Usability Testing How To's - EventHandler, London Jan 22nd 2014

transcript

USABILITY TESTING HOW TO’sFor small teams & little budgets

Evgenia (Jenny) Grinblo & www.eventhandler.co.uk London, UK January 22, 2013 (This is Henrik)

http://bit.ly/1f9Pnzt

USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION

Hello, I’m... !

Evgenia (Jenny) Grinblo User Experience Specialist Future Workshops, London !

Our usability testing story… !

!Intuitive

“For everyone”

Easy to use Simple

“For everyone”

Clients !!

Users !!

And you… !

Why are you here? !

0 / Usability testing introduction 1 / What do we test: preparing a test plan 2 / Facilitating a usability test & recording results 3 / Analysing and presenting key learnings

USABILITY TESTINGWorkshop schedule

How to run a £3000 fool-proof test

✓ The easiest, quickest, cheapest methods

✓ Tips on facilitating, note-taking, & prioritising

✓ How to run a usability test tomorrow

✓ Resources & tools to keep learning

WHAT TO EXPECT TODAY

✓ Slides will be on SlideShare

✓ If you need to leave early, tell me now

✓ You don’t need your laptops yet

✓ Questions welcome anytime

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS

What is usability testing & why do it?

USER EXPERIENCE BUILDING BLOCKS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7855449@N02/2779597129 Diagram by David Armano

USABILITY IS A MAJOR BUILDING BLOCK OF A GOOD EXPERIENCE

1. INTUITIVE (n.) Using what one feels to be true without conscious reasoning

www.youtube.com

NEEDING INSTRUCTIONS MEANS SOMETHING CAN BE MADE MORE SIMPLE

2. EASY TO USE Doesn’t make people feel stupid or inferior to the tool they are using. Helps them feel in control.

www.errorwallofshame.tumblr.com

3. ACCESSIBLE People of different abilities can use it

YOU CAN’T DIFFERENTIATE IF THE EXPERIENCE IS BROKEN

67.45% (AVERAGE E-COMMERCE CART ABANDONMENT RATE)

EVERYONE DEEPLY UNDERSTANDS THE USERS

http://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate

July 28, 2013

http://www.shopify.com/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-and-what-to-do-about-it

WHERE TO FIND USABILITY PROBLEMS

Analytics (Impersonal)

Survey (Tricky)

Usability test (Immediate, easy)

USABILITY TESTING

• Behavioral vs. Self-reported • Opportunity to ask “why?” • Motivates teammates • Removes “designer bias” • Can be done on prototypes • Can be cheap & quick

WHAT HAPPENS IN A USABILITY TEST?

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QckIzHC99Xc

TEST YOUR IDEAS REGULARLY WITH REAL PEOPLE

USABILITY TEST STEPS

Recruit Participants

Prepare a test plan Test Analyse +

iterate

WHO DO WE TEST WITH?

‣ Anyone who hasn’t seen the app

‣ Similar demographics to real users (whenever possible)

WHERE DO WE FIND PARTICIPANTS?

‣ Friends, family, colleagues

‣ Social media followers

‣ Existing customers

‣ Streets and coffee shops

‣ Recruitment agencies (<expensive!)

WHEN DO WE TEST? AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

Idea stage Definition stageExploring FocusingMany ideasHigh-level“Dream world”

Best ideasRefinedRealistic

DO USABILITY TESTING REGULARLY, WITH YOUR WHOLE TEAM

# OF TEAM MEMBERS EXPOSED TO USERS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN # OF USERS

http://www.uie.com/articles/user_exposure_hours/

SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO ACCEPT YOUR PRODUCT NEEDS HELP https://twitter.com/adrianhungate/status/391954628184915970

WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE IN PAIN, YOU WANT TO HELP THEM

http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_mcdonald/371884786/

— DANIEL Lead Developer, Future Workshops

I was completely surprised at how cumbersome the users experience with the app was. Basic tasks were which was so obvious to me were suddenly a huge barrier.

— DANIEL Lead Developer, Future Workshops

... What the usability testing did for me was really prove how much tech people can lose sight of who they are building for. It about going back to basics in some cases.

