Introduction to Usability Testing: The DIY Approach - GA, London January 13th, 2013

USABILITY TESTING:  
THE DIY APPROACH
‣Evgenia (Jenny) Grinblo
‣UX Specialist, Future Workshops

AGENDA

BY THE END OF THIS SESSION,
YOU WILL BE ABLE TO...
‣
‣
‣

Plan a usability test
Facilitate a test and identify usability problems
Decide which usability problems to tackle first

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INTRODUCTION

EVGENIA (JENNY) GRINBLO
UX SPECIALIST, FUTURE WORKSHOPS
Trained in ethnographic research
‣ Work with 12 devs, multiple projects
‣ Introduced usability testing inside our process
‣

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INTRODUCTION

OUR STORY: BRIDGING THE GAP
!
!
!CLIENTS

!
!

Intuitive

!
!

Simple
!

Designed for
everyone

!

Easy to use

!

Unique

USERS

INTRODUCTION

AND YOU..?
‣
‣
‣

Name
Company / role
What do you want to get out of this workshop?

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AGENDA

WHAT WE’LL COVER
!

✓
✓
✓
✓
!
!

How to run a £3000 fool-proof test
The easiest, quickest, cheapest methods
Tips on facilitating, note-taking, & prioritising
How to run a usability test tomorrow
Resources & tools to keep learning

AGENDA

HOUSEKEEPING
‣
‣
‣
‣
‣

You don’t need laptops yet
These slides will be on SlideShare.net/JennyEvgenia
Questions always welcome
Short break after this part
If you need to leave early, please tell me now

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USABILITY TESTING: THE DIY APPROACH

0 / USABILITY TESTING: WHAT & WHY
1 / PREPARING A TEST PLAN
2 / RUNNING A USABILITY TEST
3 / TURNING DATA INTO ACTIONS

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USABILITY TESTING: WHAT & WHY

USER EXPERIENCE BUILDING BLOCKS

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/7855449@N02/2779597129

Diagram by David Armano


USABILITY IS A MAJOR BUILDING BLOCK OF A
GOOD EXPERIENCE




1. INTUITIVE (n.)
Using what one feels to be true without conscious reasoning

www.youtube.com


NEEDING INSTRUCTIONS MEANS
SOMETHING COULD BE MORE SIMPLE.

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2. EASY TO USE
Doesn’t make people feel stupid or inferior to the tool they are using.
Helps them feel in control.

www.errorwallofshame.tumblr.com

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3. ACCESSIBLE
People of different abilities can use it

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YOU CAN’T DIFFERENTIATE IF THE
EXPERIENCE IS BROKEN.

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67.45% = AVERAGE E-COMMERCE CART
ABANDONMENT RATE

July 28, 2013

http://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate


http://www.shopify.com/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-and-what-to-do-about-it

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http://www.shopify.com/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-and-what-to-do-about-it

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DIFFERENT WAYS TO FIND PROBLEMS

Analytics
(Impersonal)

Survey
(Tricky)

Usability test
(Immediate, easy)

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USABILITY TESTING BENEFITS
‣ Behavioral vs. Self-reported
‣ Opportunity to ask “why?”
‣ Motivates teammates
‣ Removes “designer bias”
‣ Can be done on prototypes
‣ Can be cheap & quick


WHAT HAPPENS IN A USABILITY TEST?
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QckIzHC99Xc

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USABILITY TESTING SETUP
‣

Who is there

‣

Equipment and setup

‣

Space

‣

Context


MOST IMPORTANT:
TEST YOUR IDEAS REGULARLY WITH
REAL PEOPLE.

