Usability consultants work with designers and developers to look at how a product meets user needs so that they can improve the product to enhance productivity, increase user satisfaction, and minimize user errors. If usability consultants are brought in before a website or software product is created, they can help developers achieve more consistently usable results. This is the preferred model for development, as usability can be built into the system rather than tacked on at the end. Usability is not about making an interface pretty. It encompasses issues such as information architecture, design, writing, and quality assurance.
Usability needs to delve beyond surface elements.
Still, if they are brought in after production, they can evaluate the usability of a website or software product using one or more usability evaluation methods . Increasing the usability of a website or software product will raise productivity. Bringing a usability consultant into the design and production process will reduce costs in the long run, as it is more cost effective to build a usable product than to repair an unusable one. Doing a less than thorough job can cost more than money. It can cost you in time and customers.