Hi! Thanks for the question.
I have found the following case studies for you, discussing how the
internet companies like Yahoo and others test their new product
offerings or brands themselves so it will be appealing to customers.
Whenever appropriate I will provide small snippets from the articles I
will cite but I highly recommend that you read them in their entirety
to get a better grasp of the ideas.
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Yahoo and other Portal Sites:
?Understanding your audience is always a critical step in any
communication effort. Who makes up your audience, and what kinds of
tasks are they involved in? The answers to these two questions form
the backbone of your understanding of the audience.?
?You can use demographics, psychographics, focus groups, surveys, and
other methods to figure out who your audience is and what information
they want.?
?Next, try to figure out the goal of the portal. All portals have an
overarching goal, which is to offer centralized access to widespread
information sources and services. However, all portals also have
unique goals.?
?Next, try to understand the breadth of the portal. How many databases
and information sources are going to be represented on the portal??
?Usability for component-based portals?
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/usability/library/us-portal/
------------------------
Hoovers:
?Hoover's seeks to understand how its customers use the site and uses
its findings to focus content development and improve usability. Using
a home-grown system based on SAS, Hoover's analyzes its log files for
clues to how visitors use the site. Hoover's also conducts usability
testing, bringing in customers and watching how they use the site, and
regularly surveys its paying customers about their likes, dislikes,
and preferences.?
?Hoover's has found that most customers come to its site to search for
a particular company. Out of 15,000 company capsules, every company is
searched for at least once per month - very few are looked at less
than five times. So Hoover's places the bulk of its content
development on being a focused search site. Hoover's believes that its
customers use the site for the ability to find information, not just
for Hoover's-branded information.?
?Hoover's closely monitors the popularity of new content and services.
For example, Hoover's just added information about patents. If patents
prove popular, Hoover's will expand in that direction, perhaps adding
international patent or trademark information. ?Analyzing site usage
can generate new business opportunities. Often, customers use the site
in ways the designers had not envisioned. For example, Hoover's has
found that many people think that they can directly contact the
company they are researching through the Hoover's site. They try to
order products through the site. Says Spain, ?It never occurred to us
that people would do that. It presents some interesting business
opportunities for consideration.?"
?Case Study: New media is old media - or is it??
http://www.fastwater.com/Library/CaseStudies/Hoovers.php3
-------------------------
Zipcar.com:
?To handle these types of problems, we've been using a technique we
call "Inherent Value Testing." Inherent Value Testing gives the team
important information about how well a web site communicates the
inherent value the designers are putting into the site.?
?As a variant of standard usability testing, Inherent Value Testing
has the same basic structure: users, tasks, and the site you're
testing. The difference is in the details of the test execution.?
?Inherent Value Testing occurs in two phases. In the first phase, we
asked the six loyal customers to give us a tour of the site, sharing
the features they used and liked the best. We listened to their words,
as they were explaining to us what they thought the benefits were.?
?In the second phase, we set out to see if the six potential customers
see these same benefits when they visit the site. To do this, we
started with tasks created by the loyal customers. We based the tasks
on what loyal customers liked best about the site and the things they
normally did while there. We created scenarios that would simulate the
need for the service and asked the potential customers to 'role play'
through the scenario.?
?Inherent Value Testing?
http://ecommercetrends.com/2004/0223.html
---------------------------
Amazon.com
?How do you add a new channel to your current online and offline mix
of customer interactions? How do you ensure that this new channel
works seamlessly with your existing investments in customer
relationship management, content management, and order processing? How
do you guarantee that your storefront on Amazon.com maximizes your
investment and succeeds in recruiting new online customers??
?Identify merchant requirements and business rules for tax and
shipping calculations, promotion application, order resolution, and
product presentation. Fry identifies which processes need to be
revised or created to support integration with Amazon.?
?Assess the merchant's existing information systems to determine the
best approach and technologies to integrate with Amazon. This includes
a review of the merchant's order processing system to identify the
best point of entry for Amazon orders.?
?Fry, Inc. - Case Study ? Amazon?
http://www.frymulti.com/clients/amazon.asp
----------------------------
Fine Living:
?Scripps Networks, creators of the Do It Yourself channel, Food
Network, and Home and Garden Television, recently launched a new
channel, Fine Living. Fine Living features lifestyle programming about
travel, home, entertainment, hobbies, and wellness.?
?In order to build excitement and ensure that content and advertising
support would be readily available when the new channel debuted, the
producers wanted the Web site to launch a month before the television
channel.?
?In order to ensure the site captured the essence of Fine Living and
conveyed its key messages, Fry worked with both internal brand keepers
and Fine Living's advertising agency. Together, we identified core
brand characteristics, key messages, stigmas, and ultimately, how the
site should make the viewers feel. We also reviewed the agency's
prospective logo and print design work as it was produced. Fry and the
agency continually shared information and collaborated during the
project.?
?Fry, Inc. - Case Study - Fine Living?
http://www.frymulti.com/clients/fineliving.asp
----------------------------
MyOnStar.com
?In 2000, OnStar developed plans to launch a subscriber extranet as a
third avenue of communication with OnStar subscribers (in addition to
the in-vehicle communication system and telephone access). Several
vendors were engaged to design and develop the complex portal.?
?In order to develop a full-fledged extranet with content that is
relevant to the user, Fry employed deep skill sets in back-end data
integration and user experience design. Fry engineers integrated
distinct data sources into a cohesive Web application that enables
users to access account and financial information, real-time stock
data, various audio content, weather profiles, and personalized user
privilege levels driven by subscription levels.?
?Fry, Inc. - Case Study ? OnStar?
http://www.frymulti.com/clients/onstar.asp
---------------------------
Our next links are outlines of case studies done by a UK firm called
Usability by Design. Here are some studies which are relevant to your
research.
?The National Archives?
http://www.usability.uk.com/products_study8.htm
?Waitrosedeliver?
http://www.usability.uk.com/products_study5.htm
?E-commerce site?
http://www.usability.uk.com/products_study2.htm
----------------------------
Since the term ?usability testing? has been used frequently in the
articles above, the link below explains and gives a glimpse of what
are the processes used in such tests.
?Ready, Set, Go: Usability Testing?
http://www.macromedia.com/devnet/articles/usability_testing.html
------------------------------
Our next resources this time are cases wherein a site will be
redesigned and not necessarily a launching of a new product. I will
include this however since the nature of the redesign is also like a
re-launch so as to make the site appealing and easier to use.
?BBC Radio 4 Online?
http://www.flow-interactive.com/case_bbc_radio_4.shtml
?Adventures in Low Fidelity: Designing Search for Egreetings?
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/archives/002869.php
?Design Council?
http://www.flow-interactive.com/case_designcouncil.shtml
?Case of an Entertainment Club Website?
http://www.aiga.org/resources/content/7/6/2/documents/FORUM_fletcher_case_032102.pdf
Search terms used:
Yahoo e-commerce website customer "product development" "usability testing"
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
Thanks for visiting us.
Regards,
Easterangel-ga
Google Answers Researcher |
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