uiConsulting is a
small Ottawa-based consultancy specializing in helping IT and business groups create highly usable interface designs for websites and rich web applications.
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What is Usability?
Usability refers to ease
of use - making it easy for people to use your web site or software. Usability is achieved by balancing three key components: your business goals, the needs of your users and technical constraints. By taking into account the goals, needs, experience and limitations
of your users, you make them successful at using your products.
Usability is measured by studying how accurately and efficiently your users are able to complete their tasks using your interface - whether it is completing a purchase or finding company contact information on a business web site, or filing their income tax return or editing an image file using a software application.
Usability is acheived by following a process and methodology called User-Centred Design (UCD), which grounds the design of your web site or software in the needs of it's intended users.
UCD is characterized by first studying how users are likely to interact with a web or software interface, and how they think about the tasks they are going to complete. Designs then progress through rapid iterations which are tested with end users to measure how well they support users in completing their tasks.
Usability has been defined by the International Organization for Standardization as "the
extent to which a product can be used by specified users to
achieve specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and
satisfaction in a specified context of use
Usability
and User-Centred Design Services
- User interface design and interaction design
- UI design specification
- Heuristic evaluation
- UI prototyping
- Workshops, presentations and courses on usability, user centred design and UI design principles
Website
and Graphic Design Services
- Website design, development and maintenance
- Coordinated corporate branding - logo, identity and web design
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