Essential Usability Testing Methods and Metrics to Develop Tech Your Users Love
Ever used an app that made you want to hurl your phone at the wall? Or a website so confusing you felt you’d aged ten years in five minutes?
We’ve all been there. That’s bad usability in action. That’s also why the average app loses 77% of its daily active users in the first 3 days after installation.
You know the software we’re talking about. The buttons might be hidden. The navigation is confusing. You get lost in a maze of dropdown menus. The type of software solution where ‘intuitiveness’ is non-existent. And the consequences of bad usability and not being intuitive can be more than just frustration. In industries like mental health services, a poorly designed app could have devastating consequences if it doesn’t properly address the needs of vulnerable users.
Don’t let your website, app or solution be one of these experiences.
But how do you do that? Luckily there’s an antidote.
Usability testing — the key to making sure your software delights (rather than destroys) user sanity! Below, we’ll cover the three best usability testing methods to make your users love your solutions. Let’s dive in.
Usability Testing Method #1 — Guerilla Testing
Think of guerilla testing as a usability ambush — it’s about getting quick, unfiltered feedback on your product from folks who haven’t seen it before. You might set up shop in a café, library or even just your office breakroom and enlist unsuspecting souls to test a prototype. The goal here is pretty simple: to see if key tasks can be completed intuitively and to catch those ‘what on earth is this button for’? moments.
Guerilla testing shines in two places:
- Speed
- Ability to reveal fundamental flaws
However, because you’re grabbing participants on the fly, they may not represent the entire user base very well. This can lead to confirmation and contextual biases, as well as over-dependency on a single type of user input — particularly if your user personas aren’t detailed enough to help you identify them. It’s best done early in the development lifecycle when you need to iron out major design kinks before investing in more structured testing.
Just remember that sometimes even the most well-intentioned guerilla test can leave your participants feeling a bit bewildered — offer a free coffee or kind words of thanks to smooth things over afterward!
Usability Testing Method #2 — Remote Moderated Testing
Remote moderated testing brings the controlled environment of a usability lab into the virtual world. A researcher observes via screen-sharing software as participants interact with your product from their own homes or offices. The researcher takes notes, asks probing questions and might even record the session for later analysis.
This method allows you to tap into a wider pool of potential testers, without limitations of geography. You gain *extremely* valuable qualitative feedback, finding out not just if users stumble but the ‘why’ behind those stumbles. The downside is that you have less control over the environment — internet glitches, a barking dog or the participant’s tech setup can all introduce variables. Remote moderated sessions are a great mid-development tool for evaluating specific features, user flows or testing with specific user demographics who may not be readily available in your location.
Usability Testing Method #3 — Think Aloud Protocol
If you’ve ever wished you had a tiny window into your user’s brain, the think-aloud protocol is as close as you’ll get. Participants are asked to verbalise their thoughts, frustrations, and ‘aha’ moments as they use your software. It’s like having a play-by-play commentator inside their head during the usability test!
This method provides incredibly rich insights into how users mentally approach tasks and where their expectations hit roadblocks. However, it can be time-consuming to analyze the recordings, and some users may find it unnatural to narrate their every thought. Think-aloud is good in situations when you have a nagging usability puzzle to solve, like a consistently abandoned signup flow or a seemingly underused feature. This method can find those hidden stumbling blocks that less overtly observable tests might miss (and typically do).
Measuring Usability Method #1 — Common Industry Format (CIF)
Common Industry Format (CIF) Metrics serve as the backbone of usability testing, providing structured insights into user interactions. Think of them as the essential toolkit for deciphering how effectively your product meets user needs.
● Success Rate is a pivotal metric, indicating the percentage of users who effortlessly navigate through tasks, shedding light on the intuitiveness of your design.
SR = Total Number of Users / Number of Users Who Successfully Complete Tasks ×100%
● Task Completion Time offers a precise measure of efficiency, revealing how long users take to accomplish tasks and identifying potential bottlenecks in the user journey.
