Usability testing is important to ensure websites are easy to use. It identifies functionality issues and shows how users navigate a site. There are different types of usability tests conducted at various stages of development. Exploratory tests examine early design concepts, assessment tests evaluate tasks and problems, and validation tests confirm issues are fixed. Usability principles include using simple navigation and language, providing help, and designing for user needs. Testing benefits include a real user perspective and seeing decision processes.

1. Usability Testing

2. Importance of Usability
• Consumer can use your site more easily and will
come back more often
• Less frustrating and more enjoyable experience
• Increase in sales
• Decrease in support costs
• Increase in employee productivity and decrease
in employee frustration
• Fewer mistakes

3. Usability Principles
• Use your audience’s language and labels
• Make navigation, layout, graphics simple and
consistent
• Provide help information
• Make sure the organization and presentation of
the site reflects user’s needs and goals
• Design should reinforce easy task flows
• Use logical and organized information groupings

4. Benefits of Testing
• Real world/ real user perspective
• Identifies the majority of the functionality
issues
• Allows testers to see the user’s decision
making process and the amount of time spent
on different areas of the website

5. Types of Tests
• Exploratory (Formative Study)
– Conducted early in the development cycle when a product is still in the preliminary stages of
being defined and designed.
– Main objective is to examine the effectiveness of preliminary design concepts.
• Can the user navigate from screen to screen
• Can the user complete the tasks needed to reach their goal
• Assessment Test (Summative Test)
– Conducted midway into the development cycle after the fundamental design and organization
of the site has been established.
– Purpose of the test is to see how well a user can perform realistic tasks and identify problems
in the usability of the site.
• Validation Test (Verification Test)
– Conducted late in the development cycle.
– Intended to measure the usability of a product against established benchmarks or to confirm
that problems discovered earlier have been remedied
• Comparison Test
– Compare two or more design interface styles or to compare your site with a competitor’s.

6. Example of a test plan
• Purpose
• Participants
– Participant Questionnaire
• Methodology
• Script
– Introduction
– Pre Test Value Questionnaire
– Familiarization
– Task Scenarios
– Wrap Up
– Post Test Questionnaire

7. Google Redesign
• Google calls it a “simpler, cleaner design”
• Creates a consistent search experience across devices
• Focuses on the user getting the answers they are looking for whether
through the website search results or Knowledge Graph
• Google has invited users to provide feedback on their Google+ page

8. Resources
• Rubin, Jeff and Chisnell, Dana. Handbook of Usability
Testing, Second Edition. Wiley Publishing, 2008
• Summers, Kathryn. Usability Testing, 2010
• Soper, Taylor. Google redesigns search results interface: What do
you think?, GeekWire, November 7, 2012
• Spiffing up your search results page, Inside Search: The Official
Google Search Blog, November 6, 2012