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USABILITY TESTING: STEPS

Recruit
Participants

Prepare a
test plan

Test

Analyse +
iterate


HOW TO CHOOSE PARTICIPANTS
‣

Anyone who hasn’t seen the app

‣

Similar demographics to real users (whenever
possible)

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CRITERIA TO CONSIDER
‣

Demographics: age, gender, tech ability

‣

Behaviour: new/ experienced users, habits,
loyalty

‣

Mindset: angry customers, feel strongly
about social media, insecure about
technology, philosophy about saving

!26


WHERE DO WE FIND PARTICIPANTS?
‣

Friends, family, colleagues

‣

Social media followers

‣

Existing customers

‣

Streets and coﬀee shops

‣

Recruitment agencies (£££)

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WHEN DO WE TEST?
AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

Idea stage

Deﬁnition stage

Exploring
Many ideas
High-level
“Dream world”

Focusing
Best ideas
Reﬁned
Realistic


DO USABILITY TESTING REGULARLY,
WITH YOUR WHOLE TEAM

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The number of team members exposed to users
trumps the number of users you test with

http://www.uie.com/articles/user_exposure_hours/

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SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO ACCEPT YOUR
PRODUCT NEEDS HELP

https://twitter.com/adrianhungate/status/391954628184915970

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FACE-TO-FACE “MAGIC:” WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE IN
PAIN, YOU WANT TO HELP THEM

http://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/martin_mcdonald/371884786/

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“

!

I was completely surprised at how
cumbersome the users experience with the app
was. Basic tasks were which was so obvious
to me were suddenly a huge barrier.

— DANIEL
Lead Developer, Future Workshops

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!

“

... What the usability testing did for me was
really prove how much tech people can
lose sight of who they are building for.
It about going back to basics in some cases.

— DANIEL
Lead Developer, Future Workshops


IN SUMMARY:
USABILITY TESTING BENEFITS
1. Highlights where our product isn’t intuitive / easy to use
2. Puts team in the shoes of users
3. Helps sell product improvements to stakeholders/ clients
4. Helps prioritise feature backlog
!

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5 MINUTE BREAK

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PREPARING A TEST PLAN

To run a test, you need
‣

Some representation of your product

‣

Preferably interactive

‣

Doesn’t have to be ﬁnished

‣

Or: competitor product!

‣

Idea of what you want to test

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What do we test?
‣

General impressions

‣

Ease of use of critical features

‣

Features we’re not sure about (e.g., is the
help clear?)

‣

Response to design, iconography

Tip: start from high-level
when testing prototypes,
test the details with later
builds

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SET THE SCOPE
Wide
(Generative)

Narrow
(Validating)

WHY will people use this
product?

HOW do these people
use this product?

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SET THE SCOPE
Wide
(Generative)

Explore
How is the value
proposition of this tool fit
in with people’s lives
Confirm/iterate
Observing what people
do with this tool, in
their own environment

Narrow
(Validating)

Validate
How do people perform
specific task with this tool?

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SET THE SCOPE
First...
Wide
(Generative)

Explore
How is the value
Conﬁrm/iterate

Narrow
(Validating)

Validate

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: THE 5 SECOND TEST

Ready?

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5 SECOND TEST QUESTIONS
• What is the purpose of the website/app?
• Name 3 things you can do with this
website
• Who does this site or app belong to?
• How do you feel about this organisation?

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SET THE SCOPE
Wide
(Generative)

Explore
How is the value

Now...

Conﬁrm/iterate

Narrow
(Validating)

Validate


THE MORE DETAILED THE ARTIFACT, THE
MORE DETAILED THE FEEDBACK.

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PREPARING A DETAILED USABILITY TEST

Recruit
Participants

Prepare a
test plan

Test

Analyse +
iterate

EXERCISE 1: CHOOSE A PRODUCT TO TEST

TIME

KEY OBJECTIVE(S)

STEPS

Choose an app or website to
focus on today

10 mins

1. As a group, choose a website or app you will
usability test
2. It can be your app/website but I must be able to
interact with it
3. Avoid sites that require logging in (unless you have
a login to share)

DELIVERABLE
A group decision about an app/website

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Test plan
!

‣

Tasks: What are we testing? Why?

‣

Success Paths: What do we expect to
happen?

‣

Scenarios: How can we ﬁnd out if our
expectation is true?

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// TEST PLAN FOR:

// GROUP:

// GENERAL SCENARIO

!

TASK

TASK

// SCENARIO

!

// SUCCESS PATH

!

!

!

// INFO (passwords, etc)

// SUCCESS PATH

!

!

@ Template by @futureworkshops

// SCENARIO


// PART:

// TEST PLAN FOR:

// GROUP:

// GENERAL SCENARIO

// PART:

!

