Optimal Usability Clients
We have completed expert reviews, user tests and information architecture consulting for some of New Zealand's most well-known organisations, including:
Here's what some of our clients had to say:
Optimal Usability was extremely responsive to our needs and their service was impeccable. Their expert review has created a crucial tool for supporting our drive to make our website as usable and audience focused as possible. We wouldn’t hesitate to work with them again, and we look forward to being able to implement all the suggestions they came up with. - Michelle Tayler, Communications Manager, Creative New Zealand
Companies Office, Ministry of Economic Development - new site to launch late 2009
See the case study: » Ministry of Economic Development - Companies Office website redesign
The effects of Optimal Usability’s work in setting the highest possible standards for the direction of our project cannot be overstated. Redevelopment of our processes can only ever focus on our clients thanks to the Persona and related outputs that OU worked closely with us to develop. Our project is extremely well-researched as a direct result OU’s work, and will deliver services to our clients in the best possible way. Their involvement left the team with valuable education in the importance of user-centred design, which is guiding all work on the project. This valuable influence is also spreading to other areas of the Ministry... - Justin Hygate, Group Manager Business Registries, Ministry of Economic Development
Air New Zealand See the case study: » Air New Zealand - Mulitple Channel Usability
The guys at Optimal Usability are a great team! Air New Zealand has set some very daunting challenges which have been met with enthusiasm and a passion for representing the customer experience that we really respect and value.- Hudson Smales, Customer Insights & Innovation Manager, Air New Zealand
In the three hours I spent with Bridget I gained valuable insight into usability, in particular creating personas and looking at how usability can increase our businesses return on investment and reduce cost to serve.
The thorough, detailed and methodical approach and information from the sessions allowed me to ask candid questions, and get a better understanding of how to approach issues our business currently faces.
I would recommend Bridget to anyone wanting expert advice and insight that’s targeted to your needs. She was professional, insightful and knowledgeable and also recommended some great books and newsletters which I wouldn’t have come across myself. - Eloise Angus, Digital Usability Specialist, New Zealand Post
Optimal Usability were fantastic. They were very quick and the feedback was really valid. 75% of their feedback was directly implemented, and the users now feel like they are empowered and in control.- Claire Sherrington, Web manager, Sorted.org.nz
Early in our development we wanted to understand if customers would “get” our Powershop concept, and our user interface. Optimal Usability clearly understood the brief and were able to quickly bring together a representative sample of potential customers and find out what they thought. We found this insight invaluable.- Simon Coley, Manager - Design & Marketing, Powershop
Ministry of Tourism See the case study: » Tourism Research Website Redesign
We were thoroughly impressed with Optimal Usability’s whole approach. They followed a strong methodology that not only gives us confidence in our direction, but we ended up with a solution that we wouldn't have got to ourselves. We have ended up with a clear deliverable that we could give to developers. It gave us clarity and was a great way to communicate our requirements.- Mark Miller, Web Manager, Ministry of Tourism
Understanding user behaviour is essential in our industry, especially understanding the way a user 'sees' a website. We approached Optimal Usability with our unique situation and they were able to combine substantial industry research with our own specialised data to create a comprehensive report which has shaped our design/usability best practices since. It was nice to see that some of what we were doing was spot on, but it was even nicer to understand the areas where small changes made big differences. I can happily report that we have seen universal success from the changes we made.- Brett Bailey, Director, Firstlight E|R|A
Optimal Usability are professionals to the nth degree. They are early to every meeting, they hit every deadline. The beauty of their set-up is that they understand the issues from our point of view and our clients' standpoint, but ultimately they represent our customers. They are agile in their approach, and have a fantastic ability to work around obstacles on testing day. I would recommend them ten times out of ten.- Nicola Reade, Account Director, AIM Proximity
Optimal Usability were a pleasure to work with. They are smart, professional and know what they're talking about. Their report was clear and totally spot on with what we needed to know. Based on the testing carried out by Optimal Usability we made some key changes to our website before launch that have played a major role in the success of nzonscreen.com.- Brenda Leeuwenberg, Project Director, NZ On Screen
We ran a RFP selection process for a corporate-grade CRM solution for our organisation. Optimal Usability worked with us to develop an evaluation methodology that suited our time frames and addressed the particulars of this assignment. They quickly integrated into our team and earnt recognition for the value of their judgement and assessment skills. They managed their delivery tightly and strongly contributed to a robust outcome. I believe this approach worked extremely well for us and would value their contribution again in the future.- Matthew Poole, Technology Investment Manager, Telecom
Optimal Usability worked with Kiwibank to assess the effectiveness our IVR and Call Centre, the objective being to understand the customer experience in the IVR environment and whether there were opportunities to enhance this. The team at Optimal Usability completed the work quickly and provided a level of depth of assessment that afforded us insights into the existing experience that clearly showed where could effect positive change- Steve Ferguson, General Manager Distribution, Kiwibank
