How we created a professional usability testing lab in a day
Professional usability testing is often associated with a full-blown lab, a two-way mirror, fancy device mountings and multiple monitoring screens capturing every word and nuance of a respondent’s behaviour. It is definitely a huge advantage to be able to access this kind of a facility anytime a need for user testing comes up.
The challenge
But of course, it is not always the case that usability testing is planned ahead in full detail. One situation I have recently had like that was during workshops with a client. The goal of the workshops was to refine the final feature set for a mobile application, which would act as a supporting platform for an already existing, quite complex web application. Testing the mobile app prototype with users seemed like a perfect opportunity to validate the idea we would come up with during the workshops.
Figuring out the approach
We knew we had a few respondents coming in for the final day of the workshops. What we did not know, but worked out during the first few days of the workshops was that the client would be thrilled to see for themselves how real users interacted with the initial prototype of their product.
What we did not want to do though was to place the respondents in front of a committee observing their each and every move. It would have for sure put way too much pressure on them and most likely distorted the results of the study. But we definitely wanted to pamper our client and let them see the magic behind the curtains.
Mocking up a lab
Needless to say, we did not have a professional usability testing lab at hand. We had to think of a solution that could be set up in a very short amount of time and would still be effective and most importantly, glitch-proof. We decided to go with the tools we use everyday and mix them up a little bit to reach the solution we were aiming for.
Rolling up our sleeves
As the prototype we were going to test was of a mobile application, we needed to record the screen of a smartphone, and at the same time cast it on a laptop screen. To do that we chose a standard recording software built into the computer by connecting the phone to the laptop with a cable and selecting the right source settings.
Why did we want the smartphone screen to be visible on the laptop screen? Because we wanted to do some live streaming to another room so that the client could see exactly what was going on. We did that by connecting with the client’s team via a popular online conferencing software and sharing the screen — with the mobile view on it — so that everyone could see, which screen of the mobile app was being discussed. The team in the control room cast their screen on a TV as well, so that everyone could sit comfortably in their chairs and watch the show.
Apart from that, we also thought it would be nice to have a full recording of the session, including the way the respondents hold the smartphone and which parts of the screen they tap and swipe with their fingers. To have it covered, we used a camera on a tripod. The recordings were obviously a life-saver in the data analysis phase, too.
A glitch-free run
It all turned out really nice and smooth. We did not experience any glitches or problems during our sessions, as we only chose familiar tools that we use on a daily basis in our work as designers. In total, we employed:
- 1 smartphone;
- 2 laptops;
- 1 camera;
- a TV.
The “lab” really did look professional and made a great impression on the client. Could it have been done another way? Most definitely — yes. It would have probably been easier and require less creative technological effort had we used a dedicated lab, but it proved to be as effective. So cheer up, get creative and remember that usability testing can be easy, fun and experimental even if you do not have a fancy lab at your disposal. If you want to know more about the technicalities of this endeavour, feel free to get in touch.
A big kudos to Wojciech Wasilewski for huge help with this endeavour.
