Understanding the Value of User Research,
Usability Testing, & Information Architecture
Kyle Soucy, Founding Principal
Usable Interface www.usableinterface.com

The Ockham's Razor Principle of
Content Management Systems
“Given two functionally equivalent content
management systems, the simplest one should
be selected.”
- Dries Buytaert
Original creator and project lead of Drupal

Are YOU responsible
for this?

Don’t believe me?
Ask them!

Don’t assume that people
think the way that you do.

If you don’t care
about people, you can’t
create a
usable
product!

When people interact
with a product they’re
interacting
with YOU.

Why Usability is
Important?
• Nowadays, it’s survival of the easiest!
• Reduced support costs
• Can’t afford to NOT get it right the FIRST
time.
• Higher revenues through increased sales

Common Usability
Problems
• Lack of objective (no clear call to action)
• Vague/misleading labels and navigation
• Poor functionality (broken links, scripting
errors, etc.)
• Too many features...

Source: Human Factors International, Inc.

How do we prevent this?

User-Centered Design
(UCD)
"Human-centered design is characterized by: the
active involvement of users and a clear
understanding of user and task requirements; an
appropriate allocation of function between users
and technology; the iteration of design solutions;
multi-disciplinary design." - ISO 13407

Usability
"[Usability refers to] the extent to which a
product can be used by specified users to
achieve specified goals with effectiveness,
efficiency and satisfaction in a specified
context of user." - ISO 9241-11

Usability Methods
User Research Focus Groups
Heuristic Evaluations Log File Analysis
Surveys Eye Tracking
Card Sorting Usability Testing

User Research

User Research is NOT
Market Research

Qualitative vs.
Quantitative Research

Why can’t I
just use a focus
group?

Purpose of User Research
Making sure the product provides
what the customer needs and wants.
Quality Assurance
✓ Does the the feature work?
Usability Testing
✓ Can it be used easily?
User Research
✓ Is the feature even needed?

Value of User Research
Making sure all your resources are being used effectively.
RESOURCES: INVESTMENT: OUTCOME:
Design Confidence that
Engineering
you are building a
product that is
Marketing/Sales
wanted, needed
Support and will be used by
Etc. your customers.

User Research
Methods
• In-depth Interviews
• Contextual Inquiries
• Field Studies
• Diary Studies

Personas
Source:Viget Labs

Usability Testing

What is Usability Testing?
Observing real customers
as they actually use your product.
Image source: facit digital

Usability Testing
Process
• Define what you are testing
• Define who you are testing
• Define the tasks you are testing
• Recruit users
• Prepare the prototypes
• Conduct dry-run
• Facilitate tests
• Conduct Analysis

Usability Labs
Source: Kent State University

Who should you test?
• Create a recruiting screener
• Include existing users as well as the people
you are trying to target
• Make sure to cover all user groups
• Get buy-in from project stakeholders

How many users do
you need to test?
Source: Jakob Nielsen

Budget Allocation
What NOT to do...
1 Round of Testing

Budget Allocation
What you SHOULD do...
Round 1 Round 2 Round 3
Design Design
Iteration Iteration

Remote vs. In-Person
Testing
Vs.

When should you test?
The earlier,
the better...

Low vs. High-Fidelity
Prototypes

UCD on a Small Budget
• Don’t record tests on video
• Don’t use a lab
• Use surrogate users
• Don’t write reports

Real-Life Example
Vs.

Information
Architecture

What is Information
Architecture?
Organizing, labeling, and classifying content
so it can be easily retrieved.
Image source: facit digital

How to Create an
Effective IA
You must understand:
• Business Objectives
• Content
• User Objectives
• Context of Use

IA Methods
• Card Sorting
• Free Listing
• Mental Models
• Affinity Diagramming
• Search Log Analysis

Good Resources
• Usability.gov
• BoxesandArrows.com
• UXmatters.com
• UPAssoc.org
• NNGroup.com
• UIE.com

Summary
• First step to user-centered design is to
realize your end users are not YOU
• Include your users in the design process
• Usability testing is not a validation test
• Testing earlier pays off more

Thank you!
www.usableinterface.com