How to Conduct Usability Testing:

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How to Conduct Usability Testing

• In 9 Easy Steps

By Jennifer L. Bowie
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What is Usability?

• A function of particular users performing
  particular tasks in a particular environment
  (Smith et al. 68)
• The people who use the product can do so quickly
  and easily to accomplish their own tasks (Dumas
  and Redish 4)
• User-centered design, not user-friendly

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What is Usability Testing?

• An empirical study of a products usability by
  observing actual users do real tasks with the
  product
• Involves
• Real users
• Real tasks
• Specific usability goals/concerns
• Observing and recording the testing
• Data analysis

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Step 1 Analyze your Actual Users Choose
Profiles

• Who are your actual users? You may need to break
  your users into typical user categories.
  Consider
• Demographics of your users (age, sex, race,
  education level, cultural background,
  socioeconomic status,)? Will these differences
  impact use?
• Experience level (with the product, with products
  of the same genre, with required technology,...)?
• Other things motivation, learning style, subject
  matter knowledge, location of use, physical
  characteristics, people with disabilities or
  impairments (from color blindness and learning
  disabilities to more severe disabilities),

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Step 1 Analyze your Actual Users Choose
Profiles con.

• Create user profiles
• Break users into clear subgroups
• Profile/Define the characteristics of each
  subgroup
• Choose user profiles to test
• Ideally users from all major profiles will be
  tested
• If limited testing Choose profiles based on
  highest number of users in that profile or
  profiles that you think may have the greatest
  usability issues

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Step 2 Select Test Points

• What is your objective? What test points get you
  there?
• Test Task/Procedure- look for tasks with a high
  chance or high cost of user failure
• Test Terminology- consider level of user
• Test your document design strategies- consider
  cueing patterns, heading/layout, navigation,
  extraordinary features, how text and visuals
  relate...

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Step 3 Choose Type of Test

• Task (can-they-do-it) Requires users to perform
  a procedure
• Terminology (can-they-understand-it) Requires
  users to provide a summary of what they have read
  or definitions of key terms
• Document Design (can-they-find-it) Requires
  users to use mocked-up portions of the manual to
  find information on key topics

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Step 4 Set Performance Objectives

• Consider how you will come up with your data
• Time related time taken to perform procedure or
  find a topic
• Error related number of errors made during a
  procedure, number of time passage re-read, number
  of tries
• Objectives should be task individualized

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Step 5 Select your Users

• Actual users always best
• Similar users not as best, may have to find ways
  to make them more even with a actual testers
  (give them more information, have them pretend
  they know less)
• Non-Similar users very different and the worse
  types. May have to do a lot of work to make them
  more appropriate

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Step 6 Create Test Plan

• Create a written plan for the testing
• Choose order of tasks start easy
• Create written test materials
• Task list for users
• Written welcome speech/Intro to be read to user
• Consent forms
• Observation forms
• Pre-task and post task questionnaires interview
  questions
• Other materials
• Define team members roles
• Facilitator/Briefer (necessary) Often only team
  member to interact with users
• Observation recorder/note taker (necessary)
• Camera operator (optional)
• Help desk operator (optional)
• Test administer (optional)
• Create a script/plan for the actual test

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Steps 7-9 Work your Data

• Record Information Accurately timing, copious
  notes, possible recordings
• Interpret the Data
• Calculate data
• Analyze the data
• Determine cause of problems
• Determine scope/severity of problems
• Determine what needs to be fixed/changed
• Incorporate the feedback into the Design

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Good Luck Have Fun!
Where to find out more Barnum Usability Testing
and Research Barker Writing Software
Documentation, Chapter 6 Conducting Usability
Tests Hom General Concepts of Usability
Testing http//jthom.best.vwh.net/usability/gener
al.htm