Portfolio: Interactive & Transactional Systems

Introduction: Our Work in User Research/Design/User Experience Consulting

Dr. Don Rickert, IDSA is Managing Partner and CEO of ALL lines of business (LOBs) of Wiederholt & Rickert Partners, LLC, which does business primarily under the name Don Rickert Research & Design.

We are a Research and Design firm that provides New Product Development (NPD) services to companies that want to create a successful new product (or fix a flawed or outmoded existing product). Much of our work is in the basic areas of interactive media (e.g. websites) and online transactional systems, such as those used in the financial services and supply chain industries. We do, however, often assist in the development of physical products (i.e. THINGS). There are separate portfolios that focus on physical product development for clients as well as self-funded products (www.AdventureRowing.com,  Musical Instruments and Electronic/Techno Musical Gear).

Our most effective consulting engagements usually begin with Ethnography (observing and interviewing people on their own turf).  This is necessary so that we can see for ourselves what is missing in your customers' lives—opportunities for you to fill critical gaps between what is and what could be.

Next—we work with our clients' teams to transform those previously hidden opportunities into breakthrough products. See a summary of our process on this site.

Some of the methods we employ, which are all described in detail on our main website, are:

• Usability evaluation
• Card-sorting studies and analysis to determine optimal terminology (e.g. names for buttons and controls, etc.)
• Observing real people doing real things with current versions of OUR ClLIENTS' products and competitors' products (ethnography, depth interviewing, etc.)
• Prototyping and/or model building
• Interviewing (structured as well as Depth Interviewing)
• Questionnaire design, implementation and analysis
• a host of other special techniques, all described on our website

Check Balancing System for Large Financial Institutions

The system described here can be described as a "back-room" operations applications comprising a system.

In late 2008 Don Rickert Research and Design was retained on a 1-year contract by Goldleaf Financial Solutions to perform a number of Research, Field Observation (Ethnography) Human Factors, Usability, Information Architect and Design tasks for a new product. The work was top secret, but I can say that the end customer was one of the top Financial Institutions in the U.S. and the world.

The product was a completely new “Thin Client” (i.e. Web-based) system of applications to be used by large banks in their check balancing processing centers. The system interfaced with a number of “back-end” systems, non-interactive as well as interactive. The system also interfaced with a number of physical devices used in the process of sorting many thousands of paper checks from local bank branches daily.

Deliverables
Summary of Final and Intermediary Deliverables Described in the Following Sections.

Final Deliverables

These are the tangible artifacts that Goldleaf Financial Solutions needed to ensure a great User Experience for the thin client (web-based) check balancing application.

• Plausible research evidence to drive and justify design decisions
• Formal Report
• User Experience (UX) Design Patterns
• Information Architecture
• Wireframe (low-fidelity) prototypes
• Medium to high fidelity prototypes


Intermediary Deliverables

These are tangible artifacts needed in order to create the Final Deliverables. The main Intermediary Deliverables were:

• Personas
• Scenarios of Use
• Use Cases
• Qualitative Data
• Audio and Video Recordings
• Field Notes
• Photographs
• Consolidated Documentation of Observations and Interviews
• Analysis (actually an activity rather than a deliverable per se).

Our Work in User Research/Design/UX consulting related to THINGS (Physical Products)

Dr. Don Rickert, IDSA is Managing Partner and CEO of ALL lines of business (LOBs) of Wiederholt & Rickert Partners, LLC, which does business primarily under the name Don Rickert Research & Design.

The category of “Things” includes ground-breaking acoustic musical instruments, electronic musical instruments and related gear and high performance rowing craft and equipment; but these areas have grown to become their own self-funded (i.e. we are our own client) lines of business for Don Rickert Research & Design, which you can learn about by using the Portfolio links at the left of the screen. That leaves a large body of research and design work for consulting clients related to:

• Interactive TV hardware, particularly Remote Control Devices
• ATMs (Automatic Teller Machines)
• Self-Checkout Terminals for retail establishments

There is an extensive online portfolio documents Don Rickert’s work on the physical products listed above, as well substantial design research and user research for other miscellaneous products, including:

• Online References
• Interactive Television (ITV) and Video-on-Demand (VOD)
• Research Labs (the actual design and construction)

Value, Discovery and Actionable Insights

Our work in the User Research/Design/UX line of business boils down to discovering what you really need to know to win with a groundbreaking product.

In the realm of USER EXPERIENCE (UX), the focus must always be on usefulness, usabilityappeal (desirability) and , as these are the three main components of VALUE to customers.  Drawing from our extensive experience with interactive products as well as physical goods, we carry out the appropriate mix of  QUANTITATIVE, QUALITATIVE consumer research services. Then, we integrate the discoveries from the various approaches into ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS that you can use.