User friendliness, like so many things, is subject to some regularity. Deficiencies can be the reason that people fail to reach your solution, report complaints or eventually give up on it. Based on our knowledge and expertise about the basic rules, The Reference searches for potential problems in an existing user interface or system. It is a quick way of arriving at practical recommendations for improving your solution. We also help with prioritising the modifications according to your goals.
Every website or application is created based on the rules of good design and on assumptions about people. It is with that latter that things can easily go wrong. Despite specialised expertise, we also make mistakes. After all, we do not know everything and our predictions aren't always on the mark. And that is good too. It compels us to regularly call on the real experts: the end users. In a test with end users, a solution’s target audience is confronted with an existing solution or prototype. We ask the testers to follow a pre-defined script or perform a task. After which The Reference measures the success, both qualitatively and quantitatively. This gives us an understanding of what really works and what doesn't. This means that before starting development, we can modify a concept and we avoid costly work.
The Reference arrives at insights that go further than usability. We learn to understand which aspects of the application are useful and pleasant and if they meet the user’s expectations. On the way, we often arrive at new, innovative ideas, which could also be relevant to the strategy.
