Competitive assessment

A competitive assessment is an analysis of the client's product, in relation to the product of competitors. A competitive assessment can focus both on usability, visual identity and content. A competitive assessment is done to identify the market position of the client. It can also be done (on a small scale) to gather inspiration for design solutions. A competitive assessment is done when the client already has a (live) product. It can be done before release, or when the product is already live. The outcome is a set of recommendations, possibly supported by (visual) examples of design solutions.

How to

1. Determine the goal of the assessment (together with stakeholders) so you have a clear focus during the audit.
2. Create an overview of competitors that you can analyse. Make a distinction between direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors have (roughly) the same user base and same core business as your client. Indirect competitors have another core business or user base, but a part of their product is similar to that of your client.
3. Choose which competitors to analyse. Determine which aspects to analyse, and set up documentation to note your findings.
4. You can do a competitive analysis by performing a heuristic review, or through usability testing.
5. Analyse and summarise the results and present your findings to the client or stakeholders.

Tips

• Be careful with copying or taking inspiration from competitors. Even though the product is successful, not every design detail may be that good.
• Take the competitors’ core business and target group into account when drafting up recommendations for your client.
• Negative aspects of the competitors design can lead to opportunities where your client can excel.
• Make the presentation of your findings effective, not extensive. Focus on actionable recommendations and aspects that stood out.
• Collect visual ‘proof’ of your findings, for inspiration and to defend to design decisions further along in the process.

What do you need

Learn more

• Competitive usability evaluation by Nielsen Norman Group
• Redesign and competitive testing by Nielsen Norman Group