- Introduction
- Importance of Usability Testing
- How It's Done
- Methods
- Data Collection
- Misconception
- References
Usability is a procedure that takes place during the evaluation phase of the design process for testing the functionality of a system, website, or app – basically any digital product – by observing the interaction performed by a real user from the product’s stakeholder group.
The goal of the usability test is to assess the completion of the current product and find potential room for correction and improvement. These involve any ambiguities in instructions, oversights in addressing user’s needs, inefficiencies, and more.
Usability testing matters in the software development process as a foundational tool for ensuring digital product quality and effectiveness. Evaluating user interactions with interfaces enables developers to refine design, functionality, and user experience, resulting in intuitive, user-friendly products aligned with user needs. Additionally, by addressing usability issues early, usability testing mitigates risks, cuts development costs, and boosts overall user satisfaction, playing a crucial role in product success amidst market competition.
It validate
The usability test helps us validate the prototype, experience map, or any mock-up previously created to envision the experience. It confirms whether the product aligns with the expectation and ensures the workflow is clear and straightforward. It brings user-centric insight:
It brings user-centric insights
Since usability testing involves the participation of real stakeholders, it is very likely to uncover issues unseen by the team that built the system. This is especially true when the team isn’t necessarily the stakeholders of the product. Having the real user interact with the product is an opportunity to observe how well our product satisfies the user’s need, fits into the user’s working habits, and is to the user’s preferences. From a third-person view, we can hear from the users, learn more about our users, and observe how our product resonates with users to create greater human empathy. It makes sure that the product we built is an actual working product liked by the users.
It catches neglection
Usability testing helps us uncover any incomplete or missing components, features, and transitions in the flow of the entire product, which might otherwise go unnoticed when we operate directly on the product. This oversight can occur because our prolonged exposure to the system can numb us to the subtle nuances that significantly impact user experience, making it challenging to recognize deficiencies or areas for improvement without the fresh perspective that usability testing provides.
The usability test has three aspects: the facilitator (or research), the participants, and the tasks. The facilitator asks the participants to perform tasks and observe their performance in a realistic setting.
The facilitator is the one who usually knows the product, and is responsible for giving instructions, observing and documenting reactions, providing responses, and asking follow-up questions to the participant. When the task is conducted, the facilitator asks participants to perform tasks as specified. The participants usually practice the method of "think aloud," by verbally communicating their thinking process for better capture of the narrative from the user side, including detailed non-observable reactions/responses from the user.
The tasks asked to perform during the test must be realistic, meaning that they should be activities that real users intend to exercise regularly with the product and can be completed in a reasonable time frame. They should be structured to target the end question that the test or product wishes to resolve.
The tasks given should be consistent across the participant group; however, they can be designed to target specific user groups the stakeholder comes from if different stakeholder groups might use the product differently (for instance, the student and teacher end of Quercus). The instructions given for each task should be clear and decisive. It should be carefully phrased to communicate the correct intention, as misunderstanding the task may heavily influence the outcome. Also, be aware that the instructions should not be step-by-step, as that defeats the purpose of observing the user's perception of the product. The instruction is not about "how to do", but rather about "what to do".
Poor task (not clear enough): Set an alarm.
Good task: Make a non-repeated alarm for 9AM tomorrow morning with label "Alarm"
Poor task (too detailed): Click on the alarm button, then click on the create alarm button. On the next page, change the time to ...
Participants are also a vital component of the test. We need to ensure that the participants recruited are representative of the target user groups and cover various types of users (of different backgrounds, experiences, stakeholder groups, etc.)
To learn more about particpants recruitment for userbility test, check out the following article.
There are several ways a usability test can be conducted. You may choose one that fits the best for the team based on your needs and resources. Regardless of the method, it is encouraged to keep documentation of the process either in words, audio recording, or view recording for the possibility of revisiting in the future for retrospective examination.
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Lab Usability Test
In-person moderated tests happened in a lab-like setting. This method provides good control over the test as conditions are standardized, but comes with a high manual cost. This method is often best suited for smaller populations (8-10).
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Phone Interview
Done remotely over phone calls, where instructions and responses are given based on oral communication, hence is a missing observation over qualitative data, as some of these are often tied to participants' sentiments and non-verbal communication. This method is economical and far-reaching, therefore fitting well when gathering data from a larger population.
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Session Recording
Remote moderated test that combines strength from both phone interviewing and lab testing.
View article on this link to learn more about populat usability testing methods.
Data collection will be done during the test without disruting the participant's task. The recorded observation should be accurate, comprehensive, and detail enough to address the end problem of the study. There are several types of data that can be collected during a test like this.
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Quantitative
Metrics that describe user experience
These often include information such as the time taken to complete a task, the success rate, and the error rate. These data are great for evaluating efficiency and effectiveness, as well as major functionality errors.
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Qualitative
insights, anecdotes, emotions, and responses expressed by the participants
They uncover important information about the overall user experience with emphasis on the user’s empathy and satisfactory values which are commonly hard to quantize.
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Subjective
Directly communicated by the particpants, either during the test or follow up questions time
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Objective
Observation and from the facilitator
Another way to break down the data collected is by categorizing the observations to address specific components/reqruiements of the products' usability.
One good way to do this is to rely on the definition usability. E.g.
You could also complete this using the Nielsen's 10 Heuristics for Usability.
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Usability Testing vs. User Testing
Usability testing and user testing both aim to assess the user experience, including interaction with the product and emotional aspects. However, user testing focuses on user perception and feedback, while usability testing concentrates more on functional performance, identifying bugs, and task efficiency. Usability testing is a subset of user testing, focusing specifically on the functionality and navigational aspects of the product.
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Usability Testing vs. A/B Testing
Usability testing evaluates user experience through observation, focusing on functionality and navigation. A/B testing compares variations of a product to optimize performance metrics like conversions. While usability testing uncovers usability issues qualitatively, A/B testing uses quantitative data to optimize design elements.
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Usability Testing vs. Demo
Usability testing goes beyond a mere demonstration. Unlike a demo, which showcases features in a controlled environment, usability testing assesses how real users interact with a product to identify potential issues and gather feedback. It provides insights into the productand allows iterative improvements based on real-world usage scenarios. Therefore, usability testing is a vital step in ensuring that products meet user needs and expectations, going beyond the surface-level demonstration to uncover actionable insights for enhancement.
