Unobtrusive Usability Testing: Creating Measurable Goals to Evaluate a Website
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Transcript of Unobtrusive Usability Testing: Creating Measurable Goals to Evaluate a Website
The Unobtrusive “Usability Test”: Creating Measurable Goals to Evaluate a Website
Tabatha FarneyWeb Services LibrarianUniversity of Colorado Colorado SpringsPaper at: http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2013/papers/Farney_Unobtrusive.pdf Presented at the 2013 ACRL
Conference.
Usability is a constant process
How can we keep up with the pace of changing library users?
What is Web Analytics?
The process of collecting, reporting, and analyzing website usage data to reveal how users are actually interacting with a website in order to make improvements.
Common Web Analytics Metrics
Basic Usage Engagement Goals
Visits Visitors Page Views
Duration of Visit Page Depth Bounce Rate
Conversions
…and the list goes on…
All that data is gather seamlessly into a web analytics tool without
bothering the end user.
Usability Testing Web Analytics
“Validation” Testing
+
=
Validation testing takes place after the website is finished and evaluates that the site meets its desired goals based on set benchmarks.
Requires a large group of users and simple usability benchmarks.
Applying Web Analytics to Usability Testing
Usability Process*
Applying WA
1. Understand test’s purpose and goals Unchanged
2. Determine the research questions Unchanged
3. ID a target audience Website users (can further segment this group)
4. Select the tasksTasks must be measurable in website use data.
5. Define the usability metrics and reports
Select the web analytics metrics and reports.
6. Report the findings Unchanged* Modified from Rubin and Chisnell (2008).
Metric: Page Views
Report: Reverse Goal Path
Metric: Average Time on Site (average); Visit Duration (mean)
Report: Audience Overview; Audience Engagement
Metric:
Report: Goal w/ custom segment
Task 1: Find a research database within four web pages of the visit.
Identifying Usability Metrics
Metric: Conversion
Report: Goal w/ custom segment
Task Completion Success Rate
Successful ConversionsTotal Conversions
Common Pathways
Time to Complete Task
Example ReportSample report in Google
Analytics
ReportingSeptember – November 2012
Task 1Total Conversions 10154 Total Successes 6778 Total Failures 3376 Success Rate 66.84% Average Time on Site 0:09:40Visit Duration 0-10 seconds 2187 11-30 seconds 2132 31-60 seconds 798 61-180 seconds 1153 181-600 seconds 1343 601-1800 seconds 1587 1801+ seconds 954
Any success under 65% triggers the error analysis process.
Drawbacks
Error analysis is a long process
Inability to track individual users
Only data from website users
Data focuses on actions, not motivations
Drawbacks & Benefits
Benefits
Easy to regularly assess website usage
Simple to implement Many WA tools have
automatic export
Can be combined with other usability efforts
Many libraries already use a WA tool
Keep test goals and
tasks manageable.
Invest in error analysis and
reporting steps.
Reuse previous
usability tests to guide goal/task creation.
Test the test.
Recommendations for You
Summary• Apply the structure of
usability testing to your website use data
• Make your tasks measurable using website use data
• Be prepared to report the data regularly
• Error analysis is an essential process
• Make changes based on the data and test again!
Images Used
“Students Moving through HUB,” pennstatenews, Flickr, http://
www.flickr.com/photos/pennstatelive/4950729405 (slide 2).
“Web Analytics Framework,” Beantin webbkommunikation,
Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/beantin/7649183772/
(slide 3).
“Peanut Butter,” sparktography, Flickr,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparktography/410446108/ (slide
6).
“Kshocolat Dark Chocolate Bar,” Boz Bros, Flickr,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparktography/410446108/ (slide
6).
“Giant Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup,” camknows, Flickr,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camknows/8265569228/ (slide
6).
“Labs are Full!” clemsonunivlibrary, Flickr,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clemsonunivlibrary/6096116865/
(slide 7).
“Thumbs Up,” P1r, Flickr,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/p1r/4730426448/ (slide 14).
ResourcesCitations for Slides
Barnum, Carol M. Usability Testing Essentials: Ready, Set—Test! Boston: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2011.
Farney, Tabatha and Nina McHale. Web Analytics Strategies for Information Professionals: A LITA Guide. Chicago: ALA TechSource, 2013.
Nielsen, Jakob and Hoa Loranger. Prioritizing Web Usability. Berkeley: New Riders, 2006.
Rubin, Jeffrey and Dana Chisnell. Handbook of Usability Testing: How to Plan, Design, and Conduct Effective Tests, 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2008.
Tullis, Tom and Bill Albert. Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics. Boston: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2008.
Turner, Steven J. “Demonstrating Success: Web Analytics and Continuous Improvement.” Journal of Web Librarianship 6, no.1 (2012): 45-55.