Testing Your User Experience for Usability

NERDERY WEBINAR

TESTING YOUR USER EXPERIENCE FOR USABILITY

#NERDERYWEBINAR @THE_NERDERY

YOUR HOSTS

Ryan CarlsonDave JonesChristopher StephanPrincipal UX Designer Technology Evangelist

@christephan @ryancarlson@Dave_L_Jones

David RosenU of M Usability Lab

@DRosen_UX

Senior UX Designer


OVERVIEW1

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What usability is and why it matters

How to know if your project needs testing, and when to test it

What usability can do for your ROI

The inherent risks of going untested

Next steps5


WHAT USABILITY IS AND WHY IT MATTERS

CHAPTER 1 OF 5


WHAT USABILITY IS

A BRIEF HISTORY YOU’LL KNOW IT BY ITS ABSENCE

WHAT USABILITY IS. WHAT USABILITY IS NOT.


A BRIEF HISTORY


HOW USABILITY GOT HERE1st Century BC Vitruvius' Principles of Design

1910–1960 Time and motion

studies

1955 Fitts’ Law

1960–1980 Methods and protocols

develop

1988 “Design of

Everyday Things”

1990–2000 An ISO standard

2000 “Don't Make Me Think”

1980–1990 Computers become

widespread

2000–Today UX emerges

1990 “Heuristic

Evaluation of User Interfaces”


YOU’LL KNOW IT BY IT’S ABSENCE



YOU NOTICE THE LACK OF USABILITY WHEN... ¼ Things don’t work as you expected ¼ Tasks require repetitive effort ¼ Your effort seems lost or wasted ¼ It’s impossible to tell if you’re done


SO WHAT IS AND ISN’T USABILITY?



WHAT IS USABILITY?

Usability captures the feedback of users

Usability focuses on the user’s ability to comprehend and utilize the product

Usability tests the product, not the user


PRAGMATIC DEFINITIONS

Restricted to formal lab settings

Judgmental of user ability

A barometer for user aesthetics

A referendum on designer skill

A license not to fix things

Flexible in setting and format

User inclusive and user centered

A method that evaluates design

A tool for improving design

A test of assumptions, approaches and executions

USABILITY IS… USABILITY IS NOT…


HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR PROJECT NEEDS TESTING, AND WHEN TO TEST IT

CHAPTER 2 OF 5


SHOULD I TEST? WHEN DO I TEST?

How to spot a project that needs testing

Always make room for testing

Five places in the project lifecycle to do some testing


JUDGING THE NEED FOR USABILITY TESTING

NOVELTY & COMPLEXITYThe more you have of each, the more you need to test.


ALWAYS MAKE ROOM FOR SOME TESTING


WHEN YOU TREAT USABILITY AS...

Assumptions go unnoticed

Unplanned rework raises costs

Timelines break in QA at latest

Launch quality is a gamble

Assumptions are mitigated

Efforts are scaled and budgeted

Timelines remain stable

Output quality increases

AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE PROCESS AN OPTIONAL ADD-ON


FIVE POINTS WHERE YOU SHOULD TEST


GOOD TIMES TO TEST

Articulated Prototype

Pre-testing Concept

1 2 3 4 5

Developed Prototype

Post-Launch

Discovery Visualization Development QA Launch

TEST EARLY, TEST OFTEN.


WHAT USABILITY CAN DO FOR YOUR ROI

CHAPTER 3 OF 5


Increased project stability, and space to

handle “surprises”

Higher product quality, credibility,

and user trust

Deeper connections to user needs that

drive success

USABILITY CAN INCREASE YOUR ROI


NO SURPRISES FOR YOU

® Big Picture Scrapbooking


TIME TO LEARN & ADAPT¼ Problems are discovered

¼ The schedule stays intact

¼ The budget does not increase

¼ What you find gets fixed


QUALITY PRODUCTS AND GOOD RESULTS ¼ Appreciation from users/customers ¼ Respect in the industry ¼ Trust in new products and ventures ¼ Increased sales and retention


DEEPER CONNECTIONS WITH USERS


USERS RESPOND WELL TO BEING SERVED WELL ¼ Know them well to serve them well ¼ Deliver products that meet their needs ¼ A well-served user is a loyal user ¼ Satisfied customers share the joy


THE INHERENT RISKS OF GOING UNTESTED

CHAPTER 4 OF 5


THE RISKS OF GOING UNTESTED

Tales of horror, woe, and unrecoverable loss

Quantifiable losses: the wounds you can see

Intangible losses: the awkwardness of

public failure


HORROR STORIES

® Big Picture Scrapbooking


TOO LATE TO TEST

Articulated Prototype

Pre-testing Concept Developed Prototype

Post-Launch

Discovery Visualization Development QA Launch

NO TIME. NO BUDGET. NO OPTIONS.


QUANTIFIABLE LOSSES

® Tannoy


FUN WAYS TO FAIL

FEATURES UNUSABLE

TIMELINE EXTENDED OR MISSED

BUDGET EXCEEDED

And you don’t have to choose just one.


INTANGIBLE LOSSES


SO MANY FUN WAYS TO FAIL

The worst negative feedback is often no feedback at all.

Opportunity pool is

constrained

Users view all of your products

negatively

Credibility takes work to rebuild

Business community sees you as a poor risk


NEXT STEPS

CHAPTER 5 OF 5


GETTING STARTED WITH USABILITY

Ask not “should we test”Ask instead “what we test”

Test early, test iteratively,test often

Use testing purposefully to remove uncertainties and risks


RULE TESTING OUT, NOT IN


KNOW YOUR TESTING BURDEN

Look for things that will benefit from user insight

Plan testing to support the project’s progress

Allow time to use what you learn in testing


TEST EARLY, TEST OFTEN


TEST ITERATIVELY FOR BEST RESULTS

Make a thing to test

Adjust and repeat

(as needed)

Test it


TEST TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND ANSWER QUESTIONS


Test the assumptions, test the concept, test the design, test the code. You should always question everything.

“

UNCERTAINTY = RISK


WRAP UP1

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3

4

What usability is and why it matters

How to know if your project needs testing, and when to test it

What usability can do for your ROI

The inherent risks of going untested

Next steps: Get out there and test your stuff5

Testing Your User Experience for Usability

Technology

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