Set up the motivation
What we are testing

TASK

TASK

// SCENARIO

// SCENARIO

Motivation to do the !
task + instructions


!

!


!

Information necessary for the task
// SUCCESS PATH

!

What we want/expect the user to do

// SUCCESS PATH

!

// TEST PLAN FOR:

// GROUP:

// GENERAL SCENARIO

// PART:

!

You need to cook a new recipe for the company potluck. You found a recipe online
and now you need to buy the ingredients and cook it.
TASK

Text note

TASK

// SCENARIO

Share a note via e-mail

// SCENARIO

You need to remember what to buy. Use
the app to make a shopping list you can
!
take to the supermarket.

You really liked the new recipe and you
think your friend Jenny will like it too.
!
Send the recipe to Jenny from within
the app.

// INFORMATION

// INFORMATION

!

Print-out of a recipe from the internet

// SUCCESS PATH

!
Jenny’s email:
jenny@futureworkshops.com

Don’t show this to the
// SUCCESS PATH
participant!

!
Create a text note and make a bulleted
list of ingredients

!
E-mail a note to a friend using swipe to
share

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Scenario Structure

!

‣

// SCENARIO

!

Your character

‣

Your motivation

‣

What you need to do

‣

Any details like login information, etc


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Scenario Tips
‣

Avoid using terminology from the
interface (e.g., search, tag, filter)

‣

Scenarios can have steps (e.g., find a
recipe and add it to your collection)

‣

Escalate the difficulty as the test
progresses

Tip: make the scenario
specific enough so
someone can relate to it,
but not specific enough to
exclude people

EXERCISE 2: CREATE A TEST PLAN

TIME

20 mins

KEY OBJECTIVE(S)

STEPS

Learn to write a non-biased test
that covers the features you
need tested

1. Using the Test Plan Worksheet, deﬁne 3 key tasks
that must be intuitive and easy to use in the
application
2. Identify the success paths for each task (what we
expect users to do)
3. Write speciﬁc tasks, then a general scenario
4. Run through the complete test once

DELIVERABLE
Filled out test plan worksheet, ready to be used in a test with a participant

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RUNNING A USABILITY TEST

USABILITY TEST STEPS
Recruit
Participants

Prepare a
test plan

Test

Analyse +
iterate

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As a facilitator, your jobs are:
‣

“Tour guide”

‣

“Therapist”

‣

Burst the thought bubbles

From: Rocket Surgery Made Easy by Steve Krug
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9Q3OQVyX_-QC


Facilitating
‣

Practice staying quiet

‣

Remind the participant to speak out loud

‣

Don’t give anything away

‣

Be reassuring, say thank you

‣

If they get stuck, wait (a little)

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Facilitator Cheat-Sheet
If they forget to think aloud

‣

"What are you thinking right now?"

‣

"What are you finding confusing on this screen?"

‣

"I know it's an unusual thing to do but could I please ask you to
keep thinking out loud and talk as you go along? It really helps
me understand your experience better."

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If they get upset

‣

"This is very helpful for us, we are
uncovering a lot of problems in the design that
will help us make the app better.”

‣

You’re struggling with the same areas that
other participants found confusing - you’re
totally normal

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If they have a question

‣

"Please continue in the way that makes
sense to you. We will learn a lot from seeing
how you proceed with this without any help."

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The golden go-to

‣

"We expected to uncover problems in the
design. You are not doing anything
wrong - we knew there would be issues and
you are helping us find them."

!64


PEOPLE WILL FEEL STUPID.
MAKE THEM FEEL AT EASE.

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Facilitator checklist
Introduce yourself and anyone else present
Thank the participant for coming
Explain why they’re here & what will happen
“We are not testing you”
Introduce thinking aloud
Explain questions, breaks, and ask if they have any questions
Optional: consent forms, recording, interview

!66


Ways to record our ﬁndings
From easy to complicated

‣

Pair up with a note-taker

‣

DIY recording equipment

‣

Professional recording equipment

‣

Live-stream to a group of stakeholders

!67


NOTE-TAKING BRINGS DOWN 2 BARRIERS
TO TESTING: TIME & EQUIPMENT

(But I’ll give you some tips on recording later!)

