Definition:
check•point (noun) [chek-point]
  1. a qualitative website usability assessment -- In one day, we monitor ten individual user interactions with your website, and look for ways to improve their experience.

  2. research counterpart to quantitative website metrics - Our process fills out the "why" of click thru patterns, while our visual and prescriptive reports provide a checklist of practical recommendations.

"CheckPoint™evaluations also directly benefit our clients by creating cost savings. Our findings regularly suggest simple steps that will easily reduce the need for technical support and customer service, while increasing traffic volume, and/or successful transactions."

"A great use for checkPoint™ is to review and improve your customers' web experience, but the process works with any human-software interface, including software, PDA applications, wireless device menus, gaming systems (Nintendo Wii, DS, Sony PSP, etc) and multimedia presentations."

Origin:
The primary goal of a checkPoint™ evaluation is not to detect technological inadequacies, but to understand user expectations.

Ideally, the process provides prescriptive feedback for improving customer satisfaction with the experience. This often results in developing a better customer relationship, or a better customer perception of a brand.

How It Works:

1. Understand Client Background
When we work with clients to improve their customers' online experience, our intent is to strengthen the brand, and increase the value of the web channel to the business.

Website metrics don't tell the whole story unless you understand the purpose of your interface, and your users. The first step of the checkPoint™ process is to identify, and perhaps refine the purpose of your web presence.

Once we understand your interface type (education, reference resource, marketplace, etc) we can better understand the type of user, or audience you're trying to engage.

From there, we clarify the objectives for engagement, and specifically look for insights into ease of use optimization, overall appearance, content, and technical functionality. We'll even evaluate the interface for integration with overall brand and business strategy, if that's among your objectives.

2. Identify Key Metrics to Test
CheckPoint™ Metrics help us help you - they set the foundational framework for the questions we'll ask, and the tasks we'll assign during live Customer Usability Testing.

We've classified and categorized the major strategic issues and common problem areas, and developed a framework for matching client objectives with the correct research metrics.

Designed to focus on results, projects often measurably raise key business metrics as well, such as revenue per customer, conversion rate, and overall usage rate.

You describe the effect, and we systematically run down possible causes until we diagnose the core constraint. Say you want to understand why visitors to your online store abandon their virtual shopping carts at an alarming rate. We'll investigate Technical Functionality, Utility, Ease of Navigation, and Language Comprehension, to find out why.

[All in ONE day.]

3. Customer Usability Testing
We define and recruit respondents based on interface type, target audience, and engagement objective. Customers can also be screened for any additional demographic, lifestyle, or competitive considerations. Unlike other kinds of qualitative research, usability results are not influenced by geography, and are highly projectable at N=8.

Each one-on-one observational interview lasts a total of one hour.
During this time, the respondent is allowed to navigate freely, and/or perform assigned tasks. The researcher observes the content, features, and functions that are accessed.

CheckPoint™ evaluations are conducted using a direct digital feed to the interface being tested, split with a camera on the respondent in question. We're able to capture the open-ended comments of respondents, and cross reference this insight directly with task data and pre-determined research metrics.

4. Uncover User Expectations
User expectations can be translated into concrete recommendations for improving the overall user experience. First, we analyze how users intuitively perceive, learn, and navigate the interface. Then we identify the full range of factors impacting satisfaction with the experience. This allows us to make concrete recommendations for immediate and measurable improvement.

All it takes is 10 live, one-on-one observational interviews to provide immediate feedback on key research metrics, as well as any unanticipated issues. Our mobile research facility enables clients to discreetly observe as much of the live testing as they please.

We highly recommend taking advantage of this unique opportunity, as it typically allows observers to walk away with at least one key insight on the spot.

What you see is what you get, and trust us, you get a lot.

5. Deliver Report & Recommendations
We provide you with a highly visual and prescriptive report that organizes key findings, sets out user expectations, and contains a succinct checklist of actionable recommendations. It's everything you need to develop a user-centered design, and achieve your strategic business objectives.

Our reports focus on making the design fit the user, so you can improve user experience, perception, and satisfaction with your interface and your brand.

Usability testing is a tactical discipline, while customer experience is a strategic issue. Both are a fundamental component of brand perception. You are your user interface, so our reports always account for a broad strategic view, while containing practical and actionable recommendations.

Applications:

With checkPoint™, you get a proprietary, multi-point evaluation system in tandem with a person trained in human-to-computer interaction. It's a rigorous, but inexpensive way to verify that the interface: