A Site for Poor Eyes?

Insurance and investment provider LV= are committed to finding ways to improve their customers’ experience when buying and using their products.

We recently provided their eCommerce Web Content team with three days of customised training in user centred design and accessibility.  They followed this up by conducting a usability inspection and accessibility audit of their ISA website and presenting their findings at a workshop.  Our consultants were on hand to discuss and help with:

• any gaps in the assignment
• misinterpretations of the guidelines
• guidelines that they did not fully understand
• next steps on how to better incorporate UCD into their current processes.

The team found the exercise extremely valuable, posting this article on their internal website:

Don't worry, the eCommerce Web Content team haven’t suddenly decided to opt for retro spectacles, it’s all for a very good reason.

Members of the team wore these specially-designed glasses as part of an exercise in training about website usability and accessibility.

Websites should take into account how easy they are to use by people who have all manner of disabilities, including blurred vision, partial blindness, tunnel vision, etc. By wearing the glasses, the team got a good idea of what it’s like to look at LV.com through a different set of eyes.

Luckily our main website ticked most of the boxes for usability and accessibility, though there’s always room for improvement, and we’re already working on plans to introduce some more changes.

Alan Lay, who attended the training was delighted with the experience, saying:

We have worked with System Concepts in the past to improve the usability of our website. We were very satisfied with that project and wanted them to come in and help us improve our knowledge of website usability and accessibility. The training was very effective, professionally run by an expert facilitator and we are confident that not only will we improve the website but the way people can use it.

If you think your team would benefit from a similar training programme, please contact us to discuss how we could help.