IN SUMMARY: USABILITY TESTING BENEFITS

1. Highlights where our product isn’t intuitive / easy to use

2. Puts team in the shoes of users

3. Helps sell product improvements to stakeholders/ clients

4. Helps prioritise feature backlog

5 minute breakTime for a

PREPARING A TEST PLAN

To run a test, you need

‣ Some representation of your product

‣ Preferably interactive

‣ Doesn’t have to be finished

‣ Or: competitor product!

‣ Idea of what you want to test

What do we test?

‣ General impressions

‣ Ease of use of critical features

‣ Features we’re not sure about (e.g., is the help clear?)

‣ Response to design, iconography

Tip: start from high-level when testing prototypes, test the details with later builds

Wide (Generative)

Narrow (Validating)

WHY will people use this product?

SET THE SCOPE

HOW do these people use this product?

SET THE SCOPE

Wide (Generative)

Narrow (Validating)

Explore How is the value proposition of this tool fit in with people’s lives

Validate How do people perform specific task with this tool?

Confirm/iterate Observing what people do with this tool, in their own environment

SET THE SCOPE

Wide (Generative)

Narrow (Validating)

First...

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: THE 5 SECOND TEST

Ready?

5 SECOND TEST QUESTIONS

• What is the purpose of the website/app?

• Name 3 things you can do with this website

• Who does this site or app belong to?

• How do you feel about this organisation?

SET THE SCOPE

Wide (Generative)

Narrow (Validating)

Now...

PREPARING A DETAILED USABILITY TEST

iterate

THE MORE DETAILED YOUR ARTIFACT, THE MORE DETAILED THE FEEDBACK

Choose a product to testTime: 10 minutes

EXERCISE 1

‣ We are going to validate an existing, finished product

‣ As a group, decide on a website or app to test

‣ It can be your app - I must be able to interact with it

Tip: avoid sites that require logging in (unless you have a login to share)

Show & Tell

EXERCISE 3

Test plan!

‣ Tasks: What are we testing? Why?

‣ Success Paths: What do we expect to happen?

‣ Scenarios: How can we find out if our expectation is true?

// SUCCESS PATH

// TEST PLAN FOR: // PART:// GROUP:

// SCENARIO

// GENERAL SCENARIO

// INFO (passwords, etc)

!// SUCCESS PATH

// SCENARIO

// INFO (passwords, etc)

Set up the motivation

What we are testing

What we want/expect the user to do

Motivation to do the task + instructions

Information necessary for the task

// SUCCESS PATH

// TEST PLAN FOR: // PART:// GROUP:

// SCENARIO

// GENERAL SCENARIO

// INFORMATION

!// SUCCESS PATH

// SCENARIO

// INFORMATION

You need to cook a new recipe for the company potluck. You found a recipe online and now you need to buy the ingredients and cook it.

You need to remember what to buy. Use the app to make a shopping list you can take to the supermarket.

Print-out of a recipe from the internet

Create a text note and make a bulleted list of ingredients

E-mail a note to a friend using swipe to share

Text note Share a note via e-mail

You really liked the new recipe and you think your friend Jenny will like it too.

Send the recipe to Jenny from within the app.

Jenny’s email: jenny@futureworkshops.comDon’t show this to

the participant!

Scenario Structure!

‣ Your character

‣ Your motivation

‣ What you need to do

‣ Any details like login information, etc

Scenario Tips

‣ Avoid using terminology from the interface (e.g., search, tag, filter)

‣ Scenarios can have steps (e.g., find a recipe and add it to your collection)

‣ Escalate the difficulty as the test progresses

Test PlanTime: 20 mins

EXERCISE 2

‣ Define 3 key tasks that must be intuitive and easy to use in the application

‣ Identify the success paths for each task (what we expect users to do)

‣ Decide on a general scenario + write specific tasks

‣ Run through the test once

FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS

iterate

Facilitating

‣ Practice staying quiet

‣ Remind the participant to speak out loud

‣ Don’t give anything away

‣ Be reassuring, say thank you

‣ If they get stuck, wait (a little)

Facilitator Cheat-Sheet

If they forget to think aloud

‣ "What are you thinking right now?"

‣ "What are you finding confusing on this screen?"

‣ "I know it's an unusual thing to do but could I please ask you to keep thinking out loud and talk as you go along? It really helps me understand your experience better."

If they get stuck

‣ "This is very helpful for us, we are uncovering a lot of problems in the design that will help us make the app better."

