Usability - Research

Author: Michelle McCausland

This page contains the notes taken from the UX training course “UX Foundation Online” provided by UXTraining.com

Research can be categorized in 2 ways:

1. Qualitative

• Unstructured
• e.g. usability testing
• not measurable
• provides deep insights
• is classed as a “soft science”

2. Quantitative

• structured
• measurable
• numerical
• produces graphs and data
• is classed as a “hard science”

Remember this: I am not the target audience!

User research is critically important, assumptions are dangerous.

• The goal of usability testing is to observe what people do / how they interact with the software
• Camtasia / Silverback are pro software tools for screen capture
• It is important to be able to record on screen actions as well as facial expressions.

Benefits of Usability Testing:

• Is the best method to gather requirements
• It presents the product from a user's perspective
• It challenges and validates assumptions
• It produces behavioral data - what people do

Goals behaviors context are important when considering usability.

What you should learn from usability testing:

• What users are trying to do (goals)
• What user do (behavior)
• How the product helps the user to achieve their goals (context)
• Identify pain points
• Identify how the product compares to competitors

Each usability test should have a clearly defined set of test objectives.

Define clear goals.

Be specific - don't try to cover everything.

Create a usability test script:

• Practice/run through prior to test
• Is a useful memory aid to keep you on track
• Specifies the task to be completed
• Specifies questions to be asked
• Start with natural tasks then move onto pre-defined tasks
• Ask lots of what/why questions

Important to state the following to set the tester's mind at ease:

• There are no right or wrong answers
• We are not testing you, we are testing the software
• Don't be afraid to speak your mind
• Think out loud, describe what you are doing

What you need to perform a usability test:

• Tester
• moderator
• note taker
• laptop with mirrored display
• screen capture software (would webex work?)

Tips for moderating:

• Ask the right type of questions
• Rehearse
• Know the product
• Never tell the tester what to do
• Never take the mouse

Avoid

• Direct Yes/No questions
• Avoid leading questions
• Avoid future focused hypothetical questions
• No design questions

Try Instead

• What & Why questions
• What are you looking for/at
• What info do you need to continue and why
• Specific questions about the past
• task questions

Q - What should I test? Existing Product

• The current version
• A prototype of the new design/ designs
• Competitors

New Product

• Competitors
• Prototype

Q - When to test?

• Test early and test often!
• Why throwaway prototypes exist

Online Surveys

• Easiest way to gather user requirements
• Both quantitative and qualitative
• Powerful and unambiguous
• Cheap/free
• E.g. Survey Monkey

Types of questions on surveys:

1. Structured - provide structured answers - quantitative
2. Unstructured - provide unstructured data - qualitative

3 Golden Questions to ask:

1. Why did you visit out website today?
2. Were you able to complete you task today?
3. What you you change about our site?

Guidelines:

• Never ask more than 10 questions on a survey
• Keep question on 1 page
• Only ask genuinely useful questions

“The Mom Test” - Book re. customer interviews

Objectives of customer interviews:

• Understanding customer problems
• Understanding customer goals
• Understand context of use

What doesn't work during an interview:

• Asking for product feedback
• Asking for detailed page design feedback
• Asking about the future
• Avoid talking a lot
• We only want to identify the goals and the problems we are trying to solve

Interview Flow (like a funnel):

\ Intro /

 \    General     /
    \ Specific /

More specifics:

1. Introduction
2. Easy questions
3. Specific recent examples
4. Dissect examples
5. Pain points
6. recap

Interview Guidelines:

• Don't be a robot!
• Don't be afraid to deviate from the script so
• Always record interviews

Consider the business perspective - feasibility, viability, desirability

Who to talk to - anyone who has a stake in the product, anyone who provides requirements

Stakeholder interview guidelines:

• To understand the business
• To understand the goals
• To identify competitors
• To get buy in - build relationships - opinions matter