Testing wearables is fundamentally more complex than any other mobile device class. Wearables become extensions of us, so testing should focus on the total experience of the wearer—the emotional, physical and sensory reactions, including our biases and mindsets. It involves testing in the “real world” of the wearer—when, where, and how the wearer and the device will function together. Using concepts from human-computer interaction design, Gerie Owen and Peter Varhol provide a framework for testing the human experience of wearables. Learn to develop personas by delving into the wearers’ personalities and characteristics to understand their expectations of the wearable. Then learn to create user value stories to test the ways in which the wearers will achieve value from the wearable. We’ll look at how these devices may respond to different types of human interaction and examine how to test those responses to ensure that the device works properly under real-world conditions.

1. W11
Track Session
4/20/2016 1:00 PM
" Wearables: Testing the Human
Experience"
Presented by:
Gerie Owen, Eversource Energy
&
Peter Varhol, Technology Strategy Reseach
Brought to you by:
340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073
888-268-8770 · 904-278-0524 · info@techwell.com · www.techwell.com

2. Gerie Owen
Eversource Engery
Gerie Owen is a test architect at Eversource Energy, Certified ScrumMaster,
conference presenter, and author on testing/test management topics. She is
developing a test center of excellence and consults on test processes and tools.
Gerie manages large, complex projects involving multiple applications;
coordinates test teams across multiple time zones; and delivers high-quality
projects on time and within budget. She enjoys mentoring new QA leads and
brings a cohesive team approach to testing. Learn more about Gerie on her
website, her Software Testing in the Trenches blog, and on Twitter
@GerieOwen.
Peter Varhol
Technology Strategy Research
Peter Varhol is principal technology evangelist at Technology Strategy Research
and a consulting QA lead for a leading digital design firm. An accomplished and
frequent speaker at technology conferences and user groups, Peter’s topics
cover software development to testing and application lifecycle. As a technology
journalist and thought leader, he has authored hundreds of articles, white papers,
and blog posts on software development, testing, and related topics. His past
roles include technology journalist, software product manager, software
developer, and university professor. Learn more about Peter on his website, on
his Cutting Edge Computing blog, and on Twitter @pvarhol.

3. 4/8/16
1
A Wearables Story
Testing the Human Experience
A Marathon, a Chip, and a Watch
About Us
Gerie Owen
gerie@gerieowen.com
v Test Architect, Eversouce
v Speaker and Writer on
Tes<ng topics
v Experienced Tester, Test
Lead, & Test Architect
v Marathon Runner &
Running Coach
Peter Varhol
peter@petervarhol.com
v Evangelist, Dynatrace
v Interna<onal speaker on
technology topics
v Technology Evangelist
and Writer, Product
Manager, University
Professor
v Fitness Technology Geek

4. 4/8/16
2
Meet Our Cats...
Max, Stephanie
& Monica
Agenda
v What are Wearables?
v Examples of Wearables
v A Wearables Story
v The Human Experience
v What is Testing the Human Experience?
v Why is it so important?
v How do we test it?
v Personas
v User Value Stories
v Discussion and conclusions

5. 4/8/16
3
WHAT ARE WEARABES?
Wearables Defined
v Electronics that can be worn on the body, either as
an accessory or as part of material used in clothing.
v One of the major features of wearable technology is
its ability to connect to the Internet, enabling data to
be exchanged between a network and the device.
v Body Computers performing the same computing
tasks and handheld and laptop computers
v Often include monitoring and tracking functionality

6. 4/8/16
4
Examples of Wearables
v Google Glass
v Smartwatches
v Bluetooth Headsets (CommBadge)
v Sensor-Rich Fabric (HeapSylon)
v Baby monitors on a band (Sproutling)
v Health and fitness (Fitbit, iFit, Garmin, Microsoft Band)
v Pet health and fitness (Whistle)
v Hearables (Intel’s BioSport)
A WEARABLES STORY

7. 4/8/16
5
The Start
The Early Miles

8. 4/8/16
6
The Middle Miles
Heartbreak Hill

9. 4/8/16
7
“Left on Boylston”
The Finish Line

10. 4/8/16
8
What Do All Wearables Have In Common?
v A purpose or function
v Coupled with human interaction that
v Provides value and achieves goals
THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE

11. 4/8/16
9
v THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE
v the human interaction
v and
v and how the value is provided
What is Human Experience Testing?
v Isn’t testing the human experience actually usability
testing?
v Testing the human experience differs in
v Scope
v Depth
v Approach

12. 4/8/16
10
What is Human Experience Testing?
v Testing in the “real world” of the user;
v When and where the device will be used;
v How the user and the device will function together.
What does testing the Human Experience involve?
v Emotional, physical and sensory reactions
v Biases and our mindsets
v Social expectations and interactions

