By Arthur Moan

For most users, user experience is an integral part of a brand - if it’s not simple it’s not being used. People will take time to work out how to use a large expensive purchase like a car or even a flatscreen TV – when using an app they’re usually doing something else, and if they’re using the web they’re fairly impatient. In the US and to some degree in the UK, large enterprises are starting to turn to more cost effective and stronger ROI based research insights (combining qualitative & quantitative tools) and there is a great opportunity to drive the message that user experience is both cost effective and accountable.

Usability is a key aspect of managing the User Experience, yet we know that despite the fact that the usability of a site has a direct impact on revenue, it’s not always integrated as a key part of site or mobile site and app development. The problem is that today, the need to think about usability is something that many companies still don’t invest in until after the fact. It’s the thinking behind usability that needs to change. More than that, it’s the concept of usability and user experience that needs to change. We need to develop the brand of UX itself.

In the last few year’s those who have had user experience jobs have been called many different things, from researchers, to engineers, designers or even that catch-all phrase – managers. The challenge is that there isn’t a simple concept accepted by all, a message that everyone can understand and recognize. Without a clear identity and a message on what user experience and usability can deliver, it can’t develop a clear role within any enterprise. And until we have that understanding, user experience and usability will never be the priority that it needs to be.

Part of developing that UX brand is ensuring that every aspect of UX is made accountable. While many may argue that usability testing is highly subjective, by using statistically significant sample sizes to enforce findings you can apply metrics to prove the concrete difference it can make. There are a broad range of methods and tools available but the key is to refine the message of what UX s about. Tools give UX experts the data they need, but building the UX brand itself is about communicating one key message – UX helps you understand why people behave the way they do, and ensure that wanted behaviour is supported and encouraged.

In order to build the brand, User Experience experts need to be clear about the job that UX is out to do. And that job is make the site, or mobile site and app, more effective, in ways that can be measured and responded to – UX must be able to link work done to actual results, to the bottom line.

As Jacob Nielsen has said, ‘"User experience is branding in the interactive world." Usability experts have simply got to find better ways to communicate the power of what they do.

About the author

Arthur Moan is Country Manager UK & Ireland at UserZoom. The skills and experience he brings to the management team covers strategic consultancy, sales & marketing, and project delivery across all digital channels, user interfaces and mobile technology with an unusual blend of commercial and creative flair. His background is User Experience having spent 5 years working at Foviance, one of Europe’s largest user experience consultancies. When not UserZooming, Arthur spends quality time with his family in the Cheshire countryside and plays the odd game of football; and of course, supporting his team Manchester United.