1. Trend Report:
Usability Testing with Mobile Devices
Introduction
Usabilitytestingon consumerproducts, websites,andcomputerinterfaces hasbeenthe widely
acceptedmethodforevaluatinguserinterfacesanduserexperience (UX).Thismethodiskey toUser-
centeredDesign(UCD) andhasyieldednumerousfindingsinboththe successesandfailuresof
products,as well asthe inclusionof the humanconditionwithproducts.While usabilitytestingwith
computerinterfacesremainsanimportantareainthe UX, there hasbeena significantgrowthinuser
interactionwithmobile devices(i.e.phonesandtablets) inrecentyears.Because more andmore users
are usingthese mobiledevices,itisimportantforthe usabilityindustrytounderstand the challenges
that itwill face withevaluatingusersandthe vastamountof researchthat will still needtobe done.
Background (Past trends)
Growth inmobile usage andthe availabilityof mobile sitesandappsoccurredaround2010. Aroundthis
time,appsand mobile siteswere shakyandnotwell designed,but still gave manybusinessesan
advantage overtheircompetitors.The fastgrowthandhighdemandformobile devicesandapplications
calledforresearch (usabilitytests) tobe done onuserinterface toensure that applicationswouldmeet
userexpectations.Researchfindingsshowedthatdesignandconnectivitywere twoof the biggest
obstaclesformobile deviceswhendisplayingwebcontent. Whenviewingsitesonphonesespecially,
mobile designhadtobe considerate of the contentlimitationdue toscreensize. Thisultimatelyresulted
inmany siteshavingtoomitcertainportionsof theirsite formobile use. Tabletshowever,didnot
usuallyexhibitthislimitationdue tothe largerscreensize. Because phonesrequire wirelessconnection
(or data) for webfeatures,manymobile sitesandapplicationshadtobe reducedincomplexitysothatit
couldbe run on mostphonesandtablets.One challenge thatmanyusabilityexpertswerepresented
2. with,andstill are,isthe issue of predicting exactsituationsforapplicationuse.Because mobiledevices
have the capabilitytobe usedinnumeroussettings,undernumerousconditions,itcanbe difficultto
tailorapplicationstospecificscenarios. Forexample,applicationscannotall be tailoredtouserswho
may be standing,sitting,walking,layingdown,inadark environment,orina lightenvironment. Due to
thisobstacle,manyapplicationsfocusonsome aspectsandsurrenderothers.
Current Trends/ RecentFindings (post 2010)
Currenttrends inusabilitywithmobile devicesshow thatusershave anevenhighertendencytouse
theirmobile device asopposedtoacomputer than inthe past. SurveysconductedbySimple Usability
showthat turningona laptophasbecome a time-consumingchore formanyusers. Most usersprefer
the instantaccessthat theyhave witha tabletor phone,aswell asthe comfortof gainingthisaccess
fromalmostany locationof theirchoosing. Researchby eMarketershowsthat searchesdone onGoogle
fromdesktopswill declinefrom75%to 66% thisyear due to the shifttowardmobile devices. This
increased shiftinpreference however,hasbroughtevenmore challengestothe mobile market.More
recentusabilitytestshave shownthatuserspreferwebfunctionswiththeirmobile devicesdue tothe
lack of advertisementsthattheypromptedwith. Thismakesmobile devicessimpleandclean,but
introducesthe challengeof sustainability.Because advertisementsonmobiledevicesisgenerally
unwelcome by usersmore thanondesktopcomputers, companiesthatseektomake revenue are
placedina debacle.Inaddition,withoutthe presenceof mobileadvertisements,fundingforfuture
mobile experienceswill alsobe crippled.
Future Trends (post 2014)
As people becomemore comfortable withmobiledevicesandasmore usabilitytestsare done onthese
devices,we canexpecttosee thembecome animportantpartof the dailyworkof many businessesand
institutions.Forexample,some studiesandsurveysare alreadybeingconductednow inregardtoif a
3. mobile device,suchasan iPad,couldbe beneficial toteachersasan instructionandcommunication
tool.The deviceswouldreplace the needforacomputer and make iteasierforteachersto reachout to
students.The iPadswouldalsobe able tohouse course curriculumtextforseveral classesall online,
reducingthe use of paperconsumption.Forbusinesses,the iPadwouldserve toconnectemployees
withinacompanyor evenconnectthemwiththeirclients.The applicationsformobile device use inthe
future isamassingandwiththe aid of more usabilityteststogauge userexperience,evengreaterstrides
can be taken.
