Ask YC: Feedback on usabilityfeedback.com

http://www.usabilityfeedback.com

by nonrecursive • 18 years ago

13 44 18 years ago

Hi YCers, I've finished putting together a home page for a service I'm starting at http://www.usabilityfeedback.com , and would really appreciate any feedback on it :) Also, if you're interested in the service, please email me and mention YC and I will take 1/3 off the price.

For a couple years now I've been doing usability reviews for people just for fun. Then two and a half weeks ago I was laid off because the startup I was working for is nearly out of funding. I had had the idea for usabilityfeedback.com for awhile and decided to run with it in a way that would be quick to implement, enjoyable, and that could start generating cash immediately.

So far the response has been very positive, with other web developers I know recommending it to their clients. I'm really hoping it will do well enough that I'll be able to do it full time and have time left over to improve and add more services. Or at least stay off the streets.

Thanks!

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

Hi YCers, I've finished putting together a home page for a service I'm starting at http://www.usabilityfeedback.com , and would really appreciate any feedback on it. (Incidentally, if you're interested in the service, please email me and mention YC and I will take 33% off the price.)

Thanks!

mstefff• 18 years ago

interesting but people seem to be using great communities like HN for free, and high quality, advice. and not to mention, coming from more than one person.

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

Yeah, that is one of my worries. The response I've gotten from other developers / web dev shops has been enthusiastic, though, so I'm still hoping there's room for me in the market. Just doing one review each business day would be enough for me to cover expenses and begin adding services and reviewers.

I'm not sure if just doing a video and giving detailed, easy-to-reference documents is enough to set me apart, but for now it's a place to start. I also think that being a small shop and giving more personalized service could set me apart, but I haven't emphasized that on my site.

If that doesn't work out I've considered trying to start a usability feedback community. In fact I had one for awhile at http://www.hallwaytesting.com (now a defunct blog), but it seemed like most people were interested in just getting feedback and not giving any, or just in advertising their sites. So I'm not sure how to make a community like that work.

attack2• 18 years ago

Many people would prefer private critiques over putting their new site out to fry. Myself included.

ivank2• 18 years ago

I get better value watching over many people's shoulders (for free or cheap - maybe not always cash) and listening to users.

My only suggestion: if you're not exploring the set of all target users (just the 'git' guy), why not list what kind of applications you're most fit to test? I would hope to know you're not interested in SVN functionality before forking over $450. Exploring Assembla's SVN functionality could have revealed deeper flaws in their Trac integration. At one point, I was asked to re-enter my username and password in an ugly HTTP authentication dialog.

Offtopic, but for anyone interested in a serious look at UX, I recommend Indi Young's 'Mental Models'

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like, on the site, I should clarify what actually goes on when you request feedback. For example, with the Assembla site, if they requested that I review their SVN functionality, that's what I would do. We would have a pre-review conversation going over tasks to perform.

Also, did the "usefulness guarantee" not catch your eye? I mention there that you get your money back if the review isn't useful.

(That's funny that you mention "Mental Models" - I just bought that two days ago.)

ivank2• 18 years ago

It caught my eye. I couldn't remember it after watching the video. Thanks for clarifying your workflow.

arthurk• 18 years ago

Great idea, great site but $450 is too much.

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

Thanks for the feedback. How much do you think the service is worth?

bprater3• 18 years ago

Don't listen to anyone who talks about price. Price is immaterial. Provide amazing value and you can pick your price.

rantfoil• 18 years ago

Write a book / famous blog and it'll be worth easily tens of thousands. "Usability Consulting" =)

bprater3• 18 years ago

Too much for whom? $500 is a drop in the bucket for a corporate client. In fact, they might find it too low to take seriously.

bigbang• 18 years ago

Depends on your background. I mean if Im paying you 450$, I would do little bit of research on your background or your own UI work. 450$ is not much, iff I would expect quality feedback. Inorder for me to be convinced that I would get quality feedback, unfortunately known names or past work play a big role.

mtw• 18 years ago

great idea

i saw the sample study about assembla.com. smart comments. however, what i'd really need, as a web app developer, is more substantial advices on how to significantly improve the usability of my web app. maybe you need to post online a usability framework. or maybe a usability redesign of assembla.com.

(i understand you already did a lot of work, just throwing my 2 cents here. if you can do the things above, i'd pay... and even pay much more than the list $450. It's just that I have the impression that I only got 2 pages of comments for $450)

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

Thanks - what did you think of the HTML summary pages? Also, what do you have in mind by usability framework? My friend and I have been considering creating a kind of usability encyclopedia.

catone2• 18 years ago

I think you need to put more effort into selling yourself as a usability expert. I'm not going to pay $450 to have just some guy look at my web site. But if you can justify to me why you're an expert whose opinion I need to hear, then you'll have better luck selling to me.

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

One idea I've had for accomplishing this is to do free or reduced-cost reviews for a few (prominent) sites, then post their testimonials along with their reviews.

nickb• 18 years ago

And your credentials are? If you expect people to fork over $450 for 20 min of your time, you better be:

1) an expert in usability and have few papers written on it

2) have many years of actual usability studies and design

3) have designed interfaces yourself and have examples of UIs you've designed.

Just getting testimonials for 'reduced pricing' won't cut it. What you need is a resume/cv. All these big usability experts sell themselves first and their work second. You need to sell people on why they should trust you.

This startup is basically just selling of your services. Here's some ideas. Start by writing whitepapers & studies of other sites. Do them for free. Just pick any known site and say what you'd do differently. Do this for a lot of them. Make a blog and do a study every day. Make a wiki with usability practices. Start recording videos of random users using some site and criticize them.

In short, work on your credibility since that's what you're selling.

catone2• 18 years ago

That's not a bad idea, just make sure that a positive testimonial isn't a prerequisite for getting a free review.

tstegart• 18 years ago

I think your site would work much better as a blog highlighting other people's usability. I think it would be a great idea to review other people's sites and make comments about them. Don't portray them as low cost or free, just do it. No one wants to see an average review though, thats no fun. Find sites with HUGE usability mistakes and highlight them and why. Some of the better rants on http://demogirl.com/ can be used as an example.

Having a blog also makes you an authority, which gets you to expert status where people are comfortable paying you for your services. I know blogs are a lot of work, but once you get going and have been doing it for a while it really pays off.

lincolnq• 18 years ago

The video squeals with a high-pitched noise in the background which makes it very hard to watch. Also, some more editing might be worth it: cut out those uhm's and ah's, get a decent mike and make it sound nice and professional. I like the click and typing effects, although I cannot read the text of the site you're clicking on in that video at all.

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

Thanks. I hadn't noticed the high pitched noise until late last night. It is pretty unfortunate and it looks like I'll have to redo the whole thing.

nonrecursive17• 18 years ago

looks like audacity was able to remove the high pitched noise :)

LKM• 18 years ago

Frankly, I think the idea is fundamentally broken. Having a "usability expert" click through a site won't give much more insight than reading a bunch of Nielsen's top 10 usability mistakes and then looking for them in your site.

If you want a truly usable site, you actually have to do real usability tests with a bunch of real users.

Ask YC: Feedback on usabilityfeedback.com

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