Optimal Usability focus on the human experience. Trade Me's opportunity-space has been huge because our competitors, like most companies, seem to think usability (which is different to design!) is the least important part of building websites. Unfortunately for us, Optimal Usability are teaching their clients otherwise." - Sam Morgan, General Manager, Trade Me
...Our project was business critical to us, and whereas most consulting firms treat these projects as just another piece of work, Optimal Usability’s approach was different. They approached this project as if it was business critical to them they had real passion to ensure that they provided the best result possible even if this meant going above and beyond what we had briefed them to do. I will continue to use Optimal for key projects and could not recommend a better usability company. - Brian Ryan, Director of Marketing and Product Development, Wireless Business Solutions, Navman
The team at Optimal Usability provided unique and specialist input on a new internet-based service for the bank. They delivered to tight timeframes and, using an expert review and customer usability testing, were quickly able to identify key areas we needed focus on. Every staff member we interacted with was proactive, professional and added value. This was money wisely spent and I would not hesitate to recommend the folk at Optimal Usability to anyone wanting to ensure their customer-facing solution will be usable and successful. - Rob Thompson, Manager, Business Online Delivery, Westpac
Department of Conservation » See full DoC case study
...Right from their initial proposal the team at Optimal Usability stood out. They knew their stuff, were genuinely excited about the project, enthusiastic about contributing to it, and focussed on meeting our needs. Their commitment to the project, and the relationship, their openness and integrity, along with their professional and friendly "can do" attitude, made working with Optimal Usability a breath of fresh air.
Optimal Usability delivered over and above our expectations, to time, and to budget. The reports and presentations were comprehensive, clear, and well targeted. The findings and recommendations have given us a whole new level of understanding into what people want from www.doc.govt.nz. They have already proved to be invaluable and will continue to be so as we move into the redevelopment of the site - Elizabeth Marenzi Conservation Awareness, External Relations Division, Department of Conservation
Xtra » See full Xtra case study
They approached this project with enthusiasm, professionalism, intellectual rigour, the ability to quickly understand our wider business objectives, and importantly, a determination to help us achieve our ambitious timeframe. At all stages, their approach was one of collaboration and playing “devil’s advocate”, questioning us about our assumptions and stimulating our thinking.- Suzanne Cross, Market Insight Manager, Broadband and Internet, Xtra
ACC Injury Prevention: In early 2004 Optimal Usability performed a formal usability analysis of ACC's Injury Prevention website. The work consisted of user testing of nearly 60 users across five demographic groups, in both traditional and remote user tests. The outcome of this extensive project was 97 practical recommendations to improve the usability of the website.
They took on ACC's relatively difficult task of identifying our target audience (when asked, our response was 'all New Zealanders'!!), and helped us to define and refine the scope of our project.
Sam, Trent & Nikki were fantastic to work with. They recognise that the work doesn't stop when the last usability report has been submitted. They are also committed to enabling organisations to implement the recommendations & findings. They have conducted presentations to ACC staff on the survey findings which has been vital in achieving buy-in and have highlighted the importance of web usability testing across the corporation.- Sachi Mano'o, Information Specialist, ACC
Lincoln University: An expert review of a university website, especially looking at issues that may impede the use from the point of view of prospective students.
Lincoln University engaged Optimal Usability early on in the website scoping process. Optimal carried out a comprehensive expert review of our current site and a competitor analysis of all New Zealand university sites. The review highlighted a number of areas that needed significant improvement and also allowed us to clearly see where we sat within the tertiary industry. Usability is a key driver behind our web redevelopment and Optimal Usability not only have a clear competency in this area but they are absolutely passionate about user-driven websites. I would not hesitate to recommend Optimal Usability as they delivered over and above our expectations.- Sarah Hannan, Marketing Manager, Lincoln University
Victoria University: User testing of staff and prospective students, heuristic evaluation and accessibility audit for a large university website.
We approached Optimal Usability to do a wide-ranging usability review of our corporate website, covering heuristic analysis, user testing, accessibility issues, and content quality assessment, in a tight two-month time-frame. Sam and Trent and their co-workers responded by producing an excellent set of reports which revealed key problems with our site (and some good things as well). I was particularly impressed by the high level of communication from Sam and Trent during the course of the project, the extremely usable and clear way in which their reports were laid out, and the excellent presentation which they subsequently gave at the University to key stakeholders and web development staff. Sam and Trent's focus on and expertise in usability issues gave us exactly what we needed at this stage of our website's life cycle. - Tim Jones, Home Website Content Manager, Victoria University
Case studies
- Ministry of Economic Development - Companies Office website redesign
- Air New Zealand - Mulitple Channel Usability
- Tourism Research Website Redesign
- Taking XtraMSN to the next level
- Redesigning doc.govt.nz
Last updated: Monday, August 17, 2009
