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Your #WebProject, Last Step: A successful #WebDesign

During the previous steps, you were able to frame your project, design it and begin to work on different scenarios. Reading this article will allow you to understand the design of your application by avoiding the traditional traps.

For many persons the web design comes down to the graphic side and they directly think of ergonomics aspects in spite of common sense. It is sometimes difficult to explain that a successful web design is not primarily and only aspect to flatter the end (internet) user. Here is why.

 

What is web design?

Web design is a process of planning, creation and updating the content on web pages, which the end-users can access easily. It encompasses several different aspects, including architecture, website structure, webpage layout, user interface, navigation ergonomics and graphic design. – Techterms

All websites are built in response to many needs so the aim therefore must not be exclusively oriented towards aesthetics but must include all comfort of the end user as well.

 

Web design: The Graphics

A website / web application is a communication medium just like a flyer or a catalog, the graphic must be an extension of a brand’s visual identity. It’s unacceptable to break graphic charter codes in any circumstances.

The brand image is thus directly transmitted via the web design and a special attention must be paid to this component, especially for the websites called “pure players” = so well known on web but not having a well-known “physical” brand image.

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Thus in the case of an e-commerce site it is the web design that will determine the targeted public and brand position, for example a Footlocker does not have the same target as a Xorlogics.com and beyond ‘Product offer, it’s in the look & feel of the site. This point is important especially in terms of e-commerce because visitor transformation in clients depends directly on it, a site with low prices but with a luxurious site graphics will deceive many visitor and will make them run from your website without any purchase.

 

Web design: Ergonomics

Ergonomics is based on the layout of information, ease of navigation and usability of the site in general. Some brands can overcome these constraints and offer sites / mini-sites, specialized landing pages just to promote a single product or service by offering different user experience; however these are really well known brands.

In the majority of cases, the web design must be thought for the end user and its comfort. It’s even true in the case of an e-commerce site, where the layout of each element of a page must be studied carefully, for ex if a basket validation button not apparent enough and you risk to lose huge sales.

These two components are inseparable, and certain aspects of the graphic design also relate to ergonomics, such as the color of a button, for example, which can be thought to be aesthetic but also to have an ergonomic role by guiding the user with different colors, etc.

 

The emphasis on graphics or ergonomics depends mainly on the nature of the site (e-commerce oriented or showcase) but it must be remembered that while graphics and the notion of beauty remain subjective values, ergonomics is based on more concrete basis. The design of a web application must meet strict requirements. Clarity of information, ease of navigation, arrangement of the CTA: nothing must be left obsolete.

 

I really hope you were able to have a complete view of a web application creation process via this series of articles. If you have a project you want to discuss, don’t hesitate to write us and we will contact you ASAP!

Your #WebProject, step 4: Web Ergonomics

In this post, I’ll describe the main ergonomic principles, which are considered one of the important steps in application development. Good read!

During the previous steps, you’ve defined your project, determined functionality, estimated costs, evaluated risks … and you must be looking forward to see your project finally taking shape. But before you begin to draw screens and implement functionalities, there is a fundamental element of your project that you must know best and always have in mind, even in the most technical phases: The End User.

 

 

The End User at the center of your design!       
While this sounds obvious, everything created on the web is meant to satisfy, in the simplest and most effective possible way, the end user’s need. This is where the work of ergonomics comes in. In its widest sense, ergonomics means “the design of a systems which lets a person use it with maximum comfort, safety and efficiency” [The EU Internet Handbook].

Since last few years, in the world of the web, UID, user interface design, and UXD, user experience design are getting more and more importance, because they define the form that your site or application will take and how the user will interact with. These fields of ergonomics themselves covers many skills when dealing specifically with content, accessibility and impact measurement, but let’s concentrate on the main point: the end user’s satisfaction. Many tools and methods exist for end user satisfaction evaluation, but let’s have a look on basic ones.

 

The persona: define the typical user
As obvious as it sounds, it remains a difficult exercise. When the question of the typical user profile is asked to a project holder, most often the answer is “the greatest number of people”. This is obviously the goal that is set, but there isn’t any interface that meets all the specificities of every user. Depending on your target, users of your service will be more or less young, more or less web friendly, will be able to spend 5 minutes like an hour to browse your site, etc.

