Introduction - Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics - page 6

After Andre shared his research findings with his client, they agreed to address
these issues as part of a product redesign effort.
Similar situations can arise on a regular basis in the workplace or in the
home. Just think of the written instructions for such actions as lighting the pilot
light on a furnace, installing a new lighting fixture, or trying to figure out a tax
form. An instruction that's misunderstood or misread can easily result in prop-
erty damage, personal injury, or even death. User experience plays a much wider
role in our lives than most people realize. It's not just about using the latest tech-
nology. User experience impacts everyone, every day. It cuts across cultures, age,
gender, and economic class. It also makes for some very funny stories!
Saving lives is, of course, not the only motivation for a good user experi-
ence. Championing user experience in a business setting is often geared toward
increasing revenues and/or decreasing costs. Stories abound of companies that
lost money because of the poor user experience of a new product. Other com-
panies have made ease of use a key differentiator as part of their brand message.
The Bentley University Design and Usability Center had the opportunity to
work with a not-for-profit organization on the redesign of their charitable-giv-
ing website. They were concerned that visitors to their website would have dif-
ficulty finding and making donations to the charitable foundation. Specifically,
they were interested in increasing the number of recurring donations, as it was
an excellent way to build a more continuous relationship with the donor. Our
research included a comprehensive usability evaluation with current and poten-
tial donors. We learned a great deal about how to not only improve naviga-
tion, but simplify the donation form and highlight the benefits of recurring
donations. Soon after the launch of the new website, we learned that the rede-
signeffortwasasuccess.Overalldonationshadincreasedby50%,andrecur-
ringdonationsincreasedfrom2,upto19(a6,715%increase!).Thiswasatrue
usability success story, and one that also benefits a great cause.
User experience takes on an ever-increasing role in our lives as products
become more complex. As technologies evolve and mature, they tend to be used
by an increasingly diverse set of users. But this kind of increasing complexity
and evolution of technology doesn't necessarily mean that the technologies
are becoming easier to use. In fact, just the opposite is likely to happen unless
we pay close attention to the user experience. As the complexity of technology
grows, we believe that user experience must be given more attention and impor-
tance, and UX metrics will become a critical part of the development process to
provide complex technology that's efficient, easy to use, and engaging.
1.2 WHAT ARE USER EXPERIENCE METRICS?
A metric is a way of measuring or evaluating a particular phenomenon or thing.
We can say something is longer, taller, or faster because we are able to measure
or quantify some attribute of it, such as distance, height, or speed. The process
requires agreement on how to measure these things, as well as a consistent and