How can I get people in my organization to conduct usability

If you're trying to persuade the people in your organization to follow the user-centered design process to design your Web site, quote these statistics:

• Research by User Interface Engineering, Inc., shows that people cannot find the information they seek on a Web site about 60 percent of the time.
• Studies by Forrester Research estimate that approximately 50 percent of potential sales are lost because users can't find information and that 40 percent of users do not return to a site when their first visit is a negative experience.
• A study by Zona Research found that 62 percent of Web shoppers give up looking for the item they want to buy online.
• According to Elizabeth Millard, "The best sites we've found are usable only 42 percent of the time."

You also can:

• Remind your team that user-centered design doesn't have to be expensive. Bring in friends and neighbors (people who are similar to your user population) and ask them to participate in a card sort or an early usability test. Conduct a mini-usability test and let your team observe. For more information, read the articles on how to: Learn About Your Users , Perform Card Sorting , Learn About Usability Testing
• Suggest they observe a usability test: Or show your team video clips from a recent usability test. Observing representative users trying to find information on your Web site can be very persuasive. It's easy for a team to disagree on the best way to design a Web site, but it's very hard to disagree with actual users.
• Be creative: One federal agency took advantage of "Bring your Kids to Work Day" and used the opportunity to test out their kids' Web site on their colleagues' children.
• Explain that usability can save money: Use data to show that successful usability projects can increase productivity and save your organization time and money. Refer to the articles on: Can Usability be Measured? How Can I Show That Usability Saves Money?