“JUST IN TIME”

USER TESTING

K Skate AprilKSkateApril@hotmail.com

Oct 2, 2014 – Lunch UX SLC Meetup

WHO IS THIS SKATE GUY?

• Nickname from college that stuck– Legally changed 10 years ago

• Developer by background– 20 years Front-End / UI development

• 2 years now as UX / Interaction Designer– Learning every day

SO WHY AM I UP HERE?

• No one else volunteered– No, really…

• Presenting at User Conference in 3 weeks– Wanted some practice in front of live audience

• Observation: Not enough User Testing– By people that could & should be doing it

SHOW OF HANDS

Who here has done anyUser Testing?

CHIME IN

MY GOAL

For you to leave here knowing:

How to do a quick & dirty User Test.

That you can & should be doing them.and

That it doesn’t have to be hard!

WHAT IS USABILITY TESTING?(ALSO KNOWN AS A USER TEST)

A way to get feedbackon

designs, prototypes, products, etc.from

actual usersperforming a series of tasks

while you

watch for problems

WHY THE LACK OF TESTING?

• Too expensive

• Never done it before

• Lab not available

• Too many test types

• Product not ready

• Don’t know where to start

• No participants

• No budget

• No approval

• No testing lab

• No local users• No time• Etc…

LOOKING BACK

LIGHT BULB MOMENT

GORILLA TESTING

• Not testing our products on actual gorillas

• Not insinuating that ourusers are no smarter thana gorilla

GORILLA TESTING

• Some is better than none

• Sooner is better than later

• Better you than the customer

• Keep it simple so you keep doing it

• Get just what you need

• Never going to find ALL issues

A TEST BY ANY OTHER NAME...

…sounds less frightening!

Feedback SessionUsability Study

Sneak PeakLive Demo

…

HOW TO TEST

1. Prepare

2. Facilitate

3. Evaluate

1. PREPARE

• Decide what to test• Determine how to test it – tasks• Identify target audience• Find a location• Schedule the test – date & time(s)• Recruit users to test with• Set up at location on day of test

http://www.userfocus.co.uk/pdf/usabilitydashboard.pdf

Hello,

I’m contacting you with a short questionnaire to verify your eligibility for an upcoming usability study with Google. This study is an opportunity to provide feedback on something that's currently in development. This study will help the Google team better understand your needs in order to incorporate them into future product enhancements.

We’re currently scheduling participants for a study that takes place Tuesday, October 7th, Wednesday, October 8th, Thursday, October 9th and Friday, October 10th out of our office in Seattle. 

If you’re interested in participating, please complete the questionnaire here. 

We’ll then be in touch directly to discuss details and set your appointment time.

Details of the study:* The duration of the study is either 60 or 90 minutes.* You’ll receive a $100 or $125 gift code by email from Perks, our incentives distributor, as a token of our appreciation. The amount depends on the length of your session.  Their online catalog includes gift cards from VISA and a variety of retailers in fashion, housewares, sporting goods, books and more. Gift card options can be viewed at http://www.google.com/usability/research/perks/index1.html 

To participate you will need to:* Be at least 18 years old* Accept the terms of our Usability Non-Disclosure Agreement* Allow us to video or audio record the session 

**Please note that you won’t be compensated for responding to this questionnaire; you’ll receive a gratuity only if you actually attend a study session with Google.**

Thank you for your time.

Actual email I received…

2. FACILITATE

• Use Krug’s templates/downloads

http://www.sensible.com/downloads-rsme.html

2. FACILITATE

• Use Krug’s templates/downloads• Relax participant with easy questions• Get them talking out loud• Ask open questions• Shut up and watch• Take notes if/when appropriate

3. EVALUATE

• Look through notes• Review recording & create snippets• Create a recording summary• Identify issues• Make recommendations• Present back to team• Prioritize

LETS RUN A QUICK TEST

TESTING TOOLS

• Silverback (for Mac)• Morae / Camtasia (for Windows)• GoToMeeting• USB Camera & Microphone• Others ???

QUICK REVIEW

• Test early and often• Don’t need to be an expert• Don’t need an expensive lab• Don’t need an elaborate test• Don’t need to capture lots of metrics• Focus on finding the big issues• The more you do it, the better you get

JUST DO IT ALREADY

• Block out 2 hours TOMORROW• Decide what to test & come up with

some tasks (3 to 5 is plenty)• Grab a colleague and a conference

room (30 min should do it)• Run a quick and dirty test• Review the test and identify some

things to fix

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES