A comprehensive guide to Usability Testing
Would you buy a car that didn’t pass all the safety and quality tests before it hit the market? I bet you wouldn’t! No design is foolproof; that’s why testing is so important for engineers and designers.
Just like physical products, digital products need to be tested multiple times to become a product that hits the nail in the market and, if done correctly, can increase your success rate.
But what is usability testing in UX, and why do designers conduct it? 👩🏽💻
Usability testing is a study that evaluates a product with target users; through a list of scenarios, users are instructed to complete tasks while designers observe their interaction in real-time.
Testing allows us to understand how good or bad our designs are and if the user quickly understands the interface to complete each assignment without feeling fed up.
This type of study helps us identify:
· Existing confusion or pain points around the product.
· The ease of navigation.
· How fast the user can complete assigned tasks.
· If the product adds value to the user.
And when is the best opportunity to run usability testing? The answer is every time! You might think validation should happen when the product is close to launching, but, in my personal experience, the sooner you test and fail, the quicker you can iterate. Even the best UX designer needs iterative design, and you will find that validation studies at different stages of the development process lead to the best results.
Each usability test is unique, depending on your project goals, requirements, and budget is how you will shape it. However, we want to share a quick guide with critical points to help you define your testing.
Step-by-step guidelines for definition and planning 💻
Planning is the most crucial part of the study since it is where all the procedural work is; crafting an excellent step-by-step plan is what makes usability testing successful research. It’s essential to take care of every single step, so take note of this one!
1. Create a space to keep documentation
When conducting usability testing, it is essential to document the process from the beginning. Use a tool like Miro or Mural to track your progress and share it with your team so they can see your plan and help you if needed.
2. Define the scope of the study
Establish the main goals you want to achieve with this study. Ask yourself: What’s the result we want to get? What is the thing we want to know about our users?
Think about the product or service you want to test, and on what specific aspect will you focus (is it a feature, the menu, the navigation)?
3. Establish scenarios and tasks
When formulating tasks, you need to think about real-life scenarios. Provide context to the user and keep the scenarios realistic and easy to understand.
Your tasks need to have a goal and can be very specific or open-ended; remember that the assignments should tell the participants what they must do but cannot tell where they should look for it or where to click.
The task wording is significant because, when done incorrectly, this can bias or lead the user to the answer (don’t use the same language that you have in your product, for example, if you are validating the search filters for a food delivery app, in your scenario or task, don’t use the exact words that you have in your filter).
The number of task scenarios to define is up to you, but a good recommendation is at least 3 per study to get the most out of each session.
4. Define the data you will collect
You need to define the success criteria and the type of data you will collect. Are you collecting qualitative or quantitative information?
My take on this one is to manage both so you can have a broader vision of your product; qualitative data gives you insights and findings, and quantitative information covers completion, error, time to success, and satisfaction levels.
If you are unsure or don’t know what type of data you should cover, follow Nielsen and Norman’s articles to get a better sense.
5. Are you going Guerrilla, online or in-person?
The format and method are essential things to consider; depending on your budget and time, this may be constrained, so let’s have a quick recap on three primary and most used formats:
· Guerrilla testing: this type is more budget-friendly and less time-consuming. It involves approaching people in public areas (like cafes) to conduct usability testing. You avoid tasks like recruiting, which is a cost-benefit for your team.
This is a great shortcut; the only constraint is that you might have dirty data; since you don’t know if the person you are approaching has the same characteristics as your ideal Persona, you might get poor or irrelevant data.
· Remote: during the pandemic, this method became widely used, consisting of meeting the users in a remote meeting platform. All sessions are recorded, and the facilitator must lead the session.
For this one, you will have to recruit people and consider a couple of things: incentives to the person; if the user doesn’t have the program or a particular app you need to facilitate the session, you will have to give instructions to get the application before the study, etc.
If you are doing Remote (moderated or unmoderated), we have great alternatives that can help you run usability testing. Two of them are UserTesting.com and UserLytics.com.
· In-person: this one is like the remote version but in person. Since you meet the user in person, this requires more cost and incentives for the user for their time.
6. Write your script
The script is the document where you write everything you need to present and give order to the plan you already have. Write everything you need to remember so you will have some guidance, even if you are nervous!
Some points to consider in your script are:
· An Introduction (about yourself, the notetaker, the study goal, and the product you are validating).
· Make the user feel comfortable: during a usability study, users might be nervous or even feel like you are testing them. Try to build rapport from the start and always make it clear that you are testing the product, not them.
· Schedule your tasks (include all the functions, arrange them by order, and define the time that should be taken for each one).
· Questions you want to ask (these can be preliminary questions for the user or about the product being validated).
· A closure message to wrap up the session and thank the user.
Tips for better usability sessions ✍🏻
Define clear roles: Assign a facilitator and a notetaker for the study. Those two roles must be performed by separate individuals (note taking and facilitating simultaneously is difficult).
Always ask for consent: recording is a good practice you must do in each session, even if you have a notetaker (sometimes we miss details), so always ask the interviewee before recording anything.
Dry run: Planning is different than performing; if it’s your first time doing a test, run a pilot test with someone outside your team. They can provide feedback on how they felt during the session, allowing you to refine details before meeting with potential customers.
Reminders: If you are scheduling sessions (in-person or online), send reminders to your participants days before, so they don’t forget to attend and attach the directions or link to access the session.
Review everything: Ensure you have everything in order before the session, including the recording devices, the prototype, and all the artifacts you will need to conduct the study.
These are a few tips and little guidance about conducting usability testing; remember that practice makes you a skilled master, so good luck! 🙌🏻✨