TCT = Number of Users / Total Time to Complete Tasks
● Error Rate highlights stumbling blocks and user frustrations, pinpointing areas for improvement and ensuring a smoother user experience.
ER = Total Number of Tasks Attempted / Number of Errors ×100%
● Efficiency Metrics meticulously track user interactions, enabling you to optimize interface elements and streamline user workflows.
● Satisfaction Ratings offer invaluable feedback on user experience, capturing user sentiment and guiding iterative improvements.
These metrics, following the CIF framework, provide a comprehensive understanding of usability strengths and weaknesses, empowering informed decision-making and driving iterative design enhancements.
Measuring Usability Method #2 — System Usability Score (SUS)
Enter the System Usability Scale (SUS), your quick and powerful tool for assessing user perceptions of system usability. Users answer a set of questions, and SUS provides a single score indicating overall usability.
SUS offers efficiency and comparability across systems but may suffer from potential biases. Still, it provides valuable insights into user experiences, making it a valuable addition to your usability toolkit.
SUS = (Total Score × 2.5)
Where the Total Score is obtained by summing up the scores for each statement, with each statement score ranging from 1 to 5.
So, when you need fast and standardized usability feedback, SUS is your go-to solution for unlocking user perceptions and guiding improvements.
Usability and the Power of Intuition
Designing intuitive interfaces is a balancing act. Users crave the instantly familiar, the ‘it just works’ experience. But innovation often means pushing boundaries and introducing new ways of interaction. Remember those ubiquitous swipe gestures on smartphones? The ones we use like 10,000 times a day now? They weren’t always second nature — it took time and widespread adoption for swiping to become truly intuitive. The paradox is that even seemingly obvious design choices can take years to emerge:
● Dark mode — A crucial accessibility and eye strain feature, yet took surprisingly long to go mainstream.
● Copy & paste on mobile — Now essential, but a revelation in its early days.
● 2-in-1 headphones/charger for Apple — A missed opportunity for a DECADE!
● WhatsApp video notes — A simple feature that took surprisingly long (years) to materialize.
Understanding user expectations and the evolution of digital interaction patterns is key. Usability testing helps you bridge the gap between what your users unconsciously expect and the clever new solutions you’re building.
Key Takeaways
● Embrace the value of quick wins — Guerrilla testing is a fast and effective tool for uncovering glaring usability issues early in the design process. Don’t underestimate the insights you can glean from even a short, informal test session.
● Optimise real estate — Every pixel on the screen matters. Prioritize clear navigation and prioritise the most common actions users need.
● Intuitive interactions are key — Consider the pros and cons of swipes, likes, and other common gestures. Do they align with user expectations in your specific software?
● Context matters — Remote moderated testing helps identify how various factors like the user’s device, environment, and tech proficiency can impact their experience. Be aware that ‘perfect’ lab conditions don’t reflect the real world.
● Dig into the ‘why’ — The think-aloud protocol gives you more than just the ‘what’ of usability issues — it helps pinpoint the root causes of user confusion or hesitation.
● Data is your best friend — Combine the qualitative insights from moderated and think-aloud sessions with quantitative metrics like task success rates and time-on-task for a holistic view of your product’s usability.
● Quantify usability — CIF metrics and SUS offer numerical insights into usability. Combining qualitative depth with quantitative benchmarks like success rates and SUS scores provides a holistic view, guiding data-driven improvements.
Are you QA Tester or software professional interested in upskilling and improving your understanding of Usability Testing? Brightest offers internationally certified exams in Usability Testing, visit their website or click this LINK to learn more.
Our Take at QA Bound
At QA Bound, usability is more than a buzzword, it’s at the very core of what we do. We understand that software that frustrates users = software that fails. Our expert QA testing team helps companies create products that not only function but genuinely delight at every interaction. Helping solutions become more intuitive and usable, and helping users fall in love with our clients’ tech, is why we LOVE what we do.
