Slides from my "Usability Testing How To's" workshop with Event Handler. http://www.eventhandler.co.uk/events/uxnightclass-usability2 Westminster Hub, London UK 22 January 2014 === Who is it for? This workshop is for those who want to create products that will be easy to use. Usability testing is an important part of the process of designing digital products, but it can often be overlooked due to time, money, and training constraints. In this workshop you'll learn how to test any product's usability without spending a large amount of time and money. And how to use what you've learned to improve the product. Who is it taught by? This workshop is being taught by Evgenia Grinblo @grinblo, User Experience Specialist at mobile agency, Future Workshops. Born in Siberia, Jenny freelanced and trained in ethnographic research in Israel and the USA, before bringing her talent to the UK. Her pet peeve is badly written error-messages and she has a growing collection of them. You'll find her speaking on empathy, UX, and other passions. What you'll learn An introduction to usability testing - what is it? Who should you test your product on? What do you test? How to facilitate a test and get reliable results How to manage data and act on your findings with your team Tools: Cheap, quick and effective testing tools for mobile and the web.

1. USABILITY TESTING HOW TO’s
For small teams & little budgets
Evgenia (Jenny) Grinblo
& www.eventhandler.co.uk
London, UK January 22, 2013
(This is Henrik)

2. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
2
Hello, I’m...
!
Evgenia (Jenny) Grinblo
User Experience Specialist
Future Workshops, London
!
!

3. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
3
Our usability testing story…
!
!
Easy to use
Simple
Intuitive
Clients
!
!
!
Users
“For
everyone”
“For
everyone”
!

4. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
And you…
!
Why are you here?
!
!
4

5. Workshop schedule
USABILITY TESTING
0 / Usability testing introduction
1 / What do we test: preparing a test plan
2 / Facilitating a usability test & recording results
3 / Analysing and presenting key learnings

6. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
!
How to run a £3000 fool-proof test
✓
✓
✓
✓
The easiest, quickest, cheapest methods
Tips on facilitating, note-taking, & prioritising
How to run a usability test tomorrow
Resources & tools to keep learning
!
WHAT TO EXPECT TODAY
6
A

7. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
!
✓
✓
✓
✓
Slides will be on SlideShare
If you need to leave early, tell me now
You don’t need your laptops yet
Questions welcome anytime
!
!
HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS
7
A

8. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
What is usability testing
& why do it?
8

9. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
9
USER EXPERIENCE BUILDING
BLOCKS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7855449@N02/2779597129
Diagram by David Armano

10. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
10
USABILITY IS A MAJOR BUILDING
BLOCK OF A GOOD EXPERIENCE
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7855449@N02/2779597129
Diagram by David Armano

11. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
1. INTUITIVE (n.)
Using what one feels to be true without conscious
reasoning
www.youtube.com
11

12. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
NEEDING INSTRUCTIONS
MEANS SOMETHING CAN BE
MADE MORE SIMPLE
12

13. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
2. EASY TO USE
Doesn’t make people feel stupid or inferior to the tool they
are using. Helps them feel in control.
www.errorwallofshame.tumblr.com
13

14. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
3. ACCESSIBLE
People of different abilities can use it
14

15. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
15
A
YOU CAN’T DIFFERENTIATE IF
THE EXPERIENCE IS BROKEN

16. EVERYONE DEEPLY UNDERSTANDS THE USERS
16
67.45% (AVERAGE E-COMMERCE CART
ABANDONMENT RATE)
July 28, 2013
http://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate

17. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
http://www.shopify.com/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-and-what-to-do-about-it
17

18. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
http://www.shopify.com/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-and-what-to-do-about-it
18

19. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
19
A
Analytics
Survey
Usability test
(Impersonal)
(Tricky)
(Immediate, easy)
WHERE TO FIND USABILITY PROBLEMS

20. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
20
• Behavioral vs. Self-reported
• Opportunity to ask “why?”
• Motivates teammates
• Removes “designer bias”
• Can be done on prototypes
• Can be cheap & quick
USABILITY TESTING

21. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
WHAT HAPPENS IN A USABILITY TEST?
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QckIzHC99Xc
21

22. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
TEST YOUR IDEAS
REGULARLY WITH REAL
PEOPLE
22

23. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
Recruit
Participants
Prepare a
test plan
USABILITY TEST STEPS
23
Test
Analyse +
iterate

24. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
‣
Anyone who hasn’t seen the app
‣
Similar demographics to real users
(whenever possible)
WHO DO WE TEST WITH?
24

25. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
‣
Friends, family, colleagues
‣
Social media followers
‣
Existing customers
‣
Streets and coffee shops
‣
Recruitment agencies (<expensive!)
WHERE DO WE FIND PARTICIPANTS?
25

26. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
26
Idea stage
Definition stage
Exploring
Many ideas
High-level
“Dream world”
Focusing
Best ideas
Refined
Realistic
WHEN DO WE TEST?
AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

27. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
DO USABILITY TESTING REGULARLY,
WITH YOUR WHOLE TEAM
27

28. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
# OF TEAM MEMBERS EXPOSED TO
USERS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN # OF
USERS
http://www.uie.com/articles/user_exposure_hours/
28

29. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
29
SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO ACCEPT YOUR
PRODUCT NEEDS HELP
https://twitter.com/adrianhungate/status/391954628184915970

30. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE IN PAIN, YOU
WANT TO HELP THEM
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martin_mcdonald/371884786/
30

31. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
!
“
I was completely surprised at how
cumbersome the users experience with the
app was. Basic tasks were which was so
obvious to me were suddenly a huge
barrier.
— DANIEL
Lead Developer, Future Workshops
http://www.uie.com/articles/user_exposure_hours/
31

32. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
32
!
“
... What the usability testing did for me was
really prove how much tech people can
lose sight of who they are building
for. It about going back to basics in some
cases.
— DANIEL
Lead Developer, Future Workshops
http://www.uie.com/articles/user_exposure_hours/

33. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
33
1. Highlights where our product isn’t intuitive / easy to use
2. Puts team in the shoes of users
3. Helps sell product improvements to stakeholders/ clients
4. Helps prioritise feature backlog
!
IN SUMMARY:
USABILITY TESTING BENEFITS

34. Time for a
5 minute break

35. Workshop schedule
USABILITY TESTING
0 / Usability testing introduction
1 / What do we test: preparing a test plan
2 / Facilitating a usability test & recording results
3 / Analysing and presenting key learnings

36. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
To run a test, you need
‣
Some representation of your product
‣
Preferably interactive
‣
Doesn’t have to be finished
‣
Or: competitor product!
‣
Idea of what you want to test

37. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
What do we test?
‣
General impressions
‣
Ease of use of critical features
‣
Features we’re not sure about (e.g., is the
help clear?)
‣
Response to design, iconography
Tip: start from high-level when testing
prototypes, test the details with later builds

38. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Wide
(Generative)
Narrow
(Validating)
SET THE SCOPE
3
A8
WHY will people use
this product?
HOW do these people
use this product?

39. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Wide
(Generative)
3
A9
Explore
How is the value
proposition of this tool
fit in with people’s lives
Confirm/iterate
Observing what people
do with this tool, in
their own environment
Narrow
(Validating)
SET THE SCOPE
Validate
How do people perform
specific task with this tool?

40. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Wide
(Generative)
First...
4
A0
Explore
How is the value
proposition of this tool
fit in with people’s lives
Confirm/iterate
Observing what people
do with this tool, in
their own environment
Narrow
(Validating)
SET THE SCOPE
Validate
How do people perform
specific task with this tool?

41. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
41
Ready?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: THE 5 SECOND
TEST

42. 42

43. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
• What is the purpose of the website/app?
• Name 3 things you can do with this website
• Who does this site or app belong to?
• How do you feel about this organisation?
!
5 SECOND TEST QUESTIONS
4
A3

44. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Wide
(Generative)
4
A4
Explore
How is the value
proposition of this tool
fit in with people’s lives
Now...
Confirm/iterate
Observing what people
do with this tool, in
their own environment
Narrow
(Validating)
SET THE SCOPE
Validate
How do people perform
specific task with this tool?

45. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Recruit
Participants
45
Prepare a
test plan
Test
Analyse +
iterate
PREPARING A DETAILED USABILITY
TEST

46. USABILITY TESTING: INTRODUCTION
THE MORE DETAILED YOUR
ARTIFACT, THE MORE
DETAILED THE FEEDBACK
46

47. EXERCISE 1
Choose a product to test
Time: 10 minutes
‣
We are going to validate an existing,
finished product
‣
As a group, decide on a website or app to
test
‣
It can be your app - I must be able to
interact with it
Tip: avoid sites that require logging in (unless
you have a login to share)

48. EXERCISE 3
Show & Tell

49. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Test plan
!
‣
Tasks: What are we testing? Why?
‣
Success Paths: What do we expect to
happen?
‣
Scenarios: How can we find out if our
expectation is true?

