user research.
HIGH LEVEL TIMELINE
1 Week, part-time
KEY GOAL
Optimize the home page for conversion
MY ROLE
User research and experience design
Since the primary goal of the website is to get more sales leads, I decided to conduct usability tests on the home page and outline recommendations to optimize the design for conversion.
MY RESPONSIBILITIES
-
Heuristics Audit
-
User Research
-
Remote Usability Tests
-
Copywriting
-
Wireframe
-
Prototype
-
Visual Design
-
Synthesized findings
BREAK DOWN OF THE PROCESS:
IDENTIFY PROBLEM
Audit of the current experience revealed communication issues.
RESEARCH
Explored reviews, testimonial videos and case studies to get an understanding of the current member experience
DESIGN & TEST
Conducted interviews and usability testing of current experience and new concepts with 3 participants
SHARE FINDINGS
Synthesized research and design recommendations
THE USERS
IT leaders and practitioners of mid-large size companies.
Since the technology industry is fast-paced, constantly changing and covers a broad scope in order for them to be successful in their role IT leaders need access to reliable and relevant data to inform their strategies towards innovation, governance, risk management, and compliance.
To alleviate the stress of trying to stay up to date on their own, membership in this advisory firm gives them access to the information they need to make informed decisions that will increase revenue for their company.
Some examples of member job titles:
IT LEADERS
-
Chief information officer (CIO)
-
Chief security officer (CSO)
-
Chief technology officer (CTO)
-
IT director
-
IT manager
IT PRACTITIONERS
-
IT coordinator
-
Service desk analyst
-
Cloud system administrator
-
Security systems administrator
-
Portfolio Manager
THE RESEARCH
I conducted remote interviews with potential users.
I identified IT Leaders within my network on LinkedIn and invited them to participate in my research study with a link for them to sign up for a 25-minute session via Calendly.
With each participant, I reviewed the current site and a version of the optimized homepage. After each session, I used the feedback to iterate and on the design.
-
Participant 1 was based in India and leads the IT departments of 2 different companies.
-
Participant 2 was based in Canada and leads the IT services department of a large-enterprise company
-
Participant 3 was based in Canada and has lead various IT teams over their career.
3 themes that emerged from the research:
COPYWRITING
Too copy-heavy, participants felt it was too long to read. The Free Research link didn’t align with user expectations, a quote from a user: “Free research is great but doesn’t deliver on it’s promise right away”
PRICING
Each participant felt confused when exploring the pricing page, such as, “What’s the value for me and how much is this going to cost me?”
VISUALS
Data graphics are appreciated. Quote from a participant, “This shows me that they're experts”
THE DESIGN
Test assumptions with low-fi and hi-fi prototypes
I first sketched out rough ideas of how to address issues from the heuristics audit. Then, I created a wireframe get feedback on the content and flow during the first user research session. From there I added visual design and continued to iterate based on the user research findings.
Section 1: Unique Value Prop
Section 2: Benefits, Social Proof
Section 3: Benefits, Features
Section 4: Email List Sign Up, Footer
CONCEPTS FROM THE ITERATIVE DESIGN PROCESS
THE OUTCOME
Detailed report findings and recommendations on how to optimize the home page based on user research and usability best practices.
