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Observing users interact with your product is hands down the best way to learn what is and what is not working and why. This workshop will teach you how to plan, facilitate, and analyze your own usability tests. We will cover the steps of planning, recruiting, writing tasks, facilitating, analyzing, and reporting the findings. We will discuss the steps then split into groups and put the learning into practice with a quick exercise.
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UX 101Usability Testing
Cori Jones
WELCOME
UX 101
ABOUT ME
UX 101
AGENDAOverview of usability testingPlanningRecruitingWriting activitiesFacilitationAnalyzing results Sharing findings
OVERVIEW
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WHAT IS USABILITY TESTING
Is Working Is Not Working
UX 101
WHAT IS USABILITY TESTING
User Design Facilitator
UX 101
UX 101
BASICS OF USABILITY TESTING (IDI)
Decide what to testDefine who the audience isRecruit 4-6 participants Write 3-5 realistic activities for the participants to completeFind a location and set a dateInvite observers Conduct the test sessionsGather, compare notes and discuss
UX 101
BENEFITS TO DESIGNERSBetter understanding of the users perspective (Mental Model)Uncover unknown or unexpected issuesFix problems early in the process when they are easy to fix Test assumptionsHighlight unnecessary featuresProvide objectivity help and solve opinion battlesSet baselines and measure improvementGet stakeholder buy-in
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BUSINESS BENEFITSFix problems early in the process when they are cheaper to fixImprove customer satisfaction and retentionIncrease conversion ratesReduce maintenance, training and support costsReduce project riskSet baselines and measure improvement
Video: The ROI of User Experience with Dr. Susan Weinschenk
PLANNING
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MAKE A TESTING PLAN
Briefly describe the projectOutline the objectives of the testPick a location and date for the testOutline what is being tested (version or section)
Profile your desired test subjects (Screener for recruiting)
Write activities and the goal of eachDefine what metrics will be measured (times, success rates)
UX 101
ADDRESS LOGISTICSDecide if (or when) the facilitator will be allowed to help usersTime limits on activities, follow up questionsList of needed materials (NDA’s, questionnaires, pens & paper, water, incentives, etc.)
State of system at start of each session (Cookies and history erased, start page (or place) for each user)
What to do between tests
RECRUITING
UX 101
RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS
Get participants who closely match your target users
Create a table with key requirementsWrite the Screener (script for recruiting)
Cost per user:Pay a vendor to recruit for you: $100 - $250 + incentive ($5-$100)
Benefit = High quality participants
Recruit yourself (Customers, Craigslist, KSL, friends, family, coworkers): Your time + incentive
Benefit = Inexpensive
WRITING ACTIVITIES
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CHOOSING ACTIVITIES What are the top user tasks?What are your priorities?What new features have never been tested?Competitive features?What areas do you think may be difficult?What should users be able to do?
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TYPE OF ACTIVITIESFirst impression questions
Good for learning about the image of the site (home pages)
Exploratory taskOpen-ended/ research oriented
Use the website and see if you would invest in this company
Find a cellular phone plan for yourself
Directed TasksSpecific/ answer oriented
Find the contact information for the PR department
How fast can a cheetah run?
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ACTIVITY-WRITING GUIDELINESConsider the goal of the activityMake it realisticAvoid humorous tasksGive minimal context, not overly scenario-basedKeep it neutral and unbiasedUse language people understandLease out clues or hints
Avoid using wording used in the design
Avoid having micro-steps
Involve team in writing and/or reviewing activities
UX 101
SESSION LOGISTICSPrioritize activities
Is the priority to get through many activities, or hit a select few deeply?
Consider the total session lengthAllow 15-25 minutes for introductions and debrief
Allow 10-20 minutes per activity (depends on the difficulty of the activity)
Make the first task easy Put essential activities early onPrepare additional activities in case of extra time
UX 101
EXERCISE: ACTIVITY CRITIQUE1. Sign up for “email exclusives” on target.com
Goal: See if they can join the email list
Go to spotify.com, sign up, create a new playlist, then add Ben Kweller’s album: Go Fly a Kite to that playlist
Goal: See if people can create a playlist
Your mother’s birthday is next week. Send her a bouquet of flowers.Goal: See how people browse the product offerings on your floral site
Add new events to the calendar feature on your phoneGoal: Study adding events
You are organizing a team of runners for an upcoming relay race. The team wants matching shirts for the event. The shirts need to be green, have a white logo on the front, and yellow racing stripes on the back. Go to www.customink.com and order 20 of these shirts.