To respond correctly above question, the best existing technique is “Personas”. Actually it consists of fictional characters creation in order to represent different user’s type that might use your web application or website. To be effective and useful, the fictional character’s profile must be extremely precise: age, occupation, place of life, habit, level of use of technologies, personal and professional environment etc. However, the ideal situation is to interview real users of the application/service and synthesize the characteristics.

 

Scenarios (and task analysis)
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Let’s take again the example of BrightOwl (powered by Xorlogics). The search and validation functions won’t be same for a job seeker as for as companies looking for talents in a specific domain.

In the first case, there is a good chance that the user will try to search job offers by criteria such as location, experience,… when In the second case, the time spent on the interface will be longer with special emphasis on job application process. All these criterias have a major impact on how to provide access to information and facilitate the job application process. You must imagine the most probable and detailed scenarios possible to confront the idea that can help you develop good functionalities and their implementation with the reality.
In order to formalize and validate these ergonomic choices, the next step is to create functional models of the interface.

 

Wireframes
When creating an interface, it’s often dangerous to introduce the graphics part too early in the process. While waiting to see “something beautiful” as soon as possible is legitimate, design can interfere with the rational choice of your web app interface elements.
It sure will be very difficult to get rid of those very nice buttons designed by your web designer while ergonomically, it’s positioning or its use aren’t justified. In addition, if a modification is to be made in the interface after detecting a problem in the user experience, the modification will be much trickier, because it’ll be necessary to review the design of this element at the same time.

 

To guard against this risk, one generally works with an intermediate step consisting in making “wireframe” mock-ups, which make it possible to position and test the various interface and content elements without involving the graphic part or performing integration or development. It is then possible to concentrate on the functional and ergonomic aspect. This step allows a much better design of the interface and can save a lot of time during the development.

 

To find the right balance between function and its graphic representation, the useful and the superfluous are an integral part of the ergonomics work and it’s often by always asking the same question that one finds the right answer: “Will this satisfy the user?”

 

The project need to be as clear as possible, must work without bugs, must be accessible because our main objective is to make the application or website graphically attractive and it’s the work of the web designer … and also the subject of our next article. So stay tuned! 

Your #WebProject, Step 2: Design

This article covers step 2 of your web project. In step 1 we’ve talked about your project selection based on different criteria such as business priorities, needs, time period and accomplishment of your preliminary study.

 

So now you have all the elements to go to the second phase of your web project, which is its design. These are the foundations upon which the project will be based. The project design stage will allow to measure all the perimeters of the project and to monitor its progress, from the initial vision to the final version, while controlling the costs incurred.

 

Right moment to ask yourself: what will happen during the “design phase” of our web project and what should we be based on to succeed in further phases?

 

In the preliminary studies, you have already identified your niche market (= customers or users and competition). You have established the needs of your target as well as all your objectives and sub goals. Now you have to put all this on paper to begin designing the project. The project design is based on several aspects such as planning, communication between the different actors of the project, a deeper cost estimation and risk management.

No worries, we are about to dive into good practices and tips to know about the success of your web project.

 

Project Manager, aka, The Key Player

The project manager has a very important role. He must know the whole strategy on the tips of his fingers and have sufficient powers to put it in place. He must also know the entire information system (site, business application …) and he will be responsible for completing the project. He will focus on the summary of 1st phase of web project to establish key phases of project development.

 

Key features in line with objectives

The main objectives should clearly indicate the direction of the project. In order to illustrate our point, let’s take the example of Bright Owl a HR web application (matching experts with available jobs in life science industry), developed by Xorlogics.

The vision is to facilitate hiring process. The main objective is to offer professionals a clear view of available jobs on the market, and companies the ability to select the best talents available.

 

The objectives and outcomes of the project will be

  • Management / Commercial – decrease of recruitment cost …
  • Marketing – ex: increase job offers / prospect companies, improve segmentation market …
  • Communication – ex: Focus on Bright Owl presentation
  • Sales / Marketing – Ex: Advertising / Advantage for companies and experts…
  • Web Marketing – ex: reaching a traffic base of 70,000 visits at 6 months … SEO, SEM, Social Networks, buzz, viral campaign etc.

