What does a Usability Specialist do?

The interface of a website or any other digital product is its "face," the interface where the internet user interacts with the software. And the more user-friendly the interface, the higher the likelihood of product adoption.

In this article, we will talk about the work of a Usability Specialist - an expert who deals with issues of improving the user interface.

Photo Freepik

Follow us onFacebook,Telegram,Twitter orInstagramto avoid missing out on useful information for business development!

The main task of the Usability Specialist is to analyze the user interface and make recommendations for its improvement.

A usability specialist is an expert who studies the interaction between humans and software and works to improve the user interface. They ensure that the operating properties of an electronic product meet the needs of the internet user.

Overall, his work is aimed at ensuring that businesses can achieve the best possible results.

It should be noted that a specialist of this profile may be called differently in the professional environment: Usability specialist, usability designer, “usabilist”, usability specialist, as well as Usability Analyst (the terms UX researcher and researcher are also used).

What does a usability specialist work on?

A Usability Specialist solves a complex of interrelated tasks: he conducts usability research and participates in design (usability design).

So, the first professional task of a usability specialist is to analyze the user interface of a web resource. Based on this work, they compile design documentation—a reasoned set of measures aimed at eliminating shortcomings and creating an improved, more user-friendly interface.

The proposed plan is then discussed with other project participants. After receiving recommendations from the usability specialist, the team explores various scenarios:

• creates a customer/user journey map;
• identifies challenges in the user journey that can be improved through design and tested during testing.

After the list of necessary changes has been approved, adjustments are made to the website interface.

The ultimate goal of such work is to increase conversion and boost sales rates.

What does a Usability Specialist do?

For a usability specialist to achieve the desired results, they must look at the project through the eyes of the user.

This way he will be able to understand:

• how easy is the web resource to use;
• what needs to be changed to improve it.

To do this, the Usability Specialist:

• studies user reviews;
• analyzes their behavior;
• communicates with respondents (users), looks for their pain points and identifies the motivators that drive them.

A usability specialist conducts research and analyzes the product using data from analytics systems. This allows them to evaluate the usability of the design and test hypotheses about the product.

Product managers conduct similar research. However, they approach development from a slightly different perspective—from a product perspective, which aligns with the website owner's business goals.

Usability specialists, on the other hand, focus on ensuring that the web resource being created is convenient for end users and simultaneously meets the client's business needs.

Responsibilities of a Usability Specialist

A usability specialist can join the project work both at the early stages and directly during the website development process.

Discovery phase

Expert's work tasks when connecting at the discovery phase:

• information collection;
• conducting research;
• hypothesis testing, etc.

A usability specialist conducts their own research and analyzes the product based on data from analytics systems. This allows them to evaluate the usability of the design and validate their hypotheses (i.e., understand whether they are similar to the actual product).user experience).

Often, a usability specialist involves other team members in the work, studying the requirements of key stakeholders in order to synchronize hypotheses with their ideas and the overall business needs of the project.

Development process

Often, a usability specialist joins the work during active website development, when global features (functional elements, design elements) are being added.

Expert's work tasks when joining a project at later stages:

• checking the current status of the project;
• analysis of the adequacy of adding new parts of the product to those already created (sometimes during the testing process, problem areas are discovered that were not visible at the beginning of development and need to be improved);
• searching for ways to possibly improve the product.

Skills and competencies

A usability specialist is a fairly mature IT professional with a wide range of skills and knowledge.

To be in demand, it is important:

• have relevant work experience;
• have a good understanding of Usability principles;
• be able to assess the user's ultimate goals, their impact on the product, and the level of alignment with the project's business goals;
• know the basic methodologies for testing interfaces and conducting research.

Usability specialists are often professionals from related design fields. They delve deeper into this area once they have gained some experience.

For beginners, working on a team of UX experts is a great way to hone their professional skills. In such a setting, you can gain valuable knowledge and develop essential skills by observing more experienced professionals at work and tackling increasingly complex tasks.

Where to study?

For example, search for full-fledged courses on the educational platform Coursera or on LinkedIn Learning.

It's also helpful to find a good mentor and attend professional online and offline events where experienced professionals share theoretical and practical knowledge and talk about their mistakes.

Structured theory and good practice accelerate your professional development and help you gain relevant experience.

An expanded list of the functional responsibilities of a website usability specialist:

• research and analysis of the quality of graphical user interfaces (eng.User Interface (UI));
• study of design documentation for UI;
• studying the target audience and its requirements for the website interface by examining user reviews and behavior;
• organizing a usability testing strategy for the graphical user interface;
• development of test scenarios;
• conducting testing, collecting and analyzing its results;
• Classification of user errors;
• preparation of reporting documentation in the form of a set of recommendations for improving the convenience and efficiency of using the graphical interface;
• implementation of recommendations;
• development of documentation for the new interface, navigation, design;
• collaboration with web designers, content and IT departments in interface design and prototype development;
• bringing the graphical user interface into compliance with official standards

Professional skills and knowledge:

• technical background;
• knowledge of digital product development processes;
• ability to apply usability principles;
• knowledge of basic interface testing standards and technologies;
• the ability to assess the impact of a function on end users and the product for which it is designed;
• knowledge of basic interface testing standards and technologies;
• ability to work with graphic packages (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, etc.);
• knowledge of modern interface design programs (Adobe InDesign, Axure, MS Visio, Sparx EA, etc.);
• ability to use rapid prototyping tools;
• Good presentation skills and the ability to advocate for proposed design ideas, as this directly impacts the project's KPI and other metrics.

Also important:

• Become familiar with the latest trends in web design and usability.

Stay up-to-date on industry developments, seek out and study successful case studies. Develop your analytical thinking, presentation skills, and overall soft skills. All of this will be useful for teamwork and client work.

• Understand what UCD (User-Centered Design) and HCD (Human Centered Design) are.

High-quality UX design is developed through the use of User-Centered Design (a design method in which end users are involved in the entire product creation process). Human Centered Design (literally translated ashuman-centered design). HCD is based on empathy: it's important to understand what the user wants, what their pain points are, and develop a solution based on that.

• Know English.

In addition to developing your hard skills, you need to spend time improving your English. Usability specialists often interact directly with product (or website) clients. To do this professionally and to justify their proposals, a high level of knowledge of the main language of the IT industry is essential. Reputable companies typically consider candidates with a good knowledge of English (at least B2, Upper Intermediate) and strong communication skills.

We remind you that we must create conditions for stable workwebsitehelps luckydomain, reliable hostingand SSL certificateThese services can be ordered atNIC.UA.