6 TIPS FOR USABILITY TESTING

1. Write a scriptHaving a script is handy to maintain consistency between interviews, and to help other members of your team follow along. It also allows you to build in unbiased questions at every step. I recommend printing out the script as a prompt and highlighting your questions so you hit the same key points with every user testing.
   *Don’t forget to ask permission to record the interview and share it with your team—I built this question into my script so I wouldn’t forget.
2. Divide & conquer with emails Your teammates can help when it comes to randomly selecting users and editing your email template, and even better if you can get multiple members on your team to conducting interviews simultaneously. Check out the  to invite users to book slots in your calendar – it syncs with your Google calendar and updates both calendars with accurate timezones.
3. Aim for fiveIn his (highly recommended) book , Jake Knapp quotes user research expert Jakob Nielsen’s findings that “85 percent of the problems were observed after just five people.” So aim for five, and reiterate and re-test if you have time. (This golden number was also confirmed by our team’s Director of Product, UX Researchers, in a number UX Research books and articles, and in talks I recently heard at Generate Conference in London. Long story short — talk to five users!)
4. Bring a note-taker
   Invite a teammate to join the interview as the notetaker, to allow you to focus on asking questions and to watch how users interact. It’s challenging and risky to try to take notes and ask questions, and watch interactions at the same time. Side benefit: having notes taken live will save time transcribing recordings afterwords (though I’d still strongly recommend keeping a recording on file just in case you want to go back and review certain parts of the session).
5. Install all the things, and be ready to troubleshootHave Skype and Google Hangouts, or another screen-share app installed. Have a virtual phone and/or sit near a real phone just in case the audio cuts out. Also, try to become familiar with the toggles within the apps you’re using, so that you can troubleshoot live with the user to fix basic audio and screen-sharing issues of usability testing.
6. Do a dry run with coworkersWhile co-workers feedback does not count as part of your user test, doing a dry run with them can help you setup your tools, practice the flow of questions and fix minor details. This is a low-risk way of helping you look like a pro when you reach out to your real users.

USABILITY TESTING & PROTOTYPING: 2 BEST USER TESTING TOOLS

The 2 best user testing, user research and usability testing tools to help you along with your prototyping process.

Observing how real users use the system you are designing and will eventually develop is an integral step in ensuring that what you’re bringing to market fits its intended purpose. What’s more, user testing at the prototyping stage of the software development life cycle can help to avoid problems or bottle-necks in the software development process. But with so many user testing, user research and usability testing tools out there, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. Read on for a list of the best and brightest tools currently available to you in your prototyping process. Bonus: the majority are integrated with your tool！

USERZOOM

 UserZoom is a flexible and mature remote usability testing and UX research platform that includes a multitude of advanced user testing and research features and tools, including remote unmoderated testing on PCs and mobile devices.

PROs

• As a leader in usability testing, UserZoom provides you with quantative as well as qualitive data, great for uncovering trends as well as synthesizing and analyzing post test data.
• It offers the standard screen visuals and recordings and audio feedback, but also includes a video feature that allows you to observe your users’ facial expressions via webcam.
• This is a good choice of tools for those of you who are out to test multiple aspects of your product but are bound by time constraints. UserZoom also provides its customers with excellent quality controls to weed out users who are misusing tests etc.
• The support system at UserZoom is impressive, comprising of researchers who can help with coding and also provide research support.
• Can be used before your website/app goes live.
• Integrated with your Justinmind prototyping tool! You can test your prototypes directly using this tool.

CONs

• UserZoom is comparatively pricey, and the webcam feature is available exclusively to higher paid plans.
• Steep learning curve.

Cost: Pricing with UserZoom varies from customer to customer, based on specific needs. Annual licenses include training and support hours to ensure customer success and start at $25,000/yr. More info on this here.

USERTESTING

Having been around since 2008, user experience research platform  user testing is one of the more well-known tools in this list.

Image Credit: UserTesting

PROs

• Offering longitudinal studies, Usability testing is unique in that it allows the user to select the user tester demographic as well as the specific portions of your website that you actually want to test.
• The design of the tests makes it easy for users to follow, as well as jump to specific problem areas in the recording of the test.
• Can be used before your website/app goes live.
• The tool offers pre-screened and internally sourced participants, but practitioners can also invite their own testers to use the tool.
• PRO plans include dedicated project management teams for support.

