Quality Assurance: Usability Testing

Zerlinda
Zerlinda
Nov 8 · 6 min read

Usability testing is the practice of testing how easy a design is to use on a group of representative users, and find if it usable or not. Usability testing is the process of watching/tracking an actual user while they use your product to see if it’s in fact usable. It involves observing users as they attempt to complete tasks and can be done for different types of designs, from user interfaces to physical products.

https://webdesign.tutsplus.com/id/articles/usability-testing--cms-28644
https://webdesign.tutsplus.com/id/articles/usability-testing--cms-28644

The main benefit and purpose of usability testing is to identify usability problems with a design as early as possible, so they can be fixed before the design is implemented or mass produced which is why usability testing is often conducted on prototypes rather than finished products.

Why we Need Usability Testing?

Usability testing lets the design and development teams identify problems before they are coded. The earlier issues are identified and fixed, the less expensive the fixes will be in terms of both staff time and possible impact to the schedule. During a usability test, you will:

  • Learn if participants are able to complete specified tasks successfully and
  • Identify how long it takes to complete specified tasks
  • Find out how satisfied participants are with your Web site or other product
  • Identify changes required to improve user performance and satisfaction
  • And analyze the performance to see if it meets your usability objectives

Conducting

Scenario Design

Once you’ve figured out what the users’ goals are, you need to formulate task scenarios that are appropriate for usability testing. A scenario design is the a scenario consist of actions or tasks that to be tested. We make the scenario the based on the objective that have to be achieved in completing the tasks. Remember that the main objective of the testing is to see whether a user have any difficulty in navigating the user interface, which means unless it necessary we cannot intervene while the tester doing the test. Look at the example below.

Here is some Scenarios Design that my team implemented during usability testing with the objective that we want to achieve in Moodah, of course we don’t tell the steps in completing the tasks but rather, see whether the user can or cannot solve the task:

You are a new business owner, stumbled upon a system that might help you in keeping track of your business, and that system is Moodah. Point of Sales Moodah is a system that help you keep track of transaction.

  1. First you need to make a new configuration point of sales. Make a new Configuration.
  • Go to the menu Configuration from the sidebar.
  • Click button ‘Buat Baru’
  • Filled the form
  • Click ‘Save’ to save the new configuration.

2. Then after you make a couple of new Configuration, you realized that one of the Configuration is not working as expected thus, you want to edit the Configuration.

  • Go to the menu Configuration from the side bar.
  • Click the specific Configuration, eg. ‘Resto Serbaguna’
  • Change the details Configuration.
  • Click ‘Save’ to save the changes
  • Click ‘Cancel’ to discard the Changes.

3. After that you also need to add new category product to the system mak a new Category Product.

  • Go to the menu Product Category from the sidebar.
  • Click button ‘Buat Baru’
  • Filled the form
  • Click ‘Save’ to save the new Product Category

4. Then after you make a couple of new Category Product, you realized that one of the Configuration is not working as expected thus, you want to edit the Product Category.

  • Go to the menu Product Category from the side bar.
  • Click the specific Product Category, eg. ‘Food and Beverages’
  • Change the details Product Category.
  • Click ‘Save’ to save the changes
  • Click ‘Cancel’ to discard the Changes.

etc.

Testing

There are many ways to conduct a usability testing, but before we do the test we have to know our own product both by the scope and the target of the users. While doing the testing, it is better to just observe how the tester do things, which means don’t interfere even when there are difficulty. It is to one of a way we can see where we can improve the design.

After conducting the usability testing, asks how the tester feel using the prototype that had been test. Is there any difficulty in understanding the system or using the system.

Analyze and Evaluation

After finished conducting the test, from both observation and the tester answer, we can now analyze and evaluate the design that implemented. See if there’s any changes that we can make to make the product better.

In Moodah we already have a couple of feedback such as position of the component, the number order that a bit confusing. We know the places that can be improve later on.

At the moment we have interviewed 3 person with age 19–24 to do the test. From the test, most people compliment how the design is really neat, easy to use. Most of the steps of the usability testing is done rather easily. But there are things that also deemed unnecessary.

For once is in the Point of Sales Page, the number of order have increment and decrements button. This is a bit redundant because it will be better if it automatically increment the number of order. If we can decrease the order number’s then there would be possibility where the number of order will be the same. Another input is the search box should be on the top not bottom, although there are tester that don’t mind if the search box bellow. The reason for the change position is because search box is actually an important component in the page and based on reading habit people that is from left to right and top to bottom it should be on the top so it can be more noticeable. One more input is to make the search box has the suggestion search.

Moodah POS Dashboard

Next is the discount button. There is a bit ambiguity in the most right button. the button +10, +20 and +50. Will the result plus it with +10 or will it give 10 to the discount. Then there’s also percent discount. People can give discount in percent, if we want to that how?? Because there’s no explicit saying whether the discount is in nominal or percent.

Discount Button

There’s also a tester that a bit bother with the placement of validation page. Why all the component is on the right not on the center. But it is a way to preserve consistency in all page. If you observe the order list page in dashboard has button and action button in the right of the component. So it is a way to preserve the consistency.

There’s also a bit problem in the placement of method payment. Then same as the discount button, there’s ambiguity in the button pad.

Moodah POS transaction validation page

Last but not least is, the Edit something in a component that we make. Before we can use a POS we first need to make the configuration of the Point of Sales First. After we make the new list will be available in the page. To edit it we need to go and click the specific list that the configuration we want to change, all of the tester can do this easily but it need to be considered that maybe not all of people aware of this. So it is better to add iconlogo to know that the list can be modified.

Moodah POS Configuration Page

The problem with usability testing

Usability testing provides many benefits, but the testing is not 100% representative of the real life scenario and can be biased, there are many can be many unexpected cases with real life scenario and it couldn’t be known until it have happen. Usability testing is mainly qualitative, so does not provide the large samples of feedback that a questionnaire might, but the feedback can be far more accurate and insightful.

This is it all, Thanks for Reading, I hope my experience may help you all.

Moodah POS

IT Project 2019 Group 2

Zerlinda

Written by

Zerlinda

Moodah POS

IT Project 2019 Group 2

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