Posted By
Robin Stevens on 01/29/2009
We’re preparing for a large B2B Web site redesign right now. It's the Discovery phase in our Discover-Design-Build-Optimize methodology, in which we focus on primary stakeholder and customer research. Our current client calls this "voice of business" and "voice of customer" research, so it’s something with which they are familiar. Nonetheless, one of the stakeholders I recently met with asked, “Why these interviews with our people? You should be telling us what to do, shouldn’t you?”
Yes and no. One-on-one interviews with key stakeholders in a business organization allow us to gather extremely valuable information about the extent to which a Web site facilitates the business processes designed to acquire and retain customers and grow sales. When a Web site isn't structured to facilitate those processes, there are often problems to solve in addition to design.
Speaking to stakeholders at multiple levels and departments allows us a real view into how changes to a Web site may play out through an organization, as Michael Beavers so wisely points out in an article on stakeholder interviews on Boxes and Arrows. The information we gather often translates into solutions for the technology training and infrastructure challenges that tend to perpetuate sub-optimal user experience. If we are persuasive in recommending a little training along with our design solutions, it can make the difference between long term project success or failure.
Most importantly to our user experience team, however, is the extent to which we are able to gather what I call “held information” that stakeholders have about their customers. The time spent on discovery with those who serve customers sets a solid framework for our next step, which is understanding the needs and goals that customers bring to a Web site, and creating design solutions that speak to them.
Tags: User Personas, Web Design, Information Architecture, Usability Evaluations, Interface Development, User Research
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