So, I can declare that this heuristic is mine. It’s Bustelo’s Heuristic.

Principle: Interfaces should free users from repetitive tasks by leveraging computers’ ability to automate processes. Failing to do so wastes the potential of the digital medium and hampers user efficiency.

Example: The interface shown below, which my bank imposes on all its customers, force us to click for every single receipt we need to download.

When it’s time to close the fiscal year, that’s 72 careful clicks to avoid missing anything: 2 cards x 12, 3 accounts x 12, and a year of investments. And that’s assuming you don’t have loans, not to mention the clicks required to switch between tabs.

All of this, while being careful with each click and scrolling slowly to avoid losing your place (since there’s no distinction between clicked and unclicked icons).

The process could take up to an hour, which could easily be avoided by providing a “download all” link or button. That is, by applying the Digital Nature usability heuristic: the principle that computers are designed to efficiently handle repetitive tasks. This heuristic emphasizes the importance of leveraging technology to automate and streamline processes, ensuring that systems and interfaces are optimized for repetitive actions, thus enhancing user efficiency and reducing the likelihood of error.

Santiago Bustelo
May 2024

The entry The Digital Nature usability heuristic was first published on Kambrica.

Presented at:

• Artmedia 2016: Universidad Maimónides / CCGSM, Thursday, November 10, 2016
• Interaction South America 2016: IxDA / Universidad Católica de Chile, Thursday, November 3, 2016
• XI Latin American Design Meeting: Universidad de Palermo, Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Software is eating the world: not only is it omnipresent today, but its practices and methodologies are also changing the very way we plan and do things. Experience Design (UX), which emerged within the context of software, is beginning to encompass and impact other design disciplines, shaping their future.

In this presentation, we’ll take a brief look at the milestones of the last 15 years in Experience Design, and project the direction all design disciplines will take in the next 15 years.

The entry The Future of Design and UX: The Next 15 Years was first published on Kambrica.

The hypermarket Jumbo, part of the Cencosud chain, needed to streamline its online shopping process to boost site conversions.

We designed a new online shopping process that allowed for the presentation of a greater number of products in a more attractive and recognizable manner, making it easier to purchase multiple items. This positively impacted the number of items per purchase and the average ticket size.

Before and After

Areas of Work:

• Using a user-centered design methodology, we conducted contextual interviews to observe users making purchases in their usual environment. This allowed us to identify various factors that caused friction during the shopping process.
• Based on our observations, we created a functional prototype, on which we conducted usability tests to validate that the new design satisfied the users needs.

The entry Jumbo a Casa was first published on Kambrica.

In 2010, Santander Río bank needed to migrate the request for its products from the physical to the online channel. Up until that point, very few customers were willing to apply for credit cards online.

The reasons: low trust in the online channel and forms that required information users didn’t understand or weren’t willing to complete.

Areas of work:

We redesigned all the application forms, following best practices in usability and accessibility.

• Conducted UX Research to evaluate existing processes, user motivations and interests, opportunities, and areas for improvement.
• Redesigned the process for applying for credit cards and banking packages, following best practices in persuasion, usability, accessibility, and responsive design.
• Redesigned internal Knowledge Management systems.
• Conducted interviews with the Call Center to learn about best sales practices, which were then applied to upselling processes.

The entry Santander Río was first published on Kambrica.

The Office of Judicial Affairs at Stanford University selected us for our ability to provide design and development that met Section 508 standards: making it accessible to all individuals, regardless of their technical, cognitive, or physical abilities. This earned recognition from a panel of experts at the prestigious South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in 2004.

The information architecture and content strategy recommendations were made considering the use cases where faculty and students must access the site: sensitive topics related to violations of the university’s honor code, such as plagiarism, substance abuse, or sexual harassment.

The HTML/CSS development not only resolved accessibility issues with the same code but also included special styles for different resolutions and printing, automatically selecting them when printing the page or generating PDFs.

Thanks to this responsive approach, the site became the single repository of official information for all formats, eliminating maintenance issues related to information across multiple formats and requiring the responsible staff to document and train on a single platform.

Areas of work:

• Consulting
• Accessibility
• Information Architecture
• Interface Design
• Front-end Development
• Validation with users with disabilities

The entry Stanford University was first published on Kambrica.

Since 2012, we have partnered with the Digital Product teams of the Telefónica Group, designing and improving the web and mobile user experiences with which millions of people interact.

We’ve improved the usability of fixed-line, mobile, and internet purchase processes to increase sales, reduce call center volume, and optimize processes.

Our work included the development of promotional landing pages, improving customer service processes, and enhancing product and offer communications to improve understanding and capture of the value proposition.

• We reduced support costs and decreased user frustration.
• We contributed to the maturity of the digital product teams in UX, impacting other areas of the company.

How We Helped

• We redesigned the homepage for fixed-line and mobile services.
• We improved the site navigation flows.
• We redesigned the purchase flow for mobile phone plans.
• We redesigned the purchase flow for internet plans.
• We redesigned the purchase flow for fiber and TV plans.
• We designed and enhanced the impact of promotional landings: portability, Hotsale, Multiply, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc.
• We improved the discovery, acquisition, and upselling processes for phone lines, internet, and mobile lines.
• We improved the self-management processes for large clients.
• We enhanced the quality of information in the Customer Service section.
• We conducted usability analysis and communication needs assessment for the launch of the redesigned Movistar app.
• We conducted usability analysis and provided actionable improvement proposals for critical business processes.
• We performed qualitative and quantitative analysis of page performance and specific flows.
• We created the first usability manual for the company, aligning all departments.
• We developed tools to reduce costs and time in decision-making, design, and development processes.
• We facilitated workshops with stakeholders to define product vision and ease decision-making for product and design.
• We provided training on Lean UX methodology, user-centered design, and Design Thinking.

The entry Movistar was first published on Kambrica.

Wayra, the tech project accelerator from the Telefónica group, operates in 12 countries across Latin America and Europe. Each year, it selects a small group of startups to provide with funding, workspace, and access to a global network of mentors, experts, and investors.

As part of its acceleration program, we offer consulting, mentoring, and training to startups in Lean UX methodologies, UX design, user-centered design, usability testing, qualitative interviews, A/B testing, task prioritization, identifying business opportunities, and evaluating solution scalability, among others.

Areas o work:

• We have provided consulting to over 35 startups participating in our UX and agile methodology training program for digital product development.
• We collaborate with startups from various sectors, including fintech, medtech, agritech, entertainment, marketplaces, apps, e-commerce, IoT, and smart cities.
• Through the “Lean UX” program, we help startups identify and refine their value proposition, understand their users to align the product with their needs, improve product usability to attract more customers, achieve consistent growth, and reduce costs.
• We developed an iterative work process that allows each startup to refine its product with each iteration, adding more value to the business, its end users, and investors.

The Lean UX program helped entrepreneurs test their products in real environments, creating high quality services with shorter time to market.

Lorena Suárez, Wayra Business Development Manager

The entry Wayra Argentina was first published on Kambrica.