Usability Testing Notes in Singapore
In my daily working, I always have to contact with colleagues responsible for user research and make notes of my understanding of usability testing, A/B testing, objective experience. Now I fragment them.
What is usability testing
Usability testing is one of UX research methods. Personal understanding, usability testing islet target users use the prototype made at the lowest cost in simulated scenarios, finish testing tasks, and observe and find some issues in using context, or verify the expected questions.
The advantage of usability testing
Usability testing is quick, cost-effective, and doesn’t need to be done in the development testing process, just through simple prototype you can verify the product design. If the product has been developed in shape, it is obvious that grey scale, A/B test, data analysis and other methods would be more fit the requirements.
When to use usability testing
Usability testing must be used before the product is launched, generally speaking, usability testing is mainly applied in three situations:
- No experience before this certain function design, the interaction designer and PM are not very confident, and there is no ready-made similar product for reference, are not clear whether there are challenges in real use ahead.
- Several design features all have obvious drawbacks, can’t judge which one is better.
- There are disagreements in the team, using objective testing results can convince team members to accept the design.
The first two points are the main scenes of usability testing if your design is in the first two cases, why not hesitate?
The third one seems obviously the most clumsy, but in many teams is precisely the most appearing. Now usability testing is gaining more and more attention, it can be said is more and more abuse. It is because of usability testing, A/B testing, data analysis… these so-called objective methodologies are the best persuasion tools that team members are more likely to believe rather than someone.
In my opinion, the important value of product and interaction is to use them self-experience to do judgement of requirements and design programs. So when the individual considers the design advantage and disadvantage clearly, we must take the initiative to fight PK out of these questions from the team. Personal persuasion and team influence are very important capabilities, with such an opportunity, we must persuade members through explanation.
If some of the team members barely accept your design, make sure to synchronize and present the data performance, Whether your design meets the original expectation, this is a respect to each other, and will get more trust in the subsequent collaboration.
Usability testing precautions
1.Unique of testing task
Be sure there is only one goal in every usability testing task, don’t add other tasks. Don’t expect to achieve two goals in one task flow.
For experience, if the goal of the testing task is not unique, the testing would be often affected by other factors to interfere with testing results. What’s more, for testers, it is not convenient to record feedbacks.
2.The descriptions of the testing task need to be tactful
The descriptions of testing task areas mildly and scenario oriented as possible. Allow the user to understand your task descriptions, not the mechanical operation.
3.Selection of interviewee and place
Your choice of expensive rather than more. Wish to find a small number of real target users, without having to pursue the number of users. If only the pursuit of quantity, but to test a lot of unrealistic information, the final output of the conclusion.
The test site selection must be the same as the real scene with the product, such as test input method of one-hand mode function, must not only force their own one-hand use large-screen mobile phone in the office to test, but need to enter the real scene In, for example: standing on a crowded bus, one hand holding the handle, one hand holding a cell phone to complete the test mission.
4.Mind the communication details in testing
Users in the process of testing, we will communicate with testers. Before the test starts, testers can chat with the interviewees and reconcile the test atmosphere, so as to facilitate the tester to remove the defence mechanism and further facilitate the user to enter the real usage state.
In the testing process, testers should try to play the role of NPC, step by step to promote the testing process, silently observe next to record the user’s use of the details, talk less about some of the preferences of the problem.
For example, the words “Why don’t you click this button because the colour is inconspicuous?” “If this feature is placed in front of the entrance, you are not easy to find” … … in the testing process must not appear. If necessary, be sure to consult with the user, or through a prepared questionnaire, after the test is completed.
At the same time, users in the task of the testing process, if encountered operational difficulties, you can comfort more to encourage users, rather than directly to the user-oriented guidance. These actions can interfere with the true results of the test.
5.Mind the operation feedbacks of users
In the testing process, pay more attention to the user’s actual operational feedback, rather than listening to what the user is saying. Due to user psychological protection mechanism cause trouble, what he said is not reliable. His unconscious feedback during operation and operation cannot hide from fraud. In the testing process is mainly to observe the user’s operational feedback, rather than being fooled by his speech.
If conditions permit, the entire process of testing can be multi-bit video recording. For example, the phone side of the app test can have two seats, a machine record the user’s hand operation screen, a seat record of the user’s front body and facial expression feedback, it is more convenient for later analysis.
6.Don’t be arrested in the form
Usability testing does not need to be so formalistic each time, in the formal process. Sometimes in the absence of a designated target user, easily take the competitive products and their products have a different design of the small features of the bus next to ask buddy, ask friends at the party, so you can achieve the test purpose.
The form of usability testing is flexible, and the result-oriented nature is also clear. Nothing more than to make products and interactants do tangle in their own inherent circle of thinking, more attention should be paid to the use of real user feedback.
So often after the usability test, you found that tangled places of the team tangled to the real user is simply do not care, or did not notice.
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