!68


Note-taking tips
Only record what’s important

‣

If someone is really happy

‣

If someone is really frustrated

‣

If someone fails a task

‣

Write down short quotations

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Notes
Example

•

!
•

!
•

Taps Map on merchant profile but this opens the system
Maps app — confused
Goes to Search and types “coffee shops” but there are no
results — “why can’t I see what’s around me?”
"If I had to think about something around me, I’d start
the merchant profile and expect to see other things
around me"

!
•

The icons aren’t telling me that Cafe Nero is a coffee shop

!
!

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What to bring to the test
Printed scenarios & tasks for participant
Printed scenarios & tasks with success paths for facilitator
Facilitator script
Consent form (if needed)
Pen + paper / recording tools
Test setup checklist
Optional: List of pre-test and debrief questions

Tip: Prepare a printed copy
of the scenarios & steps for
the participant, they will
use it


Setting up the test
Reset the mobile app / site to the default settings
Clear the test area of any open documents, written notes, etc.
Prepare participant forms: scenarios, intro script, consent
form
Optional: Verify the recording equipment
Optional: Make sure the brightness on the screen is reduced

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EXERCISE 3: USABILITY TEST

TIME

40 mins

KEY OBJECTIVE(S)

STEPS

1. Gain experience facilitating

1. Every round, swap one member of your group in
exchange for a member from another group

2. Collect notes containing
usability problems
3. Identify weaknesses in your
test plan

2. The ‘foreign’ member is the participant
3. Start running through the test you’ve planned
4. Everyone in the group should try to be a facilitator
at least once

DELIVERABLE
A collection of notes detailing usability problems found in the product

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EXERCISE 3: USABILITY TEST

DISCUSSION TIME

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5 MINUTE BREAK

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TURNING DATA INTO ACTIONS

!77

USABILITY TEST STEPS

Recruit
Participants

Prepare a
test plan

Test

Analyse +
iterate


What to do with all the data?
‣

Identify changes with the biggest impact &
smallest eﬀort as a team

‣

Find the “low-hanging fruit”

‣

What has impact on the bottom line?

‣

Put everything else in the ice-box

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Identifying key findings
High-priority: people fail, or abandon the
task
Medium: people succeed but are frustrated
and unhappy
Low: people would enjoy the app more if...

!79

Tip: You can’t fix everything.
Pair usability priority with
business needs and product
roadmap to find the fixes
with the biggest impact.


Presenting ﬁndings - an example

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Presenting ﬁndings
Task

What we expected
to happen

Interface screenshot
here
What really
happened

What we can fix
right now

EXERCISE 4: IDENTIFYING KEY FINDINGS

TIME

15 mins

KEY OBJECTIVE(S)

STEPS

1. Consider how to prioritise
usability problems

1. Individually, write down 2 high-level and 2 mediumlevel usability problems on post-its

2. Discuss and agree on
priorities as a team

2. As a group, arrange your post-its from high to low
priority.
3. Jot down a quick summary of key ﬁndings to
present to the larger group

DELIVERABLE
A group decision about an app/website

!82

EXERCISE 4: IDENTIFYING KEY FINDINGS

DISCUSSION TIME

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SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

Summary
‣

Match your test artifact to your scope

‣

Plan realistic scenarios that don’t give
away the test purpose

‣

Be encouraging and open to feedback

‣

Record only what’s needed

‣

Prioritise ﬁndings for maximum impact

!84


See “Resources and Furthe
r
Reading” printout for more

DIVE IN MORE DEEPLY

DIY Usability
Testing
Steve Krug

Lean UX
Jeﬀ Gothelf

Remote Research
Nate Bolt & Tony Tulathimutte

!

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REMEMBER THIS?




A FINAL THOUGHT

“

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger
and more complex. It takes courage, and a
touch of genius, to move in the opposite
direction.
– Albert Einstein

http://www.humanfactors.com/ROIposter.asp

!87


GET IN TOUCH
Thank you!
Jenny@futureworkshops.com
www.futureworkshops.com
Twitter: @grinblo / @futureworkshops
!
Questions + comments welcome!

!

!88

Introduction to Usability Testing: The DIY Approach - GA, London January 13th, 2013

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