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(The objectives and figures are given as an indication and they will depend on your studies)

The objectives serves to coordinate the key phases of the action plan. On the basis of these objectives, the project manager will prepare a synthesis of the overall strategy. The sub-objectives will assert themselves as the project proceeds. It is of course relatively difficult to set targets on a project from scratch, but they have the advantage of giving direction to your project. They can be reviewed and corrected later on if necessary.

 

Intern-extern company communication as an important factor for success

The project manager must interact with each member of the company and future service providers. Only then he can plan his needs/demands for each service. These internal exchanges of information make it possible to understand the needs and difficulties of each party. The crucial point is to receive the information at the right time. The key is therefore to communicate with each person in charge and to have all the useful information to the project, so one must give a dead line to each person in charge.

 

Not only internal but the Project manager must maintain a good relationship with different external providers, in order to give easily his instructions and have the best possible solution. On the other hand, several providers (might be) working together on the project or some part of the project. The project manager must then ensure that these providers communicate easily so that the interactions between the different trades are effective and comprehensible by each. It would be a shame and huge waste of time + resource if a part of project were replicated or reconsidered and rebuilt several times.

 

Estimations and cost calculation

In order to anticipate the investment, the project manager must have knowledge of the state of the art. That is to say that he will contact the different providers. He can make an initial estimate of the company’s external costs and make a choice. In addition to that, the project manager must know the standard internal costs and integrate them into its cost forecast.

 

How to make the right choice of providers?

good cheap fast - webapp

Several points to remember:

  • The most expensive is not necessarily the best: Price is an unreliable indicator. An expensive provider is not synonymous of quality.
  • The cheapest is often not the right solution: An aggressive trade policy on costs (tariffs) is often synonymous with poor quality. It is not absolute but we must be aware. Several problems can subsequently arise for the sustainability and management of the project.
  • Your usual provider is not necessarily the best: You are used to working with a provider. It gives you complete satisfaction. Very well, continue to work with him, but do not hesitate to meet other providers. Some may be cheaper to equal quality or they will have other skills you did not know exist.
  • Offshoring isn’t dangerous at all! I can literally write down a list of outsourced projects very well conducted by Xorlogics. Relocation can be very interesting to cut labor, management and equipment cost and taxes.

 

To understand the establishment of a web project, the project must be seen in its broadest sense. The web strategy should be thought as a pyramid. Let’s start with the basics, build solid foundations and do not burn the steps. Burning the steps, going in the wrong direction or not communicating well can put the project at risk.

Be pragmatic: you have a lot of ideas for your project, that’s normal. Start by setting up the heart of your business. The functionalities that will make your customers adhere to your product and which will bring you what to develop the rest, will be your priorities.

 

And last tip: do not sink into the fashion effect. Don’t get fool by the “trend”. Ask yourself if your application really need to interact with the latest social network? Is this a real need for your users? Even though social networks are very popular lately, they are not yet an obligation for all web applications. If you have to integrate them, then you have to know how to make the right network choice and know when to use them.

To finish, it is often common sense, listening and creativity that will be the best guide in designing a web application.

Next week we’ll talk about the preparation and risk management. So let’s meet next Sunday 😉

Your #WebProject, Step 1, Think before Acting

 

Every new project and every web project is often born of a good idea. This seems trivial, but the idea is not enough, as good as it may be. What we want to start with is the willingness to look for better web application, a better way of working for your business. The willingness to concretize this idea will bring a set of reflection that will form a vision. This vision must always accompany you and force you to accomplish your project.

 

This vision must be communicated with your associates and the people involved in your business. Reflections, exchanges, brainstorming and different points of view will help to develop a strategy that will support your vision. Once this vision is well established, the strategy will be endowed with a multitude of business spheres to be taken into account and evaluate. I’ll try to explain in a series of articles the stages of development and management of a web project, from its definition to its lifetime. I would point out that this article series is based on our experience and that you have certainly had other experiences, so do not hesitate to discuss with us.

 

Ok, I have a “vision” what should I do after that?

So the first step is defining your project. Defining a project does not mean having only one project. Let me explain myself, you have a HR business in Brussels; and imagine that your vision is to use the web to increase your turnover. Very well, several choices will present themselves to you. For example, this can be a collaboration with LinkedIn to present your company and offers (the biggest professional network) or an online website specific to your niche. So there are a multitude of possible projects, some are viable, others not; some are more urgent, others less.