CONs

• UserTesting offers compensation to testers, therefore it is important to provide non-biased tasks so ensure the quality of test results.

Cost: User research for individuals: $99 per video (Intro offer: $49 per video for your first 10 videos). PRO Subscription plans designed for teams are also offered, and pricing depends on how the plan is customized.

THE POWERFUL FIX TO THE USABILITY TESTING PROCESS

We know usability testing important and there are a  on how to organize and facilitate user testing, but how do we format it and present our findings to non-UX designers? How do we make it more efficient with a quicker turnaround time?

I ❤️ doing user testing and have completed over 50 usability tests and on the way developed a quicker, easier and more beautiful way to track and provide user testing results.

This uses the standard usability lab testing. If you are new to this concept I recommend reading  and use the below in your process.

Not interested in doing user testing yourself? 

THE PROBLEM WITH THE STANDARD USABILITY TESTING PROCESS

When I first started conducting structured usability testing I was the solo designer and very junior. I had finished my beautiful InVision prototypes and was excited to start conducting user testing for the first time. There wasn’t much documented online on how to format the information during the user test and display the results. So, I printed out one copy (of 6 sheets) for each of the 5 individual users being tested. I would start the test by having the user go through each step and would scribble my thoughts on the printed document. Afterwards, I would grab my bundle of messy printed sheets and type my findings into a separate text document for each user with their name as the title. I would take each of the typed documents and put them side by side to compare them to try and find what issue kept coming up most often. It would take me a long time to find the biggest pain point to address first. I would then provide a wordy report to the founder and developers who skimmed through it and when they asked for references on how I got to my conclusion I pointed to the ugly pile of paper on my desk.

Omfg overwhelming amount of papers and RIP trees.

THE PROBLEM WITH RECEIVING USER TEST RESULTS

I once worked on a project for a charity app. There were UX Researchers already working on the project that provided me with the results of the first round of user testing. They gave me a separate typed 4-page document for each of the 5 testers that listed all the issues but not which were the most important. I had to once again compare each document for each of the users side by side to prioritize the issues based on how many users had trouble with the same thing. I would then have to refer back to the taped video to understand what part of the app they were having troubles with and what step they were on when they had problems.

Old way — Here’s an example of comparing three of the tests.

After I did my analysis I provided the proposed design changes to the client, my boss and developers. When asked how I came to these conclusions, I could explain my reasoning but wasn’t able to display the data in a simple format to back up my informed decisions.

These processes were time-consuming, disorganized, unsustainable and had a slow turnaround time.

Usability testing of note-taking app, Evernote.

I am one of those people who need to take down notes for everything — be it birthdays, grocery lists, return a book to a friend or a recipe I learnt from mom. That’s how I remember things! Having said that, I am a huge fan of Evernote and I take lots of notes right there. But, I just feel that when it comes to the mobile design, they’re missing out on a very important aspect.

About Evernote

(For those who haven’t tried Evernote)

Evernote is a note-taking application that allows users to create notebooks, take notes (text or image) within each notebook and share individual notes/ entire notebook of usability testing.

Objective of the usability test

To identify the challenges a user faces in creating a note in a new notebook and how an upfront option of creating a new notebook works opposite to that.

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Existing Flow in Evernote :

For those who do not use Evernote quite regularly, here’s the existing process of “creating a note in a new notebook” in Evernote -

When the application is opened, new users are, by default, taken to a screen with a blank note that has already been placed in an existing Notebook called “My First Notebook.”

Default notebook — “My First Notebook”

Now, to create a new notebook (/new folder) this is what a user has to do ideally -

My hypothesis about the problem — Now, here I believe that the bigger problem is not that the “Notebooks” option is hidden behind a hamburger. The bigger problem I feel is the visual hierarchy of the interface. It is difficult for the user to understand that he/she is in a default notebook (/folder) “My First Notebook” and he/she has to exit this notepad to create a new one.

I go on to test my hypothesis.

