March 19, 2002Internet Librarian International

Darlene FichterData Coordinator, University of Saskatchewan Libraries

http://library.usask.ca/~fichter/

Usability Testing

What You Need to Get Started

Outline

What is usability? Why does it matter? Simple techniques and tests Demonstration of task based

testing?

Overview

What is usability?

Ease of use

Ease of learning

Fitness for purpose

An effective product

Why usability matters

Bad design Examples? Do you ever use them again? Do you feel loyal?

Overview

Good design

Invisible Usability has been called the

“science of the obvious”

Overview

Books, articles and research

Don’t need to invent the wheel Read, learn, look it up! Many great sites:

– www.usability.gov

Overview

Where should you start?

Focus on the user

User Needs

Determining visitor needs

Focus groups User surveys Formal needs assessment Observation

– Usage reports– Questions– Web log analysis– Search log analysis

User Needs

Understanding visitor needs

Know their mental model Methods

– User scenarios– Content clustering– Category prediction– Preference testing– Cognitive

walkthrough

User Needs

User scenarios

Describe in detail “typical user’s” journey through the “ideal” library site

User Needs

Content clustering Index cards

– Cluster, list all topics

User Needs

Category prediction

Predictive - what goes under each heading?

User Needs

Preference testing

What label works?

•Admissions•Prospective Students•Enroll•Registration

User Needs

Cognitive walkthrough

Simulate a user’s problem-solving process as they step through the site

Can the user make the next correct action?

User Needs

Measurement scale

FATALUser can’t complete the task

SERIOUSUser is slowed down

SUPERFICIALUser is annoyed or irritated slightly

User Needs

Heuristic evaluation*

Find evaluators - experience helps Brief them on 10 usability

heuristics Test to see if site follows

established usability principles*Heuristic Evaluation by Jakob Neilson

*Usability Heuristics for the Web by Keith Instone

Heuristic Evaluation

Heuristic evaluation

Evaluators try to identify as many problems as possible

Rate the problems by their severity (1-5) and indicate which heuristic has been violated

Heuristic Evaluation

Task testing with users

Users are given specific tasks Verbalize their thoughts Only AFTER they have failed, can

you provide direction Observe, record, and debrief

Testing

Task: typical measures

Time - how many seconds? Errors - incorrect answers? Site structure - can they draw a

map User satisfaction (subjective)

Other measures: What the user can recall about the site or if they can manoeuvre easily on the screen space.

Testing

Guerilla Testing

Idea popularized by Jakob Nielsen Showed that simple “low tech”

testing of five users could yield excellent results

5 users will typically uncover 80%

of the site-level usability problems

Testing

When to test

Before redesign

Paper mockups

Wire frames

Beta testing

Live site

“Peer” site

Testing

Wire frame

Field Studies

Ethnographic study – observing users in real world

Find out what kind of mental model the users have

Useful for intranet designs and extranet designs that are intended to support employees' or business partners' work practice

Field Studies

Wrap up: Why Test

You can’t believe what users say Self referential design ROI - save everyone time and

money. Avoid web team “battles” Convince your manager Do it for the users.

Conclusion

Questions

Darlene FichterData Library Coordinator, University of Saskatchewan

Resourceslibrary.usask.ca/~fichter/usability/

Conclusion