1. Creating UIs Usability Testing

2. How to create a UI? Plan TestDesign

3. How to create a UI? Plan TestDesign Step 1 Step 3 Step 2

4. How to create a UI? Plan TestDesign Step 1 Step 3 Step 2

5. Testing Outline 1.What is usability? 2.Usability Factors 3.Usability Problems 4.Planning for a test 5.Carrying out the test 6.Usability Report

6. What is usability? In general, usability refers to how well users can learn and use a product to achieve their goals and how satisfied they are with that process.

7. A product is usable if… 1.Quick to use and relatively error free 2.Does what the user wants 3.Easy to use

8. Why test for usability? Find program bugs Prove that the system is easy to use Find problems Correct problems Experience the users of the application

9. When should usability tests happen? a)During design? b)Once a functional prototype is made? c)When the application is complete and ready to ship?

10. Run usability tests early during design Preferably before a lot of programming has been done. The point of testing is to correct problems. If we wait until the app is finished, there is no time to fix the problems. Allows developers more time to interact and gain experience with the users.

11. Experiencing the user An important side effect of early usability testing is that developers can experience the users and learn new things about them. Developers learn from the users: – Their domain knowledge and attitudes – Their IT knowledge and attitudes – More about their domain tasks

12. Experiencing the user When developers take the time to experience their users, they can strongly improve their intuition when designing the user interface.

13. Testing Outline 1.What is usability? 2.Usability Factors 3.Usability Problems 4.Planning for a test 5.Carrying out the test 6.Usability Report

14. 1.Fit for use. The system can support the tasks that the user has in real life. 2.Ease of learning. How easy is the system to learn for various groups of users? 3.Task efficiency. How efficient is it for the frequent user? 6 factors for usability

15. 4.Ease of remembering. How easy is it to remember for the occasional user? 5.Subjective satisfaction. How satisfied is the user with the system. 6.Understandability. How easy is it to understand what the system does? 6 factors for usability

16. It is impossible to score high in all 6 factors; therefore, it is necessary to specify the level needed for each factor. Each application has different types of goals and should place emphasis on different types of usability factors.

17. Testing Outline 1.What is usability? 2.Usability Factors 3.Usability Problems 4.Planning for a test 5.Carrying out the test 6.Usability Report

18. Identifying Usability Problems A usability problem is anything that hampers the user. It is important to find usability problems in order to correct them and make the application more usable.

19. Classifying Usability Problems One method of classifying problems is by their severity. By classifying problems, we can identify which problems need to be fixed sooner than others.

20. Types of Problems Program bug - If the system doesn’t work as intended by the programmer. Missing functionality – When a task is impossible to complete Ease of use – When the system works as designed and it can support a task, but the user cannot figure out how to complete the task or the user simply doesn’t like how they completed the task.

21. Problem severity Slightly more detailed than classifying by type

22. Problem severity Missing functionality or bug – The system cannot support the user’s task. Task failure – The user cannot complete the task on his own or they erroneously believed they completed it.

23. Problem severity Annoying – The user complains that the system is annoying or cumbersome; or the designer observes that the user doesn’t work in the optimal way. Medium problem – The user finds the solution after lengthy attempts. Minor problem – The user finds the solution after a few short attempts

24. Types of problems can have a severity For example, a web page has textbox A and B. After typing in textbox A, a user clicks on textbox B and the text from textbox A disappears. If the user starts with textbox B and moves to textbox A there is no problem. This type of problem is a program bug with a severity of annoying. The user can still complete the task, but in a less efficient way.

25. A problem can have multiple severities After leaving a webpage, it doesn’t remember who I am so I have to re-enter my user name the next time I visit it. The webpage is missing functionality to remember users between visits and that is annoying to the user. Multiple severities for one problem, might make it more important to fix.

26. Benefits of classifying problems Designers, developers, managers, etc. can identify which problems need to be fixed sooner than others.

27. Usability Problem Examples 1.The user cannot figure out how to start the search. The screen says that they should use F10, but for some reason they don’t see it until they try several other ways. 2.The user believes that they have completed the task and that the result is saved, but actually they should have pressed Update before closing the window. Classify by Severity: Missing Functionality, Task Failure, Annoying, Medium, or Minor

28. Usability Problem Examples 3.The user cannot figure out which discount code to give the customer, although they know which field to use. 4.The user says that it is completely crazy having to go through six screens in order to fill in ten fields. 5.The user wants to print out a list of discount codes. After many failed attempt, they email support and figure out that they system cannot do that. Classify by Severity: Missing Functionality, Task Failure, Annoying, Medium, or Minor

29. Testing Outline 1.What is usability? 2.Usability Factors 3.Usability Problems 4.Planning for a test 5.Carrying out the test 6.Usability Report

30. Planning the test a.Picking a type of usability test b.Deciding how many users we need to test c.Deciding which users to test d.Finding test tasks e.Choosing roles for the test team f.Deciding how to measure task efficiency

31. Types of Usability Testing i.Observe only ii.Think aloud iii.Cooperation iv.Hallway Testing v.Opinion Poll vi.Heuristic Evaluations

32. Observe Only Let the user work on their own while we observe what they are doing.

33. Think aloud Ask the user to think aloud and explain what they are doing and why. Have users explain situations when they get stuck. Question the user’s intent in situations where you have become confused with what they are doing.

34. Cooperation Ask two test users to work together on a task. Encourage them to discuss what they are doing and how they might complete the task at hand.

35. Hallway Testing Grab the next person that passes you in the hallway and force them to test the new code/prototype that you made. The basic idea is to show simple screens of your proposed design to anyone other than designers or engineers working on the product.

36. Hallway Testing Particularly effective in early stages of a new design when designers are looking for “brick walls.” Very cheap to do

37. Opinion Polls Ask a number of users to complete a questionnaire. Typically uses a Likert scale – Strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree

38. Opinion Polls Some specialists consider opinion polls the best measure of usability Give consistent results from user to user Hard to perform test during development. Often get better results after application is finished.

39. Heuristic Evaluation Hire a usability specialist to look at your design/prototype/system and point out problems. Expensive to perform Helpful for finding missing functionality Still require usability testing to determine ease of use

40. Planning the test a.Picking a type of usability test b.Deciding how many users we need to test c.Deciding which users to test d.Finding test tasks e.Choosing roles for the test team f.Deciding how to measure task efficiency

41. How many users do we need? In life, people often say, “the more the better!” In usability testing, people should say, “the more people, the less you learn!”

42. How many users do we need? In comparing the number of users tested vs. usability problems found, a study showed that after 5 users you begin finding more repeated problems than new ones. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000319.html

43. How many users do we need? Ideally you want 5 users If you can’t find/afford 5 users, 3 will work Whatever you do, don’t settle for ZERO!

44. How many users do we need? Don’t spend all your resources on one testing session with 15 users to discover all possible usability problems. Instead, have 3 different sets of tests that each have 5 users.

45. Planning the test a.Picking a type of usability test b.Deciding how many users we need to test c.Deciding which users to test d.Finding test tasks e.Choosing roles for the test team f.Deciding how to measure task efficiency

46. Which users should we pick? Don’t use colleagues or people working on your project. Look for users that are in the weaker end of their user group. Avoid strong users or IT geeks that might be able to guess their way around problems based off prior experience.

47. Planning the test a.Picking a type of usability test b.Deciding how many users we need to test c.Deciding which users to test d.Finding test tasks e.Choosing roles for the test team f.Deciding how to measure task efficiency

48. Finding test tasks It is important to find good test tasks in order to find all usability problems. Different kinds of applications will have different test tasks

49. Test tasks for professional use Most professional apps are developed to help users do their tasks better. Study the apps supported tasks to create a list of tasks to test.

50. Test tasks for web sites Websites can be used to attract customers and inform them about the website’s company. In addition to this, some websites support actual tasks (buying products, reviewing bills).

51. Test tasks for web sites Here are some sources for identifying web site test tasks: 1.Expectation oriented – Given a small product description, what would a user expect to see when visiting the product’s website.

