Agile development

Problem: A High Street retailer wanted to develop new functionality for their e-commerce website.

As always, time available for the project was in short supply. We needed to be able to take the client through various iterations of the new functionality within a compressed time frame.

As the project was focussed on an individual task we were able to recommend our “Active testing” methodology which allows rapid, iterative development.

Active testing

Process: Our active testing methodology involves running a small number of user tests at the same time as a client workshop.

The user tests are observed by the workshop participants, who discuss the insights from the tests as they happen.

Once the tests have finished, the workshop participants prioritise issues and take immediate design decisions.

A new design can be created and another set of active testing can be undertaken to iterate the design further.

Improved functionality

Solution: The active testing process immediately threw up some major questions about the approach that had been proposed.

The original approach would have caused confusion to potential purchasers and reduced the effectiveness of the website.

Having been exposed directly to consumer reactions, the client team designers were able to develop a new and more effective approach to the task very rapidly.