Required - A usability Guru.

Where do I find one?

I'm working for a pensions news business who are looking for someone to
improve the user experience at our web-site. Our clients are
subscription only. We have about 1000 users in about 100 companies.

Ideally

(a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

Realistically.

(b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?
(c) What are the web-design/'usability' agencies (in London, UK) like?
Has anyone here experience of working with any of these agencies?
(d) How can I recruit a freelancer without getting swamped by unsuitable
applicants.

What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

My boss wants someone who is able to:
* improve the coherence of our site.
* present our data/information to the user in a web friendly way
(perhaps by presenting it in usable chunks),
* increase the site use by current users,
* make the site easier to use / navigate,
* improve the page flow,
* commute to our offices in Victoria, London,
* work for at least 1 month on this project.

What I don't want:
* a graphic designer who's has pretty web-sites

What my boss doesn't want:
* a techie (although a techie who understands everything about usability
may be OK)

What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
our users' point-of-view.

Should we:
a) Try to get a freelancer. If we do, how will we know that the said
freelancer has the necessary skills. Would be acceptable to start using
terminology from, say, Jenifer Tidwell's book and expect the person to
instantly understand what I'm talking about? The last time I advertised
for a freelancer 95% of the respondents didn't even bother to read my
job advert before replying.  But anyway, where should I advertise.
b) Go to a design agency specializing in usability. If so, which
London-based agency is suitable?
c) Go to recruitment agency (boo, hiss) and give them the job of finding
someone.

PS: This is not strictly a job advert. It's a request for help in
finding this person. Who do I ask, where do I look?
PS 2: If you think this is a job advert, please don't try to contact me
unless you fit my guidelines (London-commuting, usability expert,
web-designer)

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie

mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:

> (a) It would it be ideal if we could get someone working in that sector
> of finance (pensions) who may have a better understanding of what a
> typical user needs?  How likely is it that we can find such a person (0%
> in my view). As such, how can we discover what our user wants?

It depends on how tightly targeted "your users" are. If you can
reasonably assume a high level of prior knowledge and understanding
from them, it may be more useful to have a usability expert who has a
similar level of k+u. If that isn't the case, you may find that a
usability expert can bring an open mind to the site, and may be better
at asking the right questions.
 
> (b) How important is it for the usability person we're looking for to
> understand our web technology (ASP.NET 2.0, SQL Server 2005)?  In other
> words should we also be looking for technical skills as well (database
> design/normalization) or are 'design'/usability skills alone sufficient?

The technology you use is irrelevant to a usability study. The people
who will be using the site don't need to know that it runs on ASP.net
or anything else, so why should the person representing those users
need to know?
It may be that in the feedback he gives you, some of the suggestions
he makes are not compatible with the technology you're using. You
would then have to weigh up the cost/benefit of the usability benefit
that you could get against the cost of implementing a new technology.
But you can't make that decision until after he's done the research.

It may be useful for you to give some scope of what steps you consider
will be reasonable a/o feasible to take - eg, a new skin is fine, but
new bones are out of the question at the moment - but the underlying
technology shouldn't be a consideration in the first instance.

The technology is there to serve you and your customers, not the other
way round! If it's raising barriers, maybe it's not the right kit to
use.

> What skills should I be specifying in a job advert?  (HTML, CSS, Site
> design, CMS - from the user point of view?)

An understanding of usability and accessibility issues, experience of
conducting user research, a portfolio of usability reports carried out
on other websites.
 
> What we understand by usability is the ease of using OUR site and our
> data - my boss doesn't give a hoot for accessibility, font-size, and
> some of the other design mantras - all that matters is usability from
> our users' point-of-view.

You will need to give the project a clear scope in the initial stages
- for most usability professionals, there is a huge overlap between
usability and accessibility.

I agree that a usability expert should not be talking to you about the
graphic design of the page, although there may be ways in which the
current design (eg use of colours, shapes and sizes) is impeding
usability by drawing users' attention to the wrong areas of the page -
don't rule out your expert having something useful to say on this.
 

You may find some of these articles on Jakob Nielsen's site useful:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/user-testing-showbiz.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040301.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010805.html
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20041108.html

-- 
                          Stevie D
    \\\\\       /////     Bringing dating agencies to the
   \\\\\\\__X__///////    common hedgehog since 2001 - "HedgeHugs"
___\\\\\\\'/ \'///////_____________________________________________

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:46:58 +0100, Stevie D 
wrote:

>mark4asp@gmail.com wrote:
>
>> Required - A usability Guru - where do I find one?

Thanks Stevie