‣ "I can already see how useful this is going to be in improving the app."

If they have a question

‣ "Please continue in the way that makes sense to you. We will learn a lot from seeing how you proceed with this without any help."

‣ "I will be happy to answer your questions at the end. Please try to try this task for a bit longer."

The golden go-to

‣ "We expected to uncover problems in the design. You are not doing anything wrong - we knew there would be issues and you are helping us find them."

People will feel stupid. Make them feel at ease.

Ways to record our findings

From easy to complicated

‣ Pair up with a note-taker

‣ DIY recording equipment

‣ Professional recording equipment

‣ Live-stream to a group of stakeholders

Note-taking brings down 2 barriers to testing: time & equipment

(But I’ll give you some tips on recording later!)

Note-taking tips

Only record what’s important

‣ If someone is really happy

‣ If someone is really frustrated

‣ If someone fails a task

‣ Write down short quotes if you can

Notes Example

• Taps Map on merchant profile but this opens the system Maps

app — confused

!• Goes to Search and types “coffee shops” but there are no results

— “why can’t I see what’s around me?”

!• "If I had to think about something around me, I’d start the

merchant profile and expect to see other things around me"

!• The icons aren’t telling me that Cafe Nero is a coffee shop

What to bring to the testPrinted scenarios & tasks for participant

Printed scenarios & tasks with success paths for facilitator

Facilitator script

Optional: List of pre-test and debrief questions

Consent form (if needed)

Pen + paper / recording tools

Test setup checklist

Setting up the testReset the mobile app / site to the default settings

Clear the test area of any open documents, written notes, etc.

Prepare participant forms: scenarios, intro script, consent form

Optional: Verify the recording equipment

Optional: Make sure the brightness on the screen is reduced

Usability TestTime: 40 minutes

EXERCISE 3

‣ Every 8 minutes, swap one member of your group in exchange for a member from another group

‣ The ‘foreign’ member is the participant

‣ Start running through the test you’ve planned

‣ Everyone else in the group should be a facilitator and a note-taker at least once

Show & Tell

EXERCISE 2

ANALYSING & PRESENTING FINDINGS

iterate

What to do with all the data?

‣ Identify changes with the biggest impact & smallest effort as a team

‣ Find the “low-hanging fruit”

‣ What has impact on the bottom line?

‣ Put everything else in the ice-box

Identifying key findings

High-priority: people fail, or abandon the task

Medium: people succeed but are frustrated and unhappy

Low: people would enjoy the app more if...

Tip: Work hard to prioritise the highest-impact items. You can’t fix everything.

Presenting findingsANALYSING & PRESENTING FINDINGS

Interface screenshot here

What we expected to happen

What really happened

What we can fix right now

Identifying Key FindingsTime: 15 mins

EXERCISE 4

‣ As a group, debrief on each person’s notes

‣ Find 2 high, 2 medium, and 2 low-priority usability problems

‣ What will you fix first? Why?

‣ Jot down a quick summary of key findings to present to the larger group

Show & Tell

EXERCISE 3

Summary

‣ Match your test artifact to your scope

‣ Plan realistic scenarios that don’t give away the test purpose

‣ Be encouraging and open to feedback

‣ Record only what’s needed

‣ Prioritise findings for maximum impact

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

Remember this?

Usability is only one partSUMMARY & CONCLUSION

Building a product isn’t just about usability:

‣ Business goals

‣ Usefulness & desirability

‣ Differentiation

‣ Vision of the future

… But it’s a great start!

Usability is only one part SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

Translate user research into user

Plan the journey to accomplish

each task

Create interfaces to support that

journey

Match the vision with real-world

behavior

Test how real people use our

interfaces

Create a vision of our offering to

people

Iterate and simplify those

interfaces

DIVE IN MORE DEEPLY

Remote Research Nate Bolt & Tony

Tulathimutte

DIY Usability Testing

Steve Krug

Lean UX Jeff Gothelf

http://www.humanfactors.com/ROIposter.asp

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes courage, and a touch of genius, to move in the opposite direction.

– Albert Einstein

A FINAL THOUGHT

INTRODUCTION

Thank you! Jenny@futureworkshops.com www.grinblo.com Twitter: @grinblo !

Usability Testing How To's - EventHandler, London Jan 22nd 2014

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