9 May, 2019 Usability Testing How can we change the perspective with which we address the digital transformation needs of companies without knowing the needs of the people who will use the final product? Asking this question is a matter that makes us focus more on the person than on the technology we use. As we discussed in previous posts, the Status Quo has changed, at least for us. So we must keep in mind, at all times, how to provide the best solution to the people who use the final product. In order to achieve this goal, we rely on the Design Thinking methodology, and we evaluate, according to the current state of the project, how we can add more value to the final product. Depending on the state of the project, we may consider different research techniques. In this article, we want to focus on the pre-delivery phase of the digital product, detecting and solving problems before it goes into production. Although we are in the Test phase, we must not forget the previous steps of the Design Thinking methodology. That is, where we empathize (Empathy) with the person who is going to use the final product, and where we define (Define) the main tasks they need to perform in the product. What is Usability? Usability is an attribute that assesses the quality of use of an interface and is defined by 5 key elements: Efficiency Memorability Errors Satisfaction The ability of the person to learn with the product Depending on the type of product and the needs of our client, usability is key to productivity. In internal tools, for example, it doubles the number of tasks that can be performed per hour and reduces the learning costs of adopting the product. What are Usability Testing? Usability testing is the best way to understand what the real experience of the people using the product is like before it goes into production. These tests can be of different types: Moderated in-person tests Remote moderated or non-remote moderated testing Before starting with the tests, it is important to define or answer the following points: What is/are the business and product objective(s) we want to achieve? What is/are the reason(s) why we need to do the tests? Who is/are the profile(s) or people who are going to use the final product? What are the key parts that we need to test with the tests? What is the cost of testing? As you answer each of these questions, you will solve other related issues such as the number of participants needed (between 5 and 8 participants is recommended), and the time needed for each of the sessions (recommended between 30 and 45 minutes). How we have applied it to a digital product In order to get to know the product better, we proposed to hold some initial sessions with experts, through a Heuristic Evaluation, where we evaluated and measured the usability, effectiveness and efficiency of the product through 230 indicators, mainly based on the heuristic principles of Jakob Nielsen and Sirius. The objective of this heuristic evaluation is to be able to analyze the results through a checklist of indicators, quantitatively and qualitatively, and locating and categorizing the problems found by priority. This type of evaluation reduces costs due to its speed, but it is still a subjective analysis. This helps us to define the keys or insights to carry out Usability Tests, where we can put forward hypotheses about the problems detected, and find solutions according to the expectations of the person. PRO TIP: involve the development and QA team to define the tasks or main features of the participants and collect their feedback. This allows you to align with the team and get to know the most relevant points from their perspective. Knowing the vision of the whole team beforehand is a facilitating element when it comes to proposing solutions to the points discovered. We defined the objectives of each test based on the insights we found in the heuristic evaluation, as well as establishing the profiles and the main tasks that the participants needed to perform in the final product. To get the maximum benefit from the Usability Tests, we decided to create some moderated sessions focused on the people who will work with the final product. So we divided the sessions into: internal sessions at Emergya with profiles similar to the people who will use the final product, and sessions with the end user at the client's facilities. We started recruiting participants in the first place for the internal sessions, taking into account the client profiles, but also these two key points: Previous experience in the CMS (Drupal) Role or type of user Once the participants have been recruited for each of the sessions, we prepare the tasks to be performed in the scenario and the script for each participant. In addition, we coordinate the agenda of the sessions and start the preparations for the sessions, such as the necessary equipment (meeting rooms, software, camera, etc.); or an introduction to welcome the participants and explain the rules of the session. In no case we judge the participant, if not the digital product. You never know what can go wrong, so any forethought is worthwhile. Internal sessions help us to fine-tune the following sessions with the people who will be using the final product. PRO TIP: these sessions are indispensable, and the number of participants in these sessions can vary depending on the complexity of the digital product. As we mentioned, the sessions are moderated, so we need to have some questions prepared so that the participant does not feel alone or has a negative feeling about the session. These are some of the questions: What do you expect to find on the next page? What are you trying to do? What do you miss in this view? How do you feel once you get to this view or page? frustrated, lost... Where are you heading? What is the main action on the page? Would you do this task differently? What would it look like? PRO TIP: both during the sessions and once the session is over, it is important to know the final feeling of the participant, something they would highlight, or what they perceive. It is interesting to collect feedback in a form after a few hours or a day. In this way, the participant can be a little less pressured, and we can collect realistic and detailed feedback. The Usability Test sessions with the people who are going to use the digital product is a test where nothing should go wrong. The feedback from these sessions will allow us to define the next steps. We analyze each of the recorded sessions, both internal and with the end user. This matter facilitates the analysis by combining the notes we have taken in each of the sessions. All the points are collected in a spreadsheet, where we quantitatively check the result. These points are shared, as a report of conclusions, with the development team and stakeholders. With them, we see the problems and priorities to be solved before going into production. PRO TIP: reviewing with the development team allows us to see the possible scope of each of the points found. In this way, we know whether we can tackle them or not before the production step or later in an evolutionary process. CONCLUSIONS The client, the digital product development and the design team check the needs and expectations of the people who will use the digital product. In this way, they know if they are closer to producing a successful product. These tests allow us to reach our objectives quickly and at an affordable cost, compared to the impact of making decisions to put a digital product into production. The sooner you start testing, the sooner problems are addressed. A critical usability issue can have a negative impact on a digital product, which at best will require an iteration of the development team to fix. PRO TIP: Testing doesn't stop once you've made the move to production. Combine other tools to adjust your product to the needs that are detected.