13. 4/8/16
11
Why is Human Experience testing so important?
v The closer the device becomes to the
human, the more important “Human”
Testing becomes.
v When a networked device is physically attached to us and
works with us and through us, the more important the
results of the interaction or collaboration becomes to us
emotionally and physically
How do we test the Human Experience?
v We Test Types of Human Interaction
v Physical
v Sensory
v Orientation
v Geographical
v Context
v Values

14. 4/8/16
12
How do we test the Human Experience?
v Sensory
v Touch, sight, sound, smell, taste, sweat
How do we test the Human Experience?
v Orientation
v Human Movement

15. 4/8/16
13
How do we test the Human Experience?
v Geographical
v Land, water, hills
How do we test the Human Experience?
v Context
v Time of day
v Weather

16. 4/8/16
14
How do we test the Human Experience?
v Values
v Emotions
v Mindsets
v Biases
HUMAN EXPERIENCE
TEST PLANNING

17. 4/8/16
15
Human Experience Test Planning
v Create Personas
v Write User Value Stories
v Develop Test Scenarios
v Based on Personas and User Value Stories
v Develop Test Approach
v Use the Real World as Your User Interface
v Jonathan Kohl
PERSONAS

18. 4/8/16
16
Human Experience Test Planning
v To test the Human Interaction
v Create Personas to understand the humans
who will be using the device
What is a Persona?
v An archetypal user who represent the needs and
motivations of user groups
v Personas represent the motivations, values,
expectations and goals for their interaction with the
wearable
v There are usually multiple personas associated with
a given wearable
v Although they are fictional, they represent real users
and require research for development

19. 4/8/16
17
Benefits of Using Personas
v Provides a focus on the personal and contextual
requirements, goals and concerns
v Focuses testing on the most important goals of the
representative users
v Provides User Experience direction in exploratory
testing.
What is included in a Persona?
v A Name
v Family Background
v Education
v Occupation, Socio-economic status
v Physical Size and Condition
v Gender
v Hopes and Desires
v Point of View
v Social Affiliations
v Values
v Expectations

20. 4/8/16
18
Let’s Develop Gerie’s Persona
v Distance Runner
v Course (roads or trails)
v Conscious about health
v Likely lifetime sport
v Impervious to weather
v Age 30+
v Member of the Running Community
v Group training
v Individual achievement
v Source of fulfillment
v “In It To Win It”
Gerie’s Persona
Gerie is a middle aged woman who fancies herself as “aging well”. She
boasts of maintaining the same weight as she was in high school. She
was raised in a middle class household and was not into sports when she
was growing up. She is college-educated, holding two advanced
degrees and works full-time at a professional job.
Although she runs to maintain her physical and emotional health, she is
“In it to Win it”. She would not be considered competitive; however, in
small, local races with limited competition, she often places in her age
group. Gerie began running during college and joined a running club in
recent years.
With the support of the group, she achieved one of her three main goals
in life: to run a marathon. After unexpectedly qualifying for the Boston
Marathon in 2010, her goal for her 2011 Boston Marathon run was to
qualify again. Although she relies heavily on her sports watch during her
run to manage her pace and heart rate, she depends the device to create
a permanent record of her achievement.

21. 4/8/16
19
USER VALUE STORIES

22. 4/8/16
20
Human Experience Test Planning
v To test How the Value is Provided
v Create User Value Stories to
test the ways in which the human will achieve value from
the device
What is a User Value Story?
v A scenario describing a realistic situation in which
the wearable technology interacts with the user to
provide a benefit.
v Based upon how users of the wearable go about
their daily lives.
v There are multiple stories per persona.

23. 4/8/16
21
How is a User Value Story Developed?
v Beginning, middle, and end
v Main character is the Persona
v Where might this technology help?
v Common practices in using the device
v Realistic situations
v Pressures, emotions, weather
Types of User Value Stories
§ Develop at least three User Value Stories for each
Persona:
– Happy Ending: The wearable generates the value desired
by the user
– Sad Ending: The wearable fails to deliver the desired value
to the user
– Mediocre Ending: The wearable generated value but it
didn’t completely meet the expectations of the user.

24. 4/8/16
22
Examples of User Value Stories
Have you heard any user value stories today?
Gerie’s Value Stories: Happy Example Components
v Happy Story: Garmin Watch
v Watch catches the Satellite and holds it throughout the
race.
v Check watch for pace for qualifying and personal record;
validating that I can do this
v Check heart rate for reassurance on hills
v Stop and Save on the Watch
v Qualifying time and Personal Record Recorded
v Download watch to hard drive
v Upload to Garmin Website

25. 4/8/16
23
Gerie’s User Value Stories: Sad Example Components
v Sad Story: Race Bib
v Bib is kept flat and pinned securely
v Step on Mat at the Starting Line
v Step on each Mat throughout the race so that time and
pace registers
v Pace/Time data does not register
v Validate Results on BAA website
v No Record ; Bib failed
Conclusions
v I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did, but people will never
forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou
v The same can be said about wearables and this is
why we must test the Human Experience