www.userworks.com(301) 431-0500

Kristen Davis & Dana Douglas

User Focus 2012October 19, 2012

The Note-Taker's Perspective The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability Testing: During Usability Testing:

Recognizing What's Important, What's Recognizing What's Important, What's NotNot

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Note-Taking MisconceptionsNote-Taking Misconceptions

No preparation neededTake the notes, then figure out how to analyze and

summarize the dataAnyone can do itAttention to detail, fast typing are the key skillsA one-size-fits-all approach will work for all

practitioners and for all products under evaluation

2

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Why is Effective Note-Taking Why is Effective Note-Taking Important?Important?To improve the data analysis process by:• Capturing the appropriate data the first time

• Making analysis more efficient

• Increasing accuracy

• Identifying trends easily

3

Exercise 1: Taking NotesExercise 1: Taking Notes

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

ExerciseExercise

Record your observations as you watch this video clip

5

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

How Did You Do?How Did You Do?

Did you capture the key findings?Did you miss anything?

6

Exercise 2: Know the StudyExercise 2: Know the Study

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Practice ExercisePractice Exercise

Product: NIHSeniorHealth.gov websiteParticipant: Seniors who look for health information

onlineTask: Locate a specific piece of informationStudy Goals: • What navigation path do participants use when looking for specific

pieces of information?

• Do participants notice and use the pagination?

• Does the visual design treatment used in the left hand navigation clearly indicate the user’s location within a specific health topic?

Task Goals:• Are participants able to locate information on the 2nd page?

• Are the left hand navigation labels clear?

8

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

ExerciseExercise

Record your observations while watching this video clip

9

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

How Did You Do?How Did You Do?

Did you capture the key findings?Did you miss anything? Did you note:• If the participant noticed and used the pagination?

• If the participant was able to locate information on the 2nd page?

10

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Lessons Learned: Understand the Lessons Learned: Understand the GoalsGoalsGoals should be set prior to data collection in

order to:• Record appropriate data • Target the type of data that will be useful when reporting the

findings

11

Exercise 3: Know the Exercise 3: Know the MetricsMetrics

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Practice ExercisePractice Exercise

Product: Blood glucose meterParticipant: Person with diabetes who uses a meterTask: Change default settings in the meterRating scale for scoring task completion: • Completed with ease: Participant easily completed the task

• Completed with minor difficulty: Participant somewhat struggled to complete the task (e.g., attempted more than two paths)

• Completed with major difficulty: Participant significantly struggled to complete the task (e.g., attempted numerous paths and/or used customer service)

• Failed to complete: Participant was unable to complete the task

13

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

ExerciseExercise

Record your observations while watching this video clip

14

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

How Did You Do?How Did You Do?

What score did you give the participant? • Completed with ease: Participant easily completed the task

• Completed with minor difficulty: Participant somewhat struggled to complete the task (e.g., attempted more than two paths)

• Completed with major difficulty: Participant significantly struggled to complete the task (e.g., attempted numerous paths and/or used customer service)

• Failed to complete: Participant was unable to complete the task

15

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Lessons Learned: Lessons Learned: Define MetricsDefine Metrics

Defining the task completion rating scale prior to data collection allows: • Data to become less subjective

• Note-taker to record the scores in a systematic and consistent way

Some additional metrics: • Clickpath

• Time on task

• Shorthand codes Example: Number of times a participant clicked the

pagination

16

SummarySummary

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Keys to Success Keys to Success

Both moderator and note-taker need to know the product and the issues of interest

Be thoroughly familiar with whatever tool you are using

Plan for categorization and data analysis before data collection

Don’t try to capture comments verbatim; interpret what is noteworthy as you go

18

The Note-Taker's Perspective During Usability TestingUser Focus 2012Kristen Davis and Dana Douglas- UserWorks, Inc.

Questions/Comments?Questions/Comments?

Kristen DavisUserWorks, Inc.

User Experience Specialist/ Note-Taker Extraordinaire

kdavis@userworks.com

19

Dana DouglasUserWorks, Inc.

User Experience Specialist

ddouglas@userworks.com

www.userworks.com(301) 431-0500