Usability Testing 101
A UX research observational methodology to uncover problems and opportunities in designs.
Usability testing is a popular UX research methodology. There are many usability testing theories from experts that are slightly different from each other. People who ran usability testing may agree with different experts’ theories. They might continue to implement those theories without making any changes or they might make a few changes based on their experience in running usability testing. As a beginner, you should learn enough experts’ theories and run several usability testing to achieve the best practice that suits you. We will discuss some basic experts’ theories about usability testing.
Usability Testing in General
Usability testing (also known as user testing) is a collection of techniques used to measure the characteristics of a user’s interaction with a product by assessing the usability of that product. Usability testing is focused on measuring how well users can complete specific, standardized tasks, as well as what problems they encounter in doing so. Usability testing requires a fairly complete and coherent design artifact with coherent concepts and sufficient detail to test against.
The point of the test is to help us validate a product design.
— David Cronin, Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann
Why conduct usability testing?
After you’ve worked on a product design for a few weeks, you can’t see it freshly anymore because you know too much about it. The only way to find out if it works well is to test it. Not everyone thinks the way you do, knows what you know, uses the product the way you do. It is worth noting that usability testing is predominantly focused on assessing the first-time use of a product.
Usability testing gives you a fresh perspective on things.
— Steve Krug
The goals of usability testing vary by study, but they usually include:
- Uncover problems in the design of a product or a service
- Discover opportunities to improve the design
- Learn about the target users’ behavior and preferences
Usability testing is especially effective at determining:
- Naming/wording — Do section/button labels make sense? Do certain words resonate better than others do?
- Organization — Is information grouped into meaningful categories? Are items located in the places users might look for them?
- First-time use and discoverability — Are common items easy for new users to find? Are instructions clear? Are instructions necessary?
- Effectiveness — Can users efficiently complete specific tasks? Are they making missteps? Where? How often?
When to test?
A simple test early, while you still have time to use what you learn from it, is almost always more valuable than a sophisticated test later. Usability testing doesn't have to be expensive to be conducted. It doesn't have to take lots of time, usability lab, and expertise. There is this idea of discount usability testing. Discount usability testing requires less time, money, and it can be conducted in any office or conference room. Therefore, you are expected to run several discounted usability testing early in the project.
Testing one user is 100 percent better than testing none.
— Steve Krug
What’s in a Usability Testing?
There are many different types of usability testing, but the core elements in most usability tests are the facilitator (or moderator), the tasks, and the participant.
The facilitator administers tasks to the participant. As the participant performs these tasks, the facilitator observes the participant’s behavior and listens for feedback. The facilitator may also ask follow-up questions to elicit detail from the participant.
The Facilitator guides the participant through the test process. The facilitator gives instructions, answers the participant’s questions, and asks follow-up questions. The facilitator works to ensure that the test results in high-quality, valid data, without accidentally influencing the participant’s behavior. Achieving this balance is difficult and requires training.
The tasks in a usability test are realistic activities that the participant might perform in real life. They can be very specific or very open-ended, depending on the research questions and the type of usability testing.
The participant should be a realistic user of the product or service being studied. That might mean that the user is already using the product or service in real life. Alternatively, in some cases, the participant might just have a similar background to the target user group or might have the same needs, even if he isn’t already a user of the product.
Participants are often asked to think out loud during usability testing (called the “think-aloud method”). The facilitator might ask the participants to narrate their actions and thoughts as they perform tasks. The goal of this approach is to understand participants’ behaviors, goals, thoughts, and motivations.
