Jon Freach — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:53:46 GMT

Jeanene:
Congratulations on your contributions to helping parents and kids with this condition and on a fine article.

I feel compelled to note four issues that were apparent to me as I read your post.

1. Branding
I was confused by the name of the organization because Schwab is such a prominent financial services brand. Your backstory was helpful, but I think most folks wouldn’t associate “Schwab” with “learning difficulties,” “parents,” or “kids.” Could a name that is more descriptive of Learning Difficulties be a quicker read?

2. Research Documentation
The research seemed quite informative, but the graphic documentation appears to be a bit melodramatic, thin on data and hard to access. For example, the diagram illustrating “Mom’s evolution of knowledge” seems terribly confusing (I’m not sure where to begin reading this one) while the user type diagram showing the four basic interaction models would probably communicate better using a simple numeric hierarchy to communicate most important-to-least important tasks.

3. Wireframes
The usability issues you described appear to be a result of the interface design tactics used at the low-fidelity level. If the wireframes actually looked more like an interface that a confused parent would be interacting with and less like a deliverable from a consultant, then maybe the first round of usability testing would have revealed some of the insights discovered during the second round.

4. Site Maintenance and Site Degradation
The current version of the home page seems to have abandoned the simple, straightforward and seemingly useful homepage design of February 2002. Can you comment on why you think this degradation has occurred? It has the look of retail, rather than the accessibility of a service.

Finally, please pardon the criticism, but as a former Director of User Experience at Sapient I was rather surprised to see this quality of work. While I understand that you were pleased with your service and deliverables, I see much room for improvement.

Thanks.
Jon

Jon Freach — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:53:46 GMT

I should also note that this article will cite case studies for M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas; UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts; and, Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois.

For each hospital, I lead a team of researchers, environmental graphic designers and interaction designers during the concept, design and implementation phases of an integrated wayfinding system. An integrated wayfinding system combines traditional wayfinding tools such as signs and maps with non-traditional tools such as web sites, touch screens and standardized verbal scripts to help visitors find their way to and around a complex medical campus and/or institution.

Boxes and Arrows: Comments by Jon Freach