 

So you noticed that a vision with a simple reflection already brings several possibilities of projects. Each project will have its own overall objectives. If we plan to set up a showcase site, it will certainly aim to inform people, to present your company, present its offers (…) or to be simply present on the web. It’s up to you to set your goals for each project, or you’ll have a set of overall goals and sub goals.

Do not forget, we are always in the reflection phase because once the objectives are fixed, next step will be project selection.

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How to select your project?

Project selection is a crucial step. As we have seen, a large number of projects can quickly appear.

An objective analysis can eliminate most projects or at least prioritize the most important projects to get a positive and rapid ROI. Each project is likely to be quantified by its scope; which can be evaluated in terms of time, functions and cost.

 

For this, it is necessary to establish an economic reflection for each project. Economic thinking involves understanding the world around us. It is a strategic, technological and competitor watch that must be perpetually set up, with a fine and realistic analysis. Rumors about your competitors or overestimating yourself are your worst enemies.

 

Do not hesitate to ask the help of consultants in your company like the marketing service for your market or even better the help of external consultants to have a 360° market view. Often this goes through in the form of a marketing and financial estimation plan. These will be good indicators of the viability of the project and its profitability. You will have the scope of each project, their usefulness and potential.

 

You have selected the project that is most cost effective and urgent. The second phase is the design of this project and the implementation of the tools that will allow its realization and its improvement.

As a wise man once said, all good things come in time, so let’s connect next Sunday for the next article 😉

Custom vs. Off The Shelf Web Application / Software

We live in a world where the custom is becoming more fashionable in comparison to “off-the-shelf” whether it’s in clothing, real estate, or tech field. People want to be different and want different things from each other. And let’s accept that we all are hunting for innovation. For ex, the moment I am writing this post, I’m having a coffee in my customized mug just because it’s different ;). But that’s not the point. Since few years, we are noticing that big and medium-size companies are developing in-house or contacting third-party vendor for the development of customized software/apps for a specific group of users within their organization to address their needs and maintain a better workflow.

 

As a CEO, it can be challenging to balance your company immediate needs with long-term growth. Many challenging questions arises and one of them is about company’s software needs. But when starting their business, many companies, adopt off the shelf software due to their cheap cost but realize later on that it’s not responding to their business needs and leading to blank areas in their day to day tasks coz of low customization. More the company extend their business, they realize the difficulty to reach their targets. So they find their self in a situation where they must invest in custom designed software or application development in order to reach their business goals. Companies will then design software which’ll keep the company’s infrastructure, branding and implementation needs in mind. Owning their own custom web application / software, tailored to their organization activity is a real asset for their business. It can be a real time saver and enables any company to distinguish itself from its competition. Building custom enterprise web application or database driven website can bring a host of benefits. Its production can cost you a lot, in terms of that significant energy, resources, and time but the ROI isn’t negligible.

 

Let’s have a look on pros and cons of custom web apps / software.

 
The pros of custom web apps / software development The cons of custom web apps / software development
Provides specific features that off-the-shelf software doesn’t provides. Higher cost at the beginning of project
Solution 100% customized to meet the needs of everyone while improving company processes Deadlines are usually longest for development and implementation
Easy integration and interfacing to existing facilities. Requires significantly more resources to design and thus come with an inherently high amount of costs and risks.
Make possible for company to distinguish itself from its competition via innovating Project risks: the result is not guaranteed by definition since one starts from scratch
Business gets a remarkable increased efficiency Low quality of software if one choose the wrong Software Development Company
Your team to work faster and smarter because software are specifically designed with company’s needs in mind Company has to cover all costs associated with the development process of custom software.
Makes easier to achieve company objectives Control of the most complex project where the client support will be crucial
No extra cost of recurring license or limitation in the number of users

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Good news for you is that companies specialized in software design (such as Xorlogics) are responsible for creating, implementing, monitoring and maintenance of the software. So Administrative management is thereby reduced for you, and this will allow you to focus and improve contacts with your customers!!
So if you have any question or concerns regarding a custom web application / software for your business, or you simply need help defining your project, just contact us so we can guide you from inception to implementation!!

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