User experience agency Sitback has signed an exclusive global agreement with CSIRO’s Data61 to implement its world leading web optimisation tool which exposes ‘cold spots’ – specific areas on a webpage where websites are losing customers.
Created by the government body’s digital innovation group, Data61, LATTE is a software that reveals patterns in how people interact with a website and highlights any usability issues based on their total journey across a site, instead of analysing it on a page-by-page basis.
Unlike conventional web analytics tools, LATTE provides data based on all the pages viewed in one visit by a customer. It compares the sequence and page views within a single session to patterns that reveal user frustration or an inability to find information. It can also detect not only when, but what elements of a page users might be struggling with such as vocabulary choice, page hierarchy and other contextual elements.
More than three quarters of Australians prefer to access services online, however frustrating experiences with a website can drive them away. Sitback will target organisations that have transitional websites such as government departments, universities, banking and insurance sites and corporate intranets, where users have a specific task to complete.
Sydney independent agency Sitback won a global three-year exclusive agreement to implement the LATTE technology after a tender involving a high profile management and digital consultancies.
Paul Armstrong, founding partner of Sitback said: “With a high percentage of Australians using websites for transactional purposes, it’s vital that the user experience is effortless. LATTE enables organisations to ensure this by analysing a user’s entire journey on a session by session basis and optimise that experience where necessary.
“The technology Data61 have developed is world-leading and Sitback is delighted to have been selected by CSIRO to bring it to market. Our teams of UX and developers will continue to enhance LATTE as we put it to work in optimising user journeys.”
Simon Dunstall, research director, decision sciences at Data61 added: “A good website enhances an organisation’s reputation for delivering information and services that are customer-centric and fit-for-purpose. While aesthetics are important, it is even more crucial to ensure that the required functionality of a website – which can include delivering complex advice and supporting key customer interactions – is properly aligned with the needs of customers, and that frustrating user experiences become a thing of the past.
“LATTE helps identify areas where a user has become disoriented, misdirected or disengaged, so that information and site structure can be updated to avoid website cold spots. The software combats migrations of customers away from an organisation’s online channels, or even worse, to competitors and inferior products and services.”
The technology in LATTE was originally developed to help improve the Federal Government Department of Human Services website, and is being used to optimise other Federal government online profiles today.
Sitback was founded in 2006 and employs psychologists and UX experts to create great customer experiences online. It works with companies including ANZ, Citibank, Department of Education, Subaru, Westpac and Woolworths to discover the needs and motivations of both the business and end-user.