(Entry point of user to the app and the path to be taken to complete the task)

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User Research

User persona

Prior to conducting usability tests, I developed a user testing persona to better understand the target users of Evernote’s android app. This process helped me get into the mindset of the users, thinking in terms of their contexts, needs, and goals.

So meet Kim!

User persona — Evernote app

Users in the test

A total of 12 tech savvy participants with experience on other note taking apps were tested. Participants were selected through sampling via in-person requests and referrals.

I got this Google questionnaire filled just to understand the need of the app and the competency of the users in note taking apps.

The problem with the standard usability testing process

When I first started conducting structured usability testing I was the solo designer and very junior. I had finished my beautiful InVision prototypes and was excited to start conducting user testing for the first time. There wasn’t much documented online on how to format the information during the user test and display the results. So, I printed out one copy (of 6 sheets) for each of the 5 individual users being tested. I would start the test by having the user go through each step and would scribble my thoughts on the printed document. Afterwards, I would grab my bundle of messy printed sheets and type my findings into a separate text document for each user with their name as the title. I would take each of the typed documents and put them side by side to compare them to try and find what issue kept coming up most often. It would take me a long time to find the biggest pain point to address first. I would then provide a wordy report to the founder and developers who skimmed through it and when they asked for references on how I got to my conclusion I pointed to the ugly pile of paper on my desk for user testing.

Low cost usability testing

If you’re a designer or a developer and you've never heard of a usability  testing tool called a Heuristic Evaluation, you’re not alone. It’s not a widespread technique, and it’s certainly not something that’s discussed out of design circles. I think it should be though, and I want to make it easy for you to try it out.

A heuristic evaluation is a lightweight evaluation that allows you to identify usability issues without the involvement of users.

To conduct a Heuristic Evaluation, all you need is yourself, your website design, and two teammates who can act as independent evaluators. The three of you should walk through the website separately of user testing, and identify usability issues along the way. You do so with the help of ten heuristics developed by Jacob Nielsen (see end of article), that you should keep at your side throughout the evaluation. As you find issues, take notes, and compare notes with your teammates at the end.

It’s really that simple. And the simplicity is what makes it so valuable. Sure, there is no replacement for testing with real users, but that can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. Heuristic Evaluations provide you with a structured form of getting that quick feedback you need when money and time are precious. Rather than providing random opinions left and right, Nielsen’s ten heuristics provide a common language for you and your teammates to discuss usability issues.

How to do user testing on a budget

User testing is expensive. Designers, researchers, product managers, or developers are often tasked with user testing on limited budgets. As a designer, I’ve worked on numerous projects under similar constraints and I’d like to share some tips and tricks I’ve learned throughout the years.

Though I’ll focus on testing methods for digital products, the general concepts can apply towards services or physical products. The goal is to show ideas to users early to evaluate, iterate, and validate assumptions.

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What is user testing?

User testing, also known as usability testing, is a process that identifies product issues by testing it with real users. User testing has roots dating back to World War II where testing was used to improve military equipment.

Steve Krug’s  further popularized user testing across the industry. Nowadays usability methods have been made available beyond the traditional confines of military, academia, and corporate R&D labs. If you’re interested in the history of user testing, check out .

Why do you need to do user testing?

Its a lot cheaper to catch potential problems early within the product development life cycle. Tech companies typically follow an agile workflow that looks something like this:

This graph represents how projects are passed through teams across the company. Product Managers start by defining product requirements that are passed along to the UX team. After finalizing design, the product moves through Development, QA, UAT, and Release Engineering. This cycle repeats itself in an iterative manner until the final product is complete.

Designers who rely on intuition and assumptions alone must wait until the release of each cycle to gauge feedback, potentially wasting a lot of resources. Reversing the damages of poor user experience is an expensive and arduous process. Once layout and patterns are established, designers must thoroughly capture evidence of poor usability and convince others to implement new patterns.

“If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design” — Ralf Speth

User testing was developed as a quick and inexpensive solution to mitigate some of these risks. You can validate assumptions, steer product and design direction more confidently, and uncover hidden issues using actual user feedback. With that said, user testing has limitations due to the artificial testing environment and small sample of users. It will never substitute feedback from released products where mass users are engaged with real data.