Usability study?. Analogy.
Let me pose a question here, What is usability study?. Haha I will try with an analogy.
Consider you have built a house and asked one of your friends to visit the house. You instruct them to find the kitchen while closely watching them.
Are they able to find the kitchen? Did they intuitively go towards the kitchen? Are they having a difficult time reaching the kitchen?.
Indeed, the answers to the questions about whether your friend was able to find the kitchen, whether they intuitively went towards the kitchen, and whether they had a difficult time reaching it, would provide valuable insights into the intuitiveness and usability of the house or product.
Thus you learned, Usability Study.
However, there are primarily two approaches to do it- Moderated and Unmoderated usability study.
Unmoderated — Instructing your friend to find the kitchen and then watch them over a security camera or a similar monitoring system.
Moderated — Instructing your friend to find the kitchen and actively engage with them by asking questions about their actions and expectations, why did you open that door, what did you expect when you open a door, what it should be and how it should be behind the every door.
Both methods have their place in usability studies, and the choice between them depends on the specific goals, constraints, and resources available for the study. In some cases, it may be beneficial to use a combination of both approaches to gather a more comprehensive understanding of the product’s usability.
Thank you.
Feel free to connect me through LinkedIn for more analogy based learnings.
Happy to contribute.
