I’m at the Internet World show in London, where I’ve just come across User Vision, which does usability testing for mobile websites. No don’t laugh, I’m serious. True, the company’s main business is in usability testing for the web. It’s a sign of how niche the mobile stuff is that it has only worked for six clients over the past two years. Two of these are mobile networks, Orange and O2, while Nokia is another.
The company runs its tests in its interactive lounge in Edinburgh, where a gooseneck camera observes the user trying to navigate their way around the client’s mobile site, recording the problems they encounter, as well as the things that work well.
“It’s important that in their desire to solve any issues, clients don’t lose site of the things that work well,” Strategic Director Emma Kirk told me.
The key issues that clients encounter, Kirk added, concern the way that mobile website attributes are placed and how they render on different screens. The company has been running web usability training sessions for brands for several years, and is launching sessions looking at mobile usability in London this summer. Kirk has promised to keep us informed.
It should not surprise many people to hear me say that I think mobile usability is a fantastic concept. The fact I have never come across the concept until today shows what a rarity it still is.

David Murphy
Editor