How to Do Usability Testing for Product Manager in Singapore
Usability testing is a type of user research that finds some usability issues before a product goes live, avoiding any detours in product design, so how do we do usability testing?
What is Usability Testing?
Ford discovered a car after discovering that a user wanted to reach a place faster, but he did not know how good his car design was and invited a few people to test drive. The test driver was in test drive constantly give him advice, the seat is too high, to facilitate the disk too deadly… This process is the usability test.
Invite a group of authentic representative users to target products for typical scenarios and encourage them to think aloud while attempting to do their job, and availability staff observes, listens, and records to find out availability issues in the product. It is adapted to all stages of pre-product design and development, mid-term improvement and subsequent maintenance and improvement, and is an important embodiment of user-centred design thinking.
The specific concepts of usability testing include observations, interviews, and vocalizations.
Observation: Let a group of representative users typical operation of the product, while observers observe, listen, the record. The starting position of the action, the degree of smoothness of the operation, changes in facial expressions …
Interview: Sometimes we observe the user and may not be able to understand the user’s problem. At this time, we can ask the user’s opinion through the form of an interview, for example: “What is the problem with you? What is the problem here? Feel how? “Do not ask the user how do you think the design will be better? … This problem, do not let users give you solutions, the user is not a product manager.
Voice: to encourage users to tell the feelings of using the product process, allowing users to talk about the problems encountered and pain point, the process of voicing is a communication process of thinking.
Here are a few key words: “a group of representative users, observation and listening, recording, interviews, voice.”
Why should we do the usability test?
Did you find that product manager for a long time, you go to other products with some of the features will be very easy to find, but your side is not to do Internet friends may not be able to easily find a function, it is because we are in this industry, The investigation of the use of Internet products, resulting in a kind of mindset, that this function should, of course, be the design, but the production staff is an expert user, the user is an ordinary user, we can not represent the idea of most ordinary users.
Such as financial products using coupons this scene, a production staff that users need a place to receive coupon yield, the results of doing usability testing, 12 users do not know how to operate 11, there is of users feel that the benefits generated by adding interest coupons directly to my account are not on the line, why did you let me go collar, many times in one fell swoop.
This is the difference, although we are users, but not representative of the real user.
Availability of several dimensions
Test object
The usability test tests that the product is not a user.
Under normal circumstances, for products with high uncertainty, you can use the prototype on paper or outlined wireframe prototype for user testing, to avoid the waste of manpower and material resources.
For basic deterministic products, which can be tested using a high-fidelity prototype with an interactive design, such usability testing covers interaction design and interface design where testing is more complete.
Such a test can not only reduce the waste of manpower, material and financial resources but also get more comprehensive test results.
Test sample
The number of samples: Many studies show that five test users will be able to find 85% availability problems, of course, more money for more flexibility, but also can find a few more.
Sample Coverage: Samples should be representative. For example, you can classify general users, habitual users, heavy users, and expert users according to users’ usage habits. Of course, the more comprehensive the classification is, the better the selected users are. Sex, measured the problem has value.
Testing time
Usability testing as early as possible, do not wait until the line was done, this time even measured the problem too late to change.
Some people think usability testing is very professional, you must have a professional laboratory, professional video equipment, professional recording equipment to do the test, in fact, these are misunderstanding, when you and your colleagues arguing how to put the button better, can not unify opinion When called a representative user to give you a decision, this is not a usability test?
Test site
Test sites are divided into laboratory tests and field tests.
Lab testing
A similar office area and a one-way glass monitor room composition, Ali has such specialized laboratories, a bit similar to the people you see the names of the people in the trial place, do not recommend laboratory design into this Because the user feels that he or she is obnoxious to be watched, and in such a cold environment, it arouses human instinctive preparedness, it is difficult to obtain the user’s inner real thoughts, and the roundtable or tea room Into the laboratory, even if you want to monitor do not use the large glass wall, so that users feel they are being monitored. At the same time, the lab must be a quiet space where the testing user can concentrate on the task’s execution.
Advantages: As the site environment is noisy, distracting users more points, laboratory tests can be done one day, field test takes two days, laboratory testing saves a lot of manpower, material and financial resources.
Disadvantages: Lab tests can not find as many problems as on-site tests. Because the user in actual use, will certainly be interrupted by sound or other factors that appear on the scene, and the laboratory environment is quiet, unable to simulate these anomalies.
Testing on the spot
In-field usability testing is rare, and most of the usability testing is done in the lab. This may be due to data gathering, such as voice-over, video recording or observation recording, which are more difficult on site.
In recent years due to the rapid development of portable video equipment in the past two years, making the field test easier, you can do some small tests in the field.
Advantages: Compared with the laboratory, field test to simulate the real user scenarios, to find more availability issues.
Disadvantages: Due to the unpredictability of the site environment, field testing is still more time-consuming than laboratory testing. Users and testers who need to test pay more efforts to spend more manpower, material and financial resources.
Finally, lab tests can reveal most of the problems, if not otherwise needed, to be lab tested.
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