Learn the Basics of Usability Testing
Summary
The act of building a great product is challenging because it requires the successful execution of multiple phases: discovering the right customer problem to be solved, designing a solution amidst an infinite number of choices, and building an artifact that admirably accomplishes its goals. Research shows that, compared to Expert Review, Usability Testing is more likely to highlight issues with knowledge gaps (i.e. “How is this supposed to work?”) and task flows (i.e. “Which steps should I take to complete this process?”). Learning about opportunity areas early on allows an organization to avoid beginning costly development until the effectiveness of the design has been validated. Formative studies often occur early in the lifecycle of a product and focus on attitudinal data - that is, “what are people saying as they interact with a design?” As such, these studies typically encourage honest and descriptive user feedback, with the two main testing formats being: - Unmoderated / Remote - users leave design feedback via Usability Testing software and designers review that feedback later Regardless of the format, common techniques are: In contrast, summative studies occur later in the product lifecycle and focus on behavioral data - that is, “How are people using this product?” As such, these studies typically focus on statistically significant methods for assessing how long certain tasks take or how many times certain interactions occur. Popular approaches are: The Neilsen Norman Group has put together this great visualization showcasing the landscape of user research methods: When to Use Which User-Experience Research Methods One of the reasons for the shift from expert-driven to user-driven usability testing is the proliferation of UX tools that allow organizations to directly interact with users in a variety of ways.
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