A quick guide to understanding and conducting a usability study. Usability Testing A quick guide to understanding and conducting a usability study.

Focus Groups vs. Usability Testing Small groups Focus on sampling user opinions and feelings Usability Test One user at a time Focus on tasks Focus on understanding Focus on user behavior

Usability Testing Truths You’ve got to test if you want a good site It’s like friends visiting from out of town One user is 100% better than zero users Testing one user early is better than 50 users later Representative users are overrated Not out to “prove” but to inform judgment Testing is iterative Live audience reaction is the best

Traditional vs Quick Testing Usually 8 or more Target audience Usability lab Usability professional Large-scale planning $5000 and up Long, long reports 3 or 4 users Anyone will work fine Quiet room Reasonable patient person Short planning time Small incentives Conversations and short reports

Best (quick) Practices The first three users will tell you most of what you need to know Test where you can talk without interruption Good testers are good listeners You need an observer and note taker if you don’t record Dismiss your subject and talk and compare notes immediately Write a short report

What to Test “Get it” testing Key task testing See if the user “gets” the site Do they see the purpose of the site? What is the value of the site? How does the site work and how is it organized? Key task testing Ask the user to do something and then watch to see how they do it (or fail to do it). Get the user to invest some interest or engage in the problem

What’s in a Report? List the problems users encountered Suggest ways to fix these problems Appeal to common sense Ignore where users go astray Ignore opinions about color or icons for the most part unless they impact usability Describe users’ thinking