52. Expectation Oriented Questions to ask before showing the website – What type of information does a user expect to find? – What services should be offered? Questions to ask after showing the website – Did the user find all necessary information and services? – Was you expectation met? – What is your impression of the company after seeing the website?

53. Test tasks for web sites 2.Business-oriented - What is the company’s goal with the web site? What do they expect that the customer/user would do? – What are the prices for the services? – Where is the closest shop? – How to call them on the phone?

54. Test tasks for web sites 3.Label oriented - Do users understand the terminology/labels your website is using? – The site has a link labeled ‘staff.’ Where do you think that would take you?

55. Test tasks for web sites 5.Structure-oriented – Do users have a clear sense of where they are in the website / service process? – How many screens do you think are left before you have completed what you do? – Where will the system take you afterwards? – How could you cancel what you are doing?

56. Test tasks for web sites 6.Search-test: Does the website offer the ability to search and find information, a FAQ section, etc? – Find out whether the site explains about hazards when using the product.

57. Planning the test a.Picking a type of usability test b.Deciding how many users we need to test c.Deciding which users to test d.Finding test tasks e.Choosing roles for the test team f.Deciding how to measure task efficiency

58. Defining roles in the test team Facilitator – the leader of the test. – Has direct contact with the user. – Administers the test – Asks the user to think aloud or explain what they are thinking. Computer – used for paper prototypes – Simulates what the computer does – Changes screens/UI – Writes the computer’s reply, etc. Log keeper – logs the following: – where the user encountered problems – what the user might believe about the system

59. Planning the test a.Picking a type of usability test b.Deciding how many users we need to test c.Deciding which users to test d.Finding test tasks e.Choosing roles for the test team f.Deciding how to measure task efficiency

60. Measuring task efficiency In addition to measuring task efficiency based off usability problems the user encountered, you can measure: 1.Task time – how long it takes a user to complete a task. 2.Score for understanding – score how well a user’s mental model matches the conceptual model. 3.Opinion Poll – With opinion poll testing, measure how many likes vs. dislikes there are.

61. Usability Test Checklist We have chosen a specific test to administer We have 3-5 users (ideally not super users) We have defined the roles within our test team We have found test tasks which fully explore our application We have decided how to measure task efficiency

62. Testing Outline 1.What is usability? 2.Usability Factors 3.Usability Problems 4.Planning for a test 5.Carrying out the test 6.Usability Report

63. Before administering the usability test Explain the purpose of the test to the user: – We want to find out where the system is hard to understand or inconvenient. We know the system too well, so we cannot see it ourselves. We need your help. If you have problems with the system, it is the system’s fault - not yours. Make the user feel comfortable (some people might be nervous).

64. Administering test Give the users one task at a time Observe how the user completes the task, especially when they encounter problems Wait until the user is adequately stuck before giving them a hint. – Mark the task as a usability problem and classify it as a task failure Repeat until you’re finished

65. After the test, debrief the user Ask if the user likes the system Ask if they understood what was going on Determine if the user thinks the application is fit for use Find out if their mental model matches the conceptual model.

66. Testing Outline 1.What is usability? 2.Usability Factors 3.Usability Problems 4.Planning for a test 5.Carrying out the test 6.Usability Report

67. After completing all usability tests, create a report containing: Consolidated and concise information recorded from the logs. All usability problem encountered and their classification ( Bug, task failure, annoying, medium, minor ). A prioritized list of problems that need to be fixed. Usability Report

68. After Usability Testing 1.If you’re test went horribly, go back to the planning stage and get to know your users better and understand their tasks more efficiently. 2.Go back to the design phase and rethink concepts that didn’t work with the user. a)Fix the O/A Matrix, fix/redo paper prototype. 3.Test again after fixing problems.

69. Fix the critical problems first Fix bugs, task failures, and annoying tasks first.

70. Usability pays in many ways Users save time More people can use the system People can handle many computer systems and don’t have to specialize in a single system More people will like your products Your product will make more money!!!