Goal: See if users can customize a design
UX 101
EXERCISE: ACTIVITY WRITINGChoose an electronic device that you have with you today
Write 3 activities that can be done using the device
Write the activity and the goal for each one
ANDRES GLUSMAN & ANNA DEYOUNG @ Meetup
FACILITATION
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UX 101
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WHILE FACILITATINGGive participants one activity at a time Monitor
Activities
Session time
User comfort
System
Observers
ObserveTake notesConsider whether to interrupt or ask questions
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EXAMPLE TEST SESSIONThe facilitator welcomes the participant and explains what the test is about. They then ask any pre-test or demographic questions.
The facilitator explains thinking aloud and asks if the participant has any additional questions. The facilitator explains where to start.
The participant reads the first activity aloud and begins completing the activity, vocalizing their thoughts as they go.
The observers take notes of the participant’s behaviors, comments, errors and completion (success or failure) on each activity.
The session continues until all task scenarios are completed or time allotted has elapsed.
The facilitator either asks the end-of session subjective questions or sends them to an online survey, thanks the participant, gives the participant the agreed-on incentive, and escorts them from the testing environment.
The facilitator them resets the materials and equipment, speaks briefly with the observers and waits for the next participant to arrive.
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INTERACTING WITH THE PARTICIPANT Give subtle acknowledgements
Uh-huh, OK, nodding
Refrain from being interruptive or chatty
Stay neutralDon’t ask leading questions
Avoid prompting
Avoid explaining of defending interface (don’t test your own stuff)
Avoid answering questions or helping out too early
Get clarificationEchoing technique
Trailing-off technique
UX 101
INTERACTING WITH THE PARTICIPANT
ANDRES GLUSMAN & ANNA DEYOUNG @ Meetup
UX 101
EXERCISE: FACILITATIONBreak into groupsChoose roles
One facilitator
One participant
The rest will be observers
Use the activities you wrotePrepare to do a full usability sessionWhen groups are ready, participants move to another groupRun the session
Everyone should do their part (role)
Observers: note findings as well as the facilitation techniques
ANALYZING
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ANALYZE THE RESULTSLean approach
Focus on frequency and team involvement over precision and depth
Same day meeting with all who participated
Discuss and agree on “obvious” usability issues
Side effect: User empathy throughout entire team and process
Traditional approachFocus on being thorough and precise
Reference the tests goals
Gather all notes and do affinity diagramming
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GUIDE TO AFFINITY DIAGRAMMINGLow-tech method, flexible, easy to learnEveryone in the room participatesOne facilitatorIdentify all issues during test sessionsGroup issues into categoriesVote on most severe issuesGoal: To have all issues sorted in categories and assigned a priority rating
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AFFINITY DIAGRAMMING STEPSWrite issues from tests on post-it notes and place on the wall
one issue per note (good or bad)
Use a different color post-it for each user
Find two issues that go together, give category name and post elsewhere in room
Continue grouping and naming categories until all post-it notes are placed
No talking when doing initial groupings
Give time limit
Walk around room gallery style and review/refine categoriesDiscuss categories once you are refining them
Vote on severity on top issuesGive each attendee 2-3 votes to determine high priority issues
SHARING
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SHARE THE FINDINGSLean approach
Frequency and team involvement are key
Make and share video of sessions
Gather and share session notes
Keep a good thing going
leverage enthusiasm to help make usability testing a regular activity
Traditional approach (make a report)Helpful if the team can’t or won’t participate
Positions you as the usability expert and defender of the user needs
The report must make findings understandable and actionable
Be a historical document
Include screenshots
Be objective (don’t get caught up in “selling” your recommendations)
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WHAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR REPORTLook for both positive and negative findingsDescribe what happened
Explain WHY, not just what
Distinguish between fact and interpretationsInclude simple quantitative data
Success (pass/fail) rates
Activity time
Possibly means
5 users is not a statistical sampling
User quotes or embedded videos
WRAP UP
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MAKE IT HAPPENAnyone can run a usability test with the right preparation and attitude
There is lots of advice available online Learn from mistakes and evolve your methods Any amount of testing is better than not testing at allAsk people who have done it before to help you out Team up & test each other
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OTHER COMMON METHODSEye-trackingCard sortingPaper prototypingRemote testingCo-Discovery (groups of 2 or more)Field studies or site visitsCustomer round tablesCompetitive studiesSurveys or questionnairesExpert reviews, heuristic evaluations, guideline inspectionFocus groups