50. // TEST PLAN FOR:
// GROUP:
// PART:
// GENERAL SCENARIO
!
Set up the motivation
What we are testing
TASK
// SCENARIO
TASK
// SCENARIO
Motivation to do the task + instructions
!
// INFO (passwords, etc)
!
// INFO (passwords, etc)
!
Information necessary for the task
// SUCCESS PATH
!
What we want/expect the user to do
!
// SUCCESS PATH
!

51. // TEST PLAN FOR:
// GROUP:
// PART:
// GENERAL SCENARIO
!
You need to cook a new recipe for the company potluck. You found a recipe
online and now you need to buy the ingredients and cook it.
TASK
Text note
TASK
// SCENARIO
Share a note via e-mail
// SCENARIO
You need to remember what to buy.
Use the app to make a shopping list
!
you can take to the supermarket.
You really liked the new recipe and
you think your friend Jenny will like it
!
too.
Send the recipe to Jenny from within
the app.
// INFORMATION
// INFORMATION
!
Print-out of a recipe from the internet
// SUCCESS PATH
Don’t show this to
the participant!
!
Create a text note and make a bulleted
list of ingredients
!
Jenny’s email:
jenny@futureworkshops.com
// SUCCESS PATH
!
E-mail a note to a friend using swipe
to share

52. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Scenario Structure
!
‣
Your character
‣
Your motivation
‣
What you need to do
‣
Any details like login information, etc

53. PREPARING A TEST PLAN
Scenario Tips
‣
Avoid using terminology from the
interface (e.g., search, tag, filter)
‣
Scenarios can have steps (e.g., find a
recipe and add it to your collection)
‣
Escalate the difficulty as the test
progresses

54. EXERCISE 2
Test Plan
Time: 20 mins
‣
Define 3 key tasks that must be intuitive
and easy to use in the application
‣
Identify the success paths for each task
(what we expect users to do)
‣
Decide on a general scenario + write
specific tasks
‣
Run through the test once

55. Workshop schedule
USABILITY TESTING
0 / Usability testing introduction
1 / What do we test: preparing a test plan
2 / Facilitating a usability test & recording results
3 / Analysing and presenting key learnings

56. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Recruit
Participants
Prepare a
test plan
USABILITY TEST STEPS
56
Test
Analyse +
iterate

57. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Facilitating
‣
Practice staying quiet
‣
Remind the participant to speak out loud
‣
Don’t give anything away
‣
Be reassuring, say thank you
‣
If they get stuck, wait (a little)

58. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Facilitator Cheat-Sheet
If they forget to think aloud
‣
"What are you thinking right now?"
‣
"What are you finding confusing on this
screen?"
‣
"I know it's an unusual thing to do but could I
please ask you to keep thinking out loud and
talk as you go along? It really helps me
understand your experience better."

59. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Facilitator Cheat-Sheet
If they get stuck
‣
"This is very helpful for us, we are uncovering
a lot of problems in the design that will help us
make the app better."
‣
"I can already see how useful this is going to
be in improving the app."

60. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Facilitator Cheat-Sheet
If they have a question
‣
"Please continue in the way that makes sense
to you. We will learn a lot from seeing how
you proceed with this without any help."
‣
"I will be happy to answer your questions at
the end. Please try to try this task for a bit
longer."

61. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Facilitator Cheat-Sheet
The golden go-to
‣
"We expected to uncover problems in the
design. You are not doing anything
wrong - we knew there would be issues and
you are helping us find them."

62. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
People will feel stupid.
Make them feel at ease.
62

63. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Ways to record our findings
From easy to complicated
‣
Pair up with a note-taker
‣
DIY recording equipment
‣
Professional recording equipment
‣
Live-stream to a group of stakeholders

64. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Note-taking brings down 2
barriers to testing: time &
equipment
(But I’ll give you some tips on recording later!)
64

65. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Note-taking tips
Only record what’s important
‣
If someone is really happy
‣
If someone is really frustrated
‣
If someone fails a task
‣
Write down short quotes if you can

66. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Notes Example
•
Taps Map on merchant profile but this opens the system Maps
app — confused
!
•
Goes to Search and types “coffee shops” but there are no results
— “why can’t I see what’s around me?”
!
•
"If I had to think about something around me, I’d start the
merchant profile and expect to see other things around me"
!
•
The icons aren’t telling me that Cafe Nero is a coffee shop
!
!

67. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
What to bring to the test
Printed scenarios & tasks for participant
Printed scenarios & tasks with success paths for
facilitator
Facilitator script
Optional: List of pre-test and debrief questions
Consent form (if needed)
Pen + paper / recording tools
Test setup checklist

68. FACILITATING A TEST & RECORDING RESULTS
Setting up the test
Reset the mobile app / site to the default
settings
Clear the test area of any open
documents, written notes, etc.
Prepare participant forms: scenarios,
intro script, consent form
Optional: Verify the recording equipment
Optional: Make sure the brightness on
the screen is reduced

69. EXERCISE 3
Usability Test
Time: 40 minutes
‣
Every 8 minutes, swap one member of
your group in exchange for a member
from another group
‣
The ‘foreign’ member is the participant
‣
Start running through the test you’ve
planned
‣
Everyone else in the group should be a
facilitator and a note-taker at least once

70. EXERCISE 2
Show & Tell

71. Workshop schedule
USABILITY TESTING
0 / Usability testing introduction
1 / What do we test: preparing a test plan
2 / Facilitating a usability test & recording results
3 / Analysing and presenting key learnings

72. ANALYSING & PRESENTING FINDINGS
Recruit
Participants
Prepare a
test plan
USABILITY TEST STEPS
72
Test
Analyse +
iterate

73. ANALYSING & PRESENTING FINDINGS
What to do with all the data?
‣
Identify changes with the biggest impact
& smallest effort as a team
‣
Find the “low-hanging fruit”
‣
What has impact on the bottom line?
‣
Put everything else in the ice-box

74. ANALYSING & PRESENTING FINDINGS
Identifying key findings
High-priority: people fail, or abandon the
task
Medium: people succeed but are
frustrated and unhappy
Low: people would enjoy the app more if...
Tip: Work hard to prioritise the
highest-impact items. You can’t fix
everything.

75. ANALYSING & PRESENTING FINDINGS
Presenting findings

76. ANALYSING & PRESENTING FINDINGS
Presenting findings
Task
What we expected
to happen
Interface screenshot
here
What really
happened
What we can fix
right now

77. EXERCISE 4
Identifying Key Findings
Time: 15 mins
‣
As a group, debrief on each person’s notes
‣
Find 2 high, 2 medium, and 2 low-priority
usability problems
‣
What will you fix first? Why?
‣
Jot down a quick summary of key findings
to present to the larger group

78. EXERCISE 3
Show & Tell

79. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
Summary
‣
Match your test artifact to your scope
‣
Plan realistic scenarios that don’t give
away the test purpose
‣
Be encouraging and open to feedback
‣
Record only what’s needed
‣
Prioritise findings for maximum
impact

80. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
80
Remember this?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7855449@N02/2779597129
Diagram by David Armano

81. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
Usability is only one part
Building a product isn’t just about usability:
‣
Business goals
‣
Usefulness & desirability
‣
Differentiation
‣
Vision of the future
… But it’s a great start!

82. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
Usability is only one part
Create a vision of
our offering to
people
Match the vision
with real-world
behavior
Translate user
research into user
tasks
Create interfaces
to support that
journey
Plan the journey
to accomplish
each task
Iterate and
simplify those
interfaces
Test how real
people use our
interfaces

83. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
DIY Usability
Testing
Steve Krug
8
A3
Lean UX
Jeff Gothelf
!
DIVE IN MORE DEEPLY
Remote Research
Nate Bolt & Tony
Tulathimutte

84. SUMMARY & CONCLUSION
“
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger
and more complex. It takes courage, and a
touch of genius, to move in the opposite
direction.
– Albert Einstein
A FINAL THOUGHT
http://www.humanfactors.com/ROIposter.asp
8
A4

85. INTRODUCTION
Thank you!
Jenny@futureworkshops.com
www.grinblo.com
Twitter: @grinblo
!
8
A5