Find out how your can use traditional SWOT Analysis to find out how user-friendly your website and mobile apps are.
Soon Aik is a UX Consultant at NetizenTesting.com, one of the quickest growing online usability testing services in Asia today. He is a passionate advocate for better digital customer experience in Asia. Apart from helping clients to test websites or mobile apps, he spends his time dancing. Follow him on Twitter at @NetizenTesting.
In today’s new digital age, large organizations as well as startups are continually seeking to improve their web and mobile user experience. Perhaps, many are unaware of the best possible alternatives.
For those not familiar with SWOT, it is a structured planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture.
Founders, C-level executives, top management and strategists are probably aware of conducting SWOT analysis to better understand and position their companies. It is indeed an essential tool in the organisational decision making process.
However, did you know that you can also use SWOT analysis to find out how you are performing on User Experience (“UX”) in relation to your website and mobile apps? The analysis will help you to examine the opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses of your product. With this analysis, you will get a clearer picture on what needs improvement to achieve a higher conversion rate, better sales and increased profits.
SWOT
A sample SWOT Analysis for an e-commerce shop
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How to conduct SWOT analysis using usability testing
First, conduct usability testing on your website or mobile app. The aim of this is to identify your key strengths and weaknesses. Just remember that you should not be asking your friends or family to conduct the test! You need honest feedback from either existing users of your app or even people you do not know for a pair of fresh eyes. Usability testing allows you to examine the UX of your products by providing you with qualitative data such as insights as to why users are confused and leaving your site, instead of depending solely on analytical tools such as Google Analytics to reflect only when people are leaving your sites. You might think that your website is good, but there is a grave risk of shielding yourself from the reality. After all, we can’t deny the fact that in the end it is the users who decide whether they will stay or leave. Your products are meant to be user-centered as it’s designed for the end users, not developers or geeks.
SWOT on UX
UX kind of SWOT Analaysis
If you have done enough usability tests on your own websites or apps, you will already have a better idea on the strengths (things that work well) and weaknesses (things that don’t work) of your products. From here, you should then focus to build on your strengths and eliminate weaknesses.
Next, move on to conduct usability test on your direct (or indirect) competitors. With the test results, you get to know what are the key strengths and weaknesses of their products. Their identified weaknesses could be opportunities for you and their strengths might turn out to be an intense threat to you. Remember, the fundamentals of SWOT analysis suggest embracing opportunities and minimising threats.
Learning from the best competitors sounds just right. However, it is valuable to learn from those who underperform too! Find out what their mistakes are through usability testing and make sure you don’t repeat them. Find out your own weaknesses and implement the best practices of your competitor to make your product even better. By matching your strengths to opportunities, you can realize your own competitive advantage. May the one with the best UX dominate!
Netizen Testing will be holding an in-depth user experience testing workshop at Echelon Ignite Thailand this September 6. Sign up and learn from them here!
Image Credits